Center Drive

Central Park
The Pond and Hallett Nature Sanctuary in the park's southeast corner
Location Show map of Manhattan Location Show map of New York City Location Show map of New York Location Show map of the US
Type	Urban park
Location	Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°46′56″N 73°57′55″W / 40.78222°N 73.96528°W / 40.78222; -73.96528Coordinates: 40°46′56″N 73°57′55″W / 40.78222°N 73.96528°W / 40.78222; -73.96528
Area	843 acres (3.41 km2)
Created	1857
Owned by	New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Operated by	Central Park Conservancy
Visitors	about 37.5 million annually
Status	Open all year
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Architect	Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), Calvert Vaux (1824–1895)
NRHP reference #	66000538
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	May 23, 1963

Central Park is an urban park in Manhattan, New York City. It comprises 843 acres (341 ha) between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side, roughly bounded by Fifth Avenue on the east, Central Park West (Eighth Avenue) on the west, Central Park South (59th Street) on the south, and Central Park North (110th Street) on the north. Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, with 40 million visitors in 2013, and one of the most filmed locations in the world.

The park was established in 1857 on 778 acres (315 ha) of land acquired by the city. In 1858, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect/landscape designer Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they titled the "Greensward Plan". Construction began the same year, and the park's first area was opened to the public in the winter of 1858. Construction north of the park continued during the American Civil War in the 1860s, and the park was expanded to its current size in 1873. After a periods of decline in the early 20th century, Robert Moses started a program to clean up Central Park. Another decline in the late 20th century spurred the creation of the Central Park Conservancy in 1980, which refurbished many parts of the park during the 1980s and 1990s.

Central Park was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1962, which in April 2017 placed it on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage sites. The park, managed for decades by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, is currently managed by the Central Park Conservancy under contract with the municipal government in a public-private partnership. The Conservancy is a non-profit organization that contributes 75 percent of Central Park's $65 million annual budget and is responsible for all basic care of the 843-acre park.