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LEGENDS

central park american elm bethesda terrace

Central Park, New York City, a Legend

by Mary Jasch

This year, New York City's big park celebrates its 150th birthday. Central Park's man-made cultivated landscape (like the backdrop of skyscrapers behind it) covers 51 blocks from 59th Street to 110th and in many ways still holds true to the integrity of the "Greensward Plan" of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, landscape architects.

Now 150 years later, Olmsted and Vaux's ideals and plans for a peaceful, restful place away from the daily grind are evident - in the open grass cushion of Sheeps Meadow; on the winding pathways where skaters, equestrians, walkers, bicyclists and a quarter-million weekend visitors meander; in The Ramble where adventurers get lost; on The Mall where visitors sashay.

The lakes, gardens, the fountains and carousel - the playgrounds and concerts make everyone well.

The pair designed the park as a rural and picturesque retreat close to the city's populace. That feat was accomplished by using two schools of landscape design- the grand scale of the pastoral and the drama of the picturesque.

Perhaps the most famous remaining original design is "The Mall," the promenade that is six blocks long (66th to 72nd) and 40 feet wide. Its long allee of American elms date to the 1920s and earlier.

"We're very proud of this stand of trees," says Neil Calvanese, Central Park Conservancy VP of Operations. "When you go under the canopy of trees, it's simply magnificent. There are not many stands of elms intact that give that classical American elm canopy."

"The Ramble can turn you around in a second. There are so many paths,"

Although American elms are threatened by Dutch Elm Disease (DED), the Conservancy has managed to maintain about 1,800 of them throughout the park. DED is always present, but with a tight maintenance program, it's kept under control. "In the early '80s, we lost 100 trees in a season. Now maybe 10," says Calvanese.

In June and July, the trees are monitored closely for any signs of DED. "We prune infected parts down to disease-free wood, or if necessary, we remove the entire tree. We watch for the "flagging" of branches -yellow or wilted leaves to try to catch the disease before it works its way down into the main trunk. We peel the bark back, and if we see brown streaks we have to remove that limb and get clear wood for nine to ten feet."

DED spreads by root grafts, when the roots of two adjacent elms meet and meld, but the main way is via European Elm Bark Beetle. Pests and injury open up other areas of disease entrance.

"When an American elm dies of DED, it becomes a breeding ground. As soon as an elm is stressed, female beetles pick up the scent of it and lay eggs in galleries on the tree. Each beetle that comes out of that infected tree flies to the top of adjacent elms and feeds in twig crotches, and they inoculate that tree with the spore of DED. If we have a dying elm, we get it out before it provides a breeding ground."

The walk from Central Park West brings interesting sights - carriages at Tavern on the Green and two young women riding horseback, Jamila Watkins and Jodi Bogus who live nearby and work at Claremont Riding Stable, the last private riding stable in New York. They ride in the park almost every day. Jodi rides an opera horse that performs at Lincoln Center.

The sounds of a tenor saxaphone float through the open walkway under the trees - it's Ralph Williams at work on The Mall.

We stroll down to the fountain of an angel with a hawk sitting on its open wings - Bethesda Terrace, one terminus of the famous elms. It has a wide exposed stage of concrete with steps leading down and around the angel fountain, like an ancient tribute to the gods. Pigeons decorate giant planters lifted skyward. Behind it all, day-trippers enjoy the water in canoes and rowboats rented from the Boathouse.

A man tells us that we must see the Alice in Wonderland statue. We find it, larger than life, with children climbing all over it.

The Ramble is another design by Olmsted and Vaux that remains today, although it's being renovated. The Victorian landscape is planted with a rich collection of shrubs and trees from around the world. It is one of the premier birding and wildlife areas in New York. Some of the bigger trees in The Ramble are the cork tree, Avodia and London plane.

"The Ramble can turn you around in a second. There are so many paths," says Calvanese

Cracked macadam pathways clamber between schist outcrops and old trees. A hawk screams past pools of still water. There's lots of Japanese knotweed. Squirrels drink unafraid of humans. "Being woodland, we treat it a little differently, not as well-manicured as the rest of the park," he says. "We remove Norway maples, sycamore maple, Japanese knotweed. We get them out and introduce native plants."

Paths lead to secluded areas - a man sits reading in a wooded cul-de-sac. Stone benches and bridges were cut and shaped and patched with concrete. The original plan is subsidized by young ferns and cardinal flower and small shrubs - constant renewal as in any planned and maintained garden.

There are unusual wooden bridges over the streams in the woods. The waterfall stream flows into the lake next to sloping rock - a natural place in Olmsted's design. He utilized the landscape - it's not all artificial.

Calvanese's favorite places in the park? "For me, the elms are really special. And Literary Walk, the 59th Street pond. The Great Lawn is beautiful."