the-great-lawn

The Great Lawn

The Great Lawn is a well-beloved attraction and one of the most famous picnic spots in Central Park. It is a green pastoral lawn, spanning at 55-acres.

A fun fact is that back in the day, the Great Lawn was a reservoir. Up until 1931 it was used to provide fresh water to New York City. When it was decommissioned, New Yorkers flooded local authorities with ideas on what to do with it, including the creation of a World War I memorial, a cinema and an opera house. But it became the Great Lawn, a space desired by Olmsted and Vaux.
It was first opened for visitors in 1937, whit the diamonds being added in the 1950s.
The Great Lawn was the arena of some amazing concerts with the likes of Simon and Garfunkel, Diana Ross, Bon Jovi, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York Philharmonic. This, however, damaged the Lawn, but the Conservancy managed to restore it in 1997.

The Great Lawn did host some major events in the 21 st century. In 2004 there was a planned anti-war protest, but park administration canceled it. In 2017 thousands of people watched the solar eclipse.
Today people visit it for a good picnic, the great views towards the city skyline and to play some baseball.
the-great-lawn-2