Central Park

===Design and layout===
Central Park is split into three sections: the "North End" extending above the [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir]]; "Mid-Park", between the reservoir to the north and the [[The Ramble and Lake|Lake]] and [[Conservatory Water]] to the south; and "South End" below the Lake and Conservatory Water.<ref name="central-park-map">{{Cite web |title=Central Park Map |date=2014|publisher=Central Park Conservancy |url=http://www.centralparknyc.org/assets/pdfs/maps/CPC_Map_2014_V2.pdf |access-date=April 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005170140/http://www.centralparknyc.org/assets/pdfs/maps/CPC_Map_2014_V2.pdf|archive-date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> The park has five visitor centers: [[Harlem Meer|Charles A. Dana Discovery Center]], [[Belvedere Castle]], Chess & Checkers House, [[the Dairy]], and [[Columbus Circle]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Central Park Conservancy—Official Central Park Tours|website=NYC The Official Guide |url=https://www.nycgo.com/venues/central-park-conservancy-official-central-park-tours |access-date=April 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423202121/https://www.nycgo.com/venues/central-park-conservancy-official-central-park-tours |archive-date=April 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=Central Park Conservancy |title=Visitor Centers |url=http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/visitor-centers.html |access-date=April 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403214655/http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/visitor-centers.html |archive-date=April 3, 2019}}</ref>

The park has been described as the first landscaped park in the United States.<ref name=CentralParkLargestUrbanAndFirstLandscapedPark>{{cite web|url=https://www.ny.com/articles/centralpark.html|title=History of Central Park, New York|first=Sarah |last=Waxman|publisher=ny.com|access-date=October 28, 2023}}</ref> It has natural-looking plantings and [[landform]]s, having been almost entirely landscaped when built in the 1850s and 1860s.{{sfn|Kinkead|1990|pp=57–58}}{{sfn|Rosenzweig|Blackmar|1992|p=150}} It has eight lakes and ponds that were created artificially by damming natural [[Seep (hydrology)|seeps]] and flows.{{sfn|Kinkead|1990|p=35}} There are several wooded sections, lawns, meadows, and minor grassy areas. There are 21&nbsp;children's [[playground]]s,<ref name="Playgrounds">{{cite web|title=Central Park Playgrounds |publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/facilities/playgrounds |access-date=April 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321200017/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/facilities/playgrounds |archive-date=March 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and {{convert|6.1|mi|km}} of drives.<ref name="Conservancy Running Map"/><ref name="Conservancy Running">{{cite web|url=http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/running.html |title=Running|publisher=Central Park Conservancy |access-date=April 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413211428/http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/running.html|archive-date=April 13, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Central Park is the [[List of New York City parks|fifth-largest park in New York City]], behind [[Pelham Bay Park]], the [[Staten Island Greenbelt]], [[Van Cortlandt Park]], and [[Flushing Meadows–Corona Park]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/nyregion/surveying-effort-alters-sizes-of-some-new-york-parks.html |title=Surveying Effort Alters Sizes of Some New York Parks|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W|date=May 31, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 7, 2018|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612235356/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/nyregion/surveying-effort-alters-sizes-of-some-new-york-parks.html|archive-date=June 12, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> with an area of {{convert|843|acre|ha mi2 km2}}.<ref name="Conservancy">{{cite web|title=About Us|work=Central Park Conservancy |url=http://www.centralparknyc.org/about/about-cpc/|access-date=March 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326000647/http://www.centralparknyc.org/about/about-cpc/ |archive-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/about/faq |access-date=February 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220013947/https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/faq |archive-date=February 20, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Central Park constitutes its own United States [[census tract]], numbered 143. According to [[American Community Survey]] five-year estimates, the park was home to four females with a [[median age]] of 19.8.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census Tract 143, New York, NY|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]] |url=https://censusreporter.org/profiles/14000US36061014300-census-tract-143-new-york-ny/ |access-date=July 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119120140/https://censusreporter.org/profiles/14000US36061014300-census-tract-143-new-york-ny/|archive-date=January 19, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Though the [[2010 United States Census]] recorded 25 residents within the census tract, park officials have rejected the claim of anyone permanently living there.<ref>{{cite news|last=Feuer|first=Alan|date=March 25, 2011|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/nyregion/26census.html?_r=1&|title=Census Apparently Did Check Behind Every Tree|access-date=April 11, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123151319/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/nyregion/26census.html?_r=1&|archive-date=November 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>