Newly revised and updated, with an additional guide to some of the other jewels in New York City's park system, New York's 50+ Best Places to Enjoy Central Park and Other Retreats is an entertaining and detailed user's guide to the 843 acres of beauty and wonder that are Central Park. Karen Putnam, former president of the Central Park Conservancy, invites readers to explore the park's rolling lawns, woodlands, ponds, lakes, streams, and much more. The fantastic parks discussed here are not limited to Manhattan. Prospect Park has afternoon birdwatching programs and miles of hiking trails. Other green gems explored include Riverside Park, Fort Tryon Park, and Battery Park, to name a few.

A pictorial history of the development of New York City’s Central Park from conception to completion. Drawing on the unparalleled collection of original designs for Central Park in the New York City Municipal Archives, Cynthia S. Brenwall tells the story of the creation of New York’s great public park, from its conception to its completion. This treasure trove of material ranges from the original winning competition entry; to meticulously detailed maps; to plans and elevations of buildings, some built, some unbuilt; to elegant designs for all kinds of fixtures needed in a world of gaslight and horses; to intricate engineering drawings of infrastructure elements. Much of it has never been published before. A virtual time machine that takes the reader on a journey through the park as it was originally envisioned, The Central Park is both a magnificent art book and a message from the past about what brilliant urban planning can do for a great city.