Central Park

Central Park (40°46?59? N 73°58?20? W) is a large urban public park (843 acres or 3.41 km˛; a rectangle 2.5 miles by one-half mile, or 4 km × 800 m) in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. An oasis for Manhattanites escaping from their skyscrapers, the park is well-known worldwide after its appearance in many movies and television shows, which has made it one of the world's most famous city parks.

Central Park is bordered on the north by Central Park North (which is Cathedral Parkway west of the park and 110th Street east of it), on the east by Fifth Avenue, on the south by Columbus Circle and Central Park South (which is 59th Street east of Fifth Avenue), and on the west by Central Park West (which is Eighth Avenue south of Columbus Circle).

The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who later created Brooklyn's Prospect Park. While much of the park looks natural, it is in fact highly landscaped. It contains several artificial lakes, extensive walking tracks, two ice-skating rinks, a wildlife sanctuary, and grassy areas used for myriad sporting pursuits, as well as playgrounds for children. The park is a popular oasis for migrating birds, and thus is popular with bird watchers. The 6 mi (10 km) road circling the park is popular with joggers, bicyclists and inline skaters, especially on weekends when automobile traffic is banned.

Each summer, the Public Theatre presents free open-air theatre productions, often starring well-known stage and screen actors, in the Delacorte Theatre. Most, though not all, of the plays presented are by William Shakespeare.

Other events include NYC Midsummer and Summerstage, and the finish of the New York Marathon.