Central Prk W, New York City, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

Central Park West is the avenue that runs along the western edge of Central Park in New York City, lined with some of Manhattan's best-known apartment buildings. The stretch around 81st Street faces the park and sits close to the American Museum of Natural History, which makes it an easy place to combine architecture, park views and a good walk.

The story behind it

The avenue's reputation rests on its address. Facing the park, its residential buildings have long counted among the most sought-after in Manhattan, and the street still carries that air of prestige. Behind the polished image, the area has also collected ghost stories, and one is told about 81 Central Park West. It is a local tale rather than documented history, so treat it as folklore.

The park across the road has a layered past of its own. The Great Lawn, the broad oval of grass in the middle of the park, was built on the site of an old reservoir that supplied the city with water. When newer water systems made it obsolete, it was drained in the early 1930s, at the start of the Great Depression. Homeless New Yorkers built makeshift shacks in the empty basin, and the settlement was nicknamed a Hooverville, like other shantytowns of the era. The reservoir bed was later filled in and landscaped, and the Great Lawn was finished in 1937. Turtle Pond lies just to its south.

What to look for

• Notice the rhythm of the apartment buildings along the avenue, with their stone facades, setbacks and rooftop towers rising above the tree line of the park.
• Look across the street at the park wall and the old trees behind it, which give the avenue its quiet, green edge.
• Find the American Museum of Natural History a few blocks south, one of the neighbourhood's best-known neighbours.
• Once you are inside the park, look at how flat and open the Great Lawn is, and remember that you are standing on the floor of a drained reservoir.

Tips for your visit

• The avenue is a public street, so it is free to walk, but the apartment buildings are private homes and you cannot go inside.
• Allow 20 to 30 minutes for the street and a short detour into the park, longer if you continue to the Great Lawn and Turtle Pond.
• Morning and late afternoon give soft light on the facades and fewer crowds on the sidewalk.
• The museum and park paths are close by, so this stop pairs well with a longer day in the area. Check current opening hours for any museum visit.

See it on a quest

Ghost Hunt in New York is a good way to see this part of the city. You reach the place on foot as one stop on a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle in front of what you can see. The ghostly theme suits an avenue full of old stories. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.