Central Park's Grand Army Plaza Restoration

by Laura Matiz 

As a contributor to the Central Park Conservancy, I receive their literature quite often. The Conservancy  often communicates the state of Central Park using numbers, something they do quite well.  For example, Central Park now welcomes over 42 million visitors a year, although on some weekends, it feels like all 42 million are in the park at the same time. That's a mighty task to keep the park looking as good as it does day in day out. 

The Central Park Conservancy's latest restoration project is the Grand Army Plaza entrance on the southeast corner of the park (Fifth Avenue & 59th Street). The iconic monument of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman is the focal point. From his high perch in new and protected gold-leaf covering, he looks down on a beautifully reconstructed plaza with new benches shaded by a double row of London plane trees, replacing the ones lost in the snowstorm of October 2011. While the southeast corner of the park is often quite crowded and bustling, it will be worth sitting on one of the new benches and contemplating this latest restoration. 

Grand Army Plaza monument of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Source: Central Park Conservancy.

Learn all about the Grand Army Plaza in this audio clip from the Central Park Conservancy. 

Categories: NYC History, Parks