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  • Friends of the Upper East Side Book Talk: Before Central Park
    8/12/22

    Friends of the Upper East Side Book Talk: Before Central Park

    With more than eight hundred sprawling green acres in the middle of one of the world's densest cities, Central Park is an urban masterpiece. But before it became a model for city parks worldwide, the land was the site of farms, businesses, churches, wars, and burial grounds - and home to many different kinds of New Yorkers.
  • New York Society Library: Sara Cedar Miller, Before Central Park
    7/22/22

    New York Society Library: Sara Cedar Miller, Before Central Park

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  • New Canaan Library Presents: Before Central Park with Historian Sara Cedar Miller
    6/28/22

    New Canaan Library Presents: Before Central Park with Historian Sara Cedar Miller

    Please join us on Tuesday, May 3rd at 7:00 PM EST. With over eight hundred sprawling acres in the middle of one of the world's densest cities, Central Park is not only an oasis of calm and greenery, but an urban masterpiece.
  • New Amsterdam History Center: Before Central Park, A Talk by Sara Cedar Miller (Historian Emerita, Central Park Conservancy)
    5/18/22

    New Amsterdam History Center: Before Central Park, A Talk by Sara Cedar Miller (Historian Emerita, Central Park Conservancy)

    Visitors can hardly imagine Manhattan without Central Park, but the history of these 843 acres before it became the celebrated green space is a fascinating story told by Sara Cedar Miller in her new book, Before Central Park, published by Columbia University Press.

    In 1637, Hendrick de Forest and his brother Isaac, with permission from the Dutch West India Company, arrived at what is today the northern end of Central Park and central Harlem to develop a tobacco bouwerie. When Henrick died soon after sowing his crop, his brother-in-law, Dr. Johannes de la Montagne, took over the 200-acre farm while also assuming the role of councilor to Director General Willem Kieft and his successor, Petrus Stuyvesant.

    Inspired by this story, historian and painter Len Tantillo created a stunning depiction of the Montagne homestead set, most likely, in the northern part of today’s Central Park.

    Join us for a fascinating program as Mr. Tantillo introduces Ms. Miller, and Manhattan Borough Historian Robert Snyder leads the Q&A after the presentation.