First conceived of in 1844 as an oasis for the 500,000 people living in lower Manhattan, a city commission paid more than $5 million for the land between 59th and 106th streets between 5th and 8th Avenues. The park was eventually designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and was completed in about 1872.

Today, the park serves the more than 8 million residents of New York City and has many important sites of its own, including the Strawberry fields memorial to John Lennon, the Public Theater, Sheep's Meadow, and the Great Lawn, where free concerts are often held throughout the summer months.

Of the many walkways in the park, only one follows a completely straight path: the Mall.