History of Central Park and Belle Isle

History of Central Park and Belle Isle

Introduction.

Central Park and Belle Isle are public parks in the united states, designed and built during the 19th century. Central Park comprises more than 700-acre land and designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted in 1853 for leisure and social activities for New York residents. The architectural design of the Belle Isle encompasses a 700-acre area, sufficient for the increasing population and future social and moral benefits to generations of Detroiters. Located two miles upriver from downtown Detroit, the Belle Isle offers open spaces that function as a safety valve for laborers and enthusiast of natural environments. An interview with a Detroit resident born in 1937 provides an individual account and description of the park, detailing historical economic and educational attributes of the park while engaging contemporary visitors with social benefits of the Belle Isle. This paper relies on primary and secondary data sources to describe the architectural designs of Central Park and Belle Isle, explaining the social and environmental benefits of the park to the environment while informing on the original intentions of the designer, Fredrick Law Olmsted.

Central Park’s panoramic view entails three wooded areas, including North Woods, the Ramble, and Hallett Nature Sanctuary (Frost, Laing, Reeves, and Wheeler, p71, 2012). In 1865, the average annual attendance of the park was 7 million visitors, enjoying a park that received more than seven million visitors a year a 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) long walk with more than 58 miles of pedestrian paths. The designer of the park envisioned the necessity of 1 hectare (150 acres) of seven water bodies, to provide flora and fauna in the park sufficient precipitation (Harvey, pp37, 2010). The importance of the Central Park manifests through the declaration of the park as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, hence improving media visibility and recognition. To enhance the conservation and environmental importance of the park, Central Park was declared a New York City Landmark in 1974 with more than 26,000 trees and 1,700 American elms.

The design of the Central Park incorporates more than 51 sculptures and 36 bridges & arches, signifying the architectural and cultural brilliance of the designer Fredrick Law Olmsted. Moreover, the presence of 7 ornamental fountains and 125 drinking fountains improves the visitor’s experience. Visitors were dropped off by ferry at a fair price of 20 cents, thus offering generations of Detroiters with opportunity for relaxation and environmental conservation of the effluence of Detroit River (Waller, and Costen, pp42, 2012). To improve the safety of Detroiters while relaxing at the park, the designers in 1893 proposed the construction of a new police station. The architecture of the police station aligned with the impressive stone façade of the Belle Isle, instilling a sense of order to the masses and surroundings. Incorporation of pastoral aesthetic attributes to the Belle Isle and the police post increased the attraction of residents and tourists from across the globe.

The designers, Olmsted, and the Commissioners perceived the Belle Isle as a method of encouraging Detroit’s residents into becoming improved citizens morally and socially through the attributes of a beautiful park and environment (Smith, pp1684, 1933). Furthermore, the aesthetic qualities of the Belle Isle were influential in turning the city into a valuable asset, embracing populations and residents with diverse immigration, unemployment, and encouraging stable population development.

Designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted in 1881, Belle Isle is inherent of picturesque walking paths with perfectly designed idyllic arched bridges. The presence of a network of canals in the design and construction of the Belle Isle was deliberate for helping to drain the island. Moreover, a network of canal aided in the preservation efforts of an old-growth forest while encouraging the public on the benefits of integrating social and environmental change (Jacoby, pp20, 2011). Due to the rapid population growth rate in Detroit City, the construction effort was perceived as an unemployment and poverty relief program, offering incomes to the poor while modifying their perceptions towards environmental conservation.

The design by Olmsted and planners from the city commissioner incorporates a grand promenade and fields for sports for leisure and family bonding purposes. A vision in the plan to construct an arched bridge was to improve the aesthetic attributes, critical in the attraction of local and foreign visitors to the park (Riddle, pp55, 1977). Moreover, the public was appreciative of the gently curving canals suitable for canoeing and enjoying the calmness of the Detroit River. The canals were described by Olmsted as “rigolettes” or “highways of pleasure, indicating the emotional and psychological benefits of the park and the environment to people fatigued by urban hustles in the city (Cialdella, pp58, 2014). The physical presence of Belle Isle is vital as an identity of Detroit, indicating the cultural histories of early French settlers who utilized the park for grazing livestock and hogs. The purchase of the 700-acre land French settlers for $200,000 lower considered the potential benefits of the Belle Isle for future generations, and the

Interview with a Belle Isle resident

Rex Tillerson is a resident of Detroit, born in 1937, and lived his entire life at the city while experiencing benefits of Belle Isle to flora and fauna. A discussion of landscape architecture of Belle Isle indicates the reflection of early settlers’ cultures and traditions, including arched bridges and canals to improve the aesthetic attributes.

Moreover, Rex Tillerson, as a resident, indicates the benefits of conservation of affluence of Detroit River, to minimize artificial pollution and disregard of the natural environment. The population of Detroit increases from 116,000 in 1880 to 205,000 in 1890, indicating the potential for uncontrolled growth and development, leading to social and environmental chaos ((Cialdella, pp59, 2014). Construction of the Belle Isle was a means of urban planning to minimize social stratification and income inequality through an order for the prestige of an emerging metropolis. The resident indicates the improved pastoral leisure environment since the design of Belle Isle established ornamental plantations and zoological gardens for residents. Additionally, in 1893, the construction of a new police station at Belle Isle improved visitors’ safety hence becoming a manifestation of social and moral improvement in instilling proper behavior and environmental conservation of residents.

The growth and maintenance of lawns and gardens s critical in minimizing growing inequalities and class tensions, as Rex Tillerson indicates through the interview. Belle Isle proved popular with Detroit residents since the designers succeeded in offering an avenue for social and environmental change. In 1894, more than 61,000 visitors patronized the bathhouses while an additional 38,000 rode the phaeton service at a fair price of 20 cents. Moreover, experiencing the first hand of the threats to the social order presented by capitalism was a motivator in maintaining the natural ecosystem through the development of the Belle Isle (Berger, pp53, 2013. The resident, through the interview, informs of Belle Isle as being a place of prosperity and attracting future economic investments since individuals seek to identify with cities that are planned and catering for natural flora and fauna. Moreover, in the age of capitalism and mass industrialization, laborers need to access places of recreation, while improving the social and educational value of the parks in urban centers.