Arsenal (Central Park)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Arsenal is a symmetrical brick building with modestly Gothic Revival details, located in Central Park, New York. at 64th Street off Fifth Avenue. Built between 1847 and 1851 as a storehouse for arms and ammunition for the New York National Guard, the building predates the design and construction of Central Park, where only the Blockhouse (1814) is older.
Originally designed by Martin Thompson,[1] the building currently houses the offices of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the Central Park Wildlife Conservation Center, but it has also served as a zoo and (for a period) housed a portion of the American Museum of Natural History's collections, while its permanent structure was being erected. During the course of its lifetime it has also housed a police precinct, a weather bureau, and an art gallery. A $5 million renovation is expected to be completed in 2008.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The "other building by Martin Thompson in Central Park"— a trick question— is the façade of the Second Branch Bank of the United States (1824), re-erected at the American Wing, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
[edit] External links
*New York Times Article
