Castle in Central Park
New York's best kept secret....
Did you know that there is a castle smack bang in the middle of Central Park Manhattan? Amazing, right? It was designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould in 1867. The structure, terraces and pavillions were all called "The Belvedere" . And for those of you who are not up on your Italian, it means "beautiful view".
The castle was completed in 1872. It had no windows or doors, as it was meant to be an open-air lookout tower. Here you could enjoy views of the surrounding landscape.
Best kept secrets in New York
Nowadays, it is one of the most iconic features in Central Park. It is located atop a huge rock outcrop know as Vista Rock. The Belvedere Castle contains exhibit rooms, an observation deck, not only that, since 1919 has housed Central Park’s official weather station. The Weather Bureau converted the building and added windows, doors and offices inside the structure. When they moved out of the building in the 1960s, it fell into disrepair and became a target of vandalism.
In 1983 the Central Park Conservancy renovated the building and reopened it as a visitor center, once again drawing attention to this exceptional building. And in 2019, they completed a project to restore and modernise the building and terraces.
The Belvedere still draws visitors to take in the sweeping views of Turtle Pond and Great Lawn to the north, the Ramble to the south, and the surrounding cityscape. The Castle also houses one of the Park's visitor centers and a gift shop. When the building is open, visitors can ascend to additional terraces for an even higher vantage point.
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