Central Park is an urban park in Manhattan, New York City. Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, with 40 million visitors in 2013, and one of the most filmed locations in the world. A landmark of New York City since 1857, it has been featured in numerous films, TV shows, songs, video games, books, photographs, and artwork.
Painting
William Merritt Chase, View from Central Park (1889)Maurice Prendergast, The Mall, Central Park (1901)The Gates (2005)
Elliott Erwitt took photographs of dogs in Central Park in 1974.
Bruce Davidson's photobook Central Park (1995) was a four-year exploration of the park.[1]
Tod Papageorge chronicled the park over several decades for his photobook Passing Through Eden (2007).[1]
Literature
In 1967, the Canadian poet Leonard Cohen sang in public in Central Park in the company of Judy Collins.
The writer Evan H Rhodes published The Prince of Central Park, a 1975 novel that describes the life of an 11-year-old in the park.
In the book The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, often wonders what happens to the ducks and fish in Central Park when the ice begins to form in winter. He also spends time in the park in parts of the novel.
Films and TV
Central Park, as a universal symbol of the city, appeared and continues to appear in numerous film productions, as well as in numerous television series. Among its most famous appearances:
The first film to feature Central Park was Romeo and Juliet, in 1908. Since then there have been at least 305 films which feature Central Park, making it the most filmed location for films. Many Academy Award winning films feature a scene in the park.
In 1960, early in the Academy Award-winning film The Apartment, Bud is seen sleeping on the park benches after being denied access to the apartment.
In 1970, the protagonists of the film The Out-of-Towners sleep in (and get mugged in) Central Park.
In 1970, the climactic final scene of the romantic comedy The Owl and the Pussycat occurs in Central Park on Cedar Hill.
In 1970, a character gets repeatedly mugged while running across Central Park at night in the comedy Where's Poppa?.
In 1979, Central Park is the place where main characters of Hair meet for the first time.
In 1980, in the Italian horror film Inferno one character gets killed at a pond in Central Park.
In 1984, the film Ghostbusters has Rick Moranis in the part of Louis Tully running through Central Park, while being chased by a Terror Dog.
In 1986, the film The Park Is Mine features Tommy Lee Jones, in the role of a Vietnam veteran, who takes the park hostage. The film is based on the novel Central Park by Stephen Peters.
in 1991 the film The Fisher King has scenes of Central Park.
In 1995, in the animated film Balto, there are live-action sequences at the beginning and end of an elderly woman and her granddaughter visiting the Balto sculpture in Central Park.
In 2007, in the animated film Bee Movie are scenes of Central Park.
In 2007, in the film Enchanted, the musical number "That's How You Know" takes places in several parts of Central Park.
In 2008, in the film Cloverfield, the last part of the film takes place in Central Park, where Rob and Beth take shelter under the Greyshot Arch, just before "Hammer Down Protocol" wipes down the island of Manhattan.
In 2008, Central Park is ground zero for the epidemic in The Happening
In 2011, in the thriller film Limitless with Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish, multiple shots show Cornish's character running through Central Park.
In 2011, in live-action/animated film The Smurfs some final conflict scenes between the Smurfs and Gargamel occur in Central Park.
In 2011, in the last episode of Glee.
In 2012, The Avengers, one of the last scenes happens in Central Park.
In the 2018 video game Marvel’s Spider-Man, an in-game depiction appears in the same position as its real world counterpart.
References
^ a bO'Hagan, Sean (26 June 2021). "Photographer Donavon Smallwood: 'What's it like to be a black person in nature?'". The Observer. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
^"Gretch Post". May 13, 2013. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.