Check out the many green areas in NYC where culture and nature abound.

Usually, tourism in New York City involves big towering buildings, lights that overstimulate the senses, and above all, the constant hum of city life. New York City can be a setting filled with excess at times, excess which travelers and residents alike see as an integral part of the city’s culture, but there is much culture to be had in between the towering skyscrapers. New York City parks combine historical importance and 21st century city lifestyle. 

New York Parks are not just cultural centers now, but have always been. Parks began popping up in great frequency in the 19th century due to park pioneers Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. and Calvert Vaux’s commitment to building artistic spaces within the city. They were designed to be beautiful statements of architecture, to promote health, and to capture the high-class fashion of the time (the upper class often promenaded through the parks after theatrical spectacles). 

Gradually, the beauty of the open space became a breeding ground for novel ways of life. The “cricket grounds” of Central Park invited sports fanatics and the middle class; the earliest games of baseball in history were played in or near Madison Square Park, Central Park, and Prospect Park. The opportunity to strut the latest performative and casual fashion was hardly left untaken as well. The Cover Girls performed at Queensbridge Park in 1967 with their chic short dresses. Ice skaters wore their favorite fur coats and leather gloves at Jackson Heights Model Playground in the 40’s. Even activists demonstrated their causes, like the 1967 anti-Vietnam War march featuring Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we steered away from the rich history of the parks and into the 21st century, New York City parks retained all their cultural significance. Contemporary New Yorkers know that the city’s authenticity doesn’t lie only within or near buildings, but also among its trees, creeks, and oak benches. The iconic white arch of Washington Square Park, for example, invites visitors to people-watch, discover the upcoming New Yorker fashion trends, and catch tidbits of people’s lives through conversation. You might hear professional violinists or electric guitar players provide free entertainment for onlookers at Bryant Park, a retreat from the city within the city. Your favorite clothing brand’s campaigns may be shot at Central Park. Sakura Park houses professional artists creating scenic paintings, graffiti-style works, and portraits amid the branches of a lush green landscape. Then head to NYC’s Prospect Park, and experience some of the most delicious food truck delicacies. 

The many lesser known, less tourism-centered parks also portray the authentic New York experience. From Owl’s Head’s sledding hills, a park-goer might examine the alluring views of lower Manhattan. A traveler could watch the age-old tradition of horseback riding through parks come to life again at Van Cortlandt Park’s Riverdale Stables.

From the relatively untrodden parks to those with tens of millions of visitors a year (Central Park alone welcomes about 42 million per annum), each has its own special character, its bit of charisma to offer to the world while also embodying the historical and societal advancements of New York. From their ever-changing, but ever-present artistic significance and caloric treasures to their elevation of musical spectacles and rites of fashion, parks have always been central to the New York lifestyle.

Top New York Parks: 

1. Prospect Park

   Main Entrance: 95 Prospect Park W, Brooklyn

2. Central Park

   Main Entrance: Columbus Circle, New York (W 59th St and 8th Ave)

3. Bryant Park

   41 W 40th St, New York

4. Washington Square Park

   17 Washington Square N, New York

5. Sakura Park

   Riverside Dr., Claremont Ave. to W. 122 St., New York

6. Owl’s Head

   Shore Rd., 68 St., Colonial Rd., Brooklyn

7. Van Cortlandt Park

   80 Van Cortlandt Park S, New York

Su is a first year student at Columbia University majoring in creative writing. Her love for the power of words and her connection to her Turkish roots spills into her satire, flash fiction, and journalistic pieces among other genres. Su hopes to continue writing fearless journalism, untold stories, and prose inspired by her surroundings.