One of the world’s most famous inner city parks is located just a few short blocks from Shimmie Horn’s Washington Jefferson Hotel. Just exit the hotel, walk east a few steps to 8th Avenue, and then the 8 blocks north from West 51st Street where the Washington Jefferson is located, to Columbus Circle on 59th Street, and you have arrived at the incredible Central Park.
The park first opened to New Yorkers in 1857 and includes 843 acres of fields, trees, gardens, a zoo, a lake, baseball diamonds, brides, paths and lots more. In the following year a competition was held for a design to improve the park. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the design competition, and in 1873 the newly designed, expanded and improved Central Park was ready.
Central Park offers an amazing array of things to do and see within its confines, including two ice-skating rinks, a swimming pool, a wildlife sanctuary, Shakespeare in the Park summer festivals at the Delacorte outdoor amphitheater, and Belvedere Castle. With such a wide selection of things to see and do there, it is no wonder that Central Park is the most visited city park in the United States. Join the crowd and go visit, it’s just a ten minute walk from the Washington Jefferson Hotel.