Another Side of Olmsted

Janes Walk

Led By Tom Fedorek

This walk in Morningside Heights visits two parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux: Riverside Park and, a few blocks crosstown, Morningside Park.

Participants will discuss similarities and differences with the designers’ better-known Central Park and the ways that Olmsted adapted his picturesque principles to slender sites with challenging topography. We’ll talk about the impact of Riverside’s 1930s expansion, Columbia’s attempt to construct a gymnasium in Morningside, and community-based efforts to rescue each park from years of neglect.

Along the way we’ll see a vintage Croton Water manhole cover, Mrs. Maisel’s apartment building, Bartholdi’s Washington & Lafayette, and nesting spots of falcons and hawks. Participants will walk about one mile and descend some long staircases in Morningside Park.

Accessibility

About one mile of walking. There are many stairs to descend in Morningside, a few in Riverside. Both parks have very limited accommodations for mobility challenges.

Location Information

RSVP is required and capacity is limited. Meeting location, ending location, and directions will be provided via email before walk date.

guided

Saturday, May 7, 2022
11:00 AM
Greater than 1 hour

Borough: Manhattan
Theme: Art & Architecture, Environment, History & Culture
Language: English
An entrance to Morningside Park in Manhattan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Rhododendrites. Modifications: photo cropped.