Now Open: Spring 2016 – Fall 2017
Daily, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
(Inside Central Park at 110th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenues).
Learn how natural features in Central Park’s north end played an important role in shaping our city’s – and our nation’s – history.
This exhibit reveals fascinating finds of archaeological and historical investigations conducted as part of the Central Park Conservancy’s recent restoration of the Fort Landscape.
Exhibit Highlights:
Geological Foundations
The topography of the present-day Fort Landscape was formed by a glacier that scraped Manhattan schist bedrock out of the earth millions of years ago. Try your hand at moving a glacier across Manhattan!
Military History
The Fort Landscape’s high ground and expansive views made it an important strategic outlook while its rocky, swampy terrain made it difficult to infiltrate. The area was fortified by the British during the Revolutionary War and re-used by the Americans during the War of 1812. Pose with an artistic rendering of the kind of Gatehouse used to control access to the area in wartime!
Establishing the Park and Restoring its Beauty
Central Park’s designers recognized the scenic value of the area’s geography, as well as the cultural importance of the historical events that took place there, and sought to integrate and preserve both. Carrying on their tradition, the Central Park Conservancy has worked to re-create historic features in the Fort Landscape for all to appreciate. Learn how we do it!
For more information, contact the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center at 212.860.1370