The Central Park: Original Designs for New York’s Greatest Treasure (Abrams), a new book by New York City Municipal Archives conservator and art historian Cynthia S. Brenwall, is an eye-opening and magisterial study of how Manhattan’s beloved oasis was born. Based on previously unpublished documentation of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s visions, Brenwall’s lecture will explore original competition entries and designs for buildings, fixtures, and infrastructure that created pastoral and seemingly primeval landscapes. She will offer insights into how much engineering fine-tuning and big-picture aesthetic imagination went into every landscape decision, and how much 19^th-century evidence survives in a well-used public space.

Svenska Kyrkan

Tuesday, March 24
6:15-8 pm (with reception/refreshments)
5 East 48th Street
NYC 10017

Tickets can be purchased here