Old Central Park, New York City

View of Central Park, New York City, drawn and published by John Bachmann about 1875. Lithograph by Herman Bencke Lithograph Co. Text on print: Copyright secured by John Bachmann. Source: Credit Suisse Americana Collection.

This panoramic view of Central Park, looking south, is dominated by the Ramble and lake. Central Park was completed in the 1870s. The Belvedere Castle (foreground), completed in 1869, is near the old Croton Reservoir. In the center are the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace and the Mall behind it. Buildings on Fifth Avenue and West 59th Street are seen at the top of the engraving. The old Lenox Library, on Fifth Avenue, between 70th and 71st streets, is visible at the extreme left of Bachmann’s view. It was built between 1871 and 1877 and demolished in 1912. Enlargements below from a New York Public Library black & white copy.

Below, comments about this image from Marilyn S. Kushner, Curator and Head, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New York Historical:

«Swiss born and trained in Paris, John Bachmann (1814-1896) was a highly respected artist and lithographer who was especially known for his mid-nineteenth century bird’s-eye views of American cities. In fact it is claimed that Bachmann was one of the first artists to depict city views in this manner.»

«A close reading of Bachmann’s bird’s-eye view of Central Park reveals a myriad of anomalies. The lush vegetation with luxuriant gardens looks almost tropical and even if the plantings represented indigenous species, the park certainly would not be this plush a mere sixteen years after it had opened. Other factors that seem fanciful include Belvedere Castle which is far larger in this image than it actually is, the incongruous spatial relationships of buildings within the park, as well as is the placement of the park in relation to Fifth Avenue which, in this image, stretches across the picture plane two-thirds of the way up in the composition. These deviations are especially odd within the context of John Bachmann’s typical panoramic views of cities which are normally quite particular about factual details.»