In the center of Central Park lies the Great Lawn, a green pasture of 55-acres that is considered one of the most famous lawns in the world. Located mid-park from 79th to 85th Streets, The Great Lawn is a wonderful place to have a picnic on a spring afternoon or to catch some rays in the summer sun. It is open from mid-April until mid-November.
Historically, the Great Lawn was not in the original plan of Central Park. The space was instead occupied by the rectangular Croton Reservoir, constructed in 1842. However, in 1917, the reservoir was made obsolete when a new water tunnel was built and all of its water was drained in 1931. During the Great Depression the area served as the home of displaced residents and surplus supplies and materials leftover from the construction of a subway line and Rockefeller Center.
