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By Michelle Rafferty

After a nice little afternoon in Central Park yesterday, I consulted the AIA Guide to New York City to read up on the history of the 840 acre playground (which, I learned, is larger than Monaco).  I share with you now my gleanings on how the park came to be the funky hybrid of leisure and active sport it is today, as well as my own thoughts on why parks prove we all really aren’t that different.

Long before its completion (which took 20 years and ten million cartloads of stone, earth, and topsoil) New Yorkers rich and poor alike flocked to Central Park “to promenade, to see and be seen.” Originating from William Cullen Bryant’s call for a large public “pleasure ground,” its design was “simple” and “picturesque”: trees and open space, individually designed bridges, rock outcroppings, footpaths, bridle paths, the revolutionary cross-town road, and carriage drives that were curved to prevent racing.

And these plans were closely followed until the early 20th century when the automobile and active sports arrived. Since then, the gravel paths were paved, and tennis courts, playgrounds, and even a hybrid ice-rink/swimming pool have been added. Today, the New York Road Runners sponsor races of all distances in the park every month and one can buy a VIP bleacher ticket to the New York City Marathon finish line (on the west side of the park) for $75. These innovations have all added up to a sort of paradox – bikers and intense rollerblade squads do countless loops around the park’s six mile perimeter, while inside people enjoy leisurely picnics, nature hikes, and Shakespeare.

For transplants like me, Central Park provides a sweet sense of irony. Take sledding for example. I went to college in Michigan, a state where snow sticks about 5 months out of the year; here, a snow day is a holiday. That’s why, when walking by Pilgrim Hill (“the grand dame of NYC sledding institutions“) yesterday afternoon, I felt so obliged to stop and join the commotion. If it weren’t for the high-rises hovering around us, the scene could have been anywhere. Contrary to what some might think, New Yorkers sled just like everyone else. I have photographic evidence to prove it! I’ve posted some pictures below so you can a) enjoy the beauty of a snow covered Central Park and b) see that parks everywhere are threaded together by one of humanity’s most basic instincts: if there’s snow and hill, we’ll find a creative way to get down.

NEW YORKERS, WE…

GO HEADFIRST,

GO BUTTFIRST,

AND WE TAKE

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By Bentley

as dictated to and translated by Jamie Taratoot, Events Coordinator

Wet Hot American Summer (Books)

Did you guys see that movie The Blind Side? I’m a huge Michael Lewis fan—MONEYBALL WHAT!—plus I’ve been a huge Sandra Bullock buff ever since her performance in Speed 2. So needless to say, Blind Side was a must-see for me last year.

Anyway, I was SHOCKED by how much that movie resonates with my real life. Consider these similarities between me and the protagonist, Michael Oher:

1. Oher lived in poverty for 16 years; I lived in a cage for 6 years
2. Oher was adopted by a southern lady with strong opinions; my mommy is southern and has very strong opinions about me eating chicken bones in the park (SPOILER ALERT: she’s against it)

That’s it really, but still, isn’t that kind of eerie? If you haven’t seen that movie, do so soon. I’m saving this Amazon credit I have leftover from Chanukah to buy it when it comes out on Blu-Ray.

Okay, sorry about that tangent. I’m actually here to recommend a few books published by Oxford University Press, which is the place my mommy works and gets all kinds of awesome books that are perfect for passing time in an apartment while your mommy is at work and not walking you. (Note to Mommy: more walks, please.)

Here are a few of my favorites. All of these books have earned Bentley’s Two-Duclaws-Up™ seal of approval:

Animal Rights: What Everyone Needs to Know

Love the title! This book closely resembles a pamphlet I put together for Mommy a few months ago titled Bentley: What Mommy Needs to Know. Here’s the abridged version of that classic:

1. Walks are awesome
2. The park is the best
3. I love you, Mommy
4. Off-leash times in the park are before 9:00 AM and after 9:00 PM
5. I hunt these squirrels for your protection
6. Time to go to the park

AIA Guide to New York City, Fifth Edition

The authoritative guide to architecture in my city of residence. My neighbor Clyde, a 2-year-old Labrador with a big stupid mouth, lives in one of the buildings on page 641. He wouldn’t stop bragging about it during our Bananagrams game this weekend. Things got a bit heated.

(Sorry again about the couch, Mommy.)

The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play

This one actually hasn’t released yet, but the title tells you everything you need to know: playing is the best! There’s probably an entire chapter about the park! Plus there are all kinds of sweet photos of monkeys. Look at this! 0 Comments on Friday Pet Blogging: Bentley as of 1/1/1900