Huddlestone Arch

From May 15 until June 20, 2015, on Friday’s and Saturdays at 12pm, visitors to Central Park can explore the less well-known north end of the park. The non-profit public arts organization known as Creative Time, along with the Central Park Conservancy is sponsoring a tour which will follow a winding pathway to some of Central Park’s more wonderful features.

Participants will visit the Harlem Meer, Great Hill, and the Conservatory Garden. Along the meandering path a wonderful selection of innovative art works will come into view, created specifically for Central Park and its unique landscape.

The tour is free, and is the key event of the Central Park Conservancy’s 35th Anniversary celebration.

Other features of the north end of the park include Huddlestone Arch, the Harlem Meer and the Loch. Many consider the Huddlestone Arch the most surprising of the park’s many arches. Designed in 1866 by Calvery Vaux, it is built without the use of mortar or any other binding material. Only gravity and pressure are holding this arch together.

The Harlem Meer, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Vaux is a man-made lake which memorializes what was the separate village of Harlem.  Fishing in permitted in the lake and visitors can expect to see turtles, waterfowl as well as fish in the thriving habitat created by the Meer, which means ‘lake’ in Dutch.

The Loch, which is the Scottish word for ‘lake,’ winds through the Ravine. It is fed by a natural watercourse and flows under Glen Span and Huddlestone arches and then connects to the Meer. The stream was also designed by Olmsted and Vaux, and has several dams creating three beautiful waterfalls.
If you haven’t been to Central Park recently, or even if you have, it’s always an invigorating experience to explore the many beautiful features of this incredible New York wonder.