2008 Woodie Awards
What's inside Strawberry Park?
by Stephanie Irvin
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Features
My apartment is near Central Park. Then again, most of Manhattan is; the park is huge. Imagine a big rectangle plopped in the middle of the island, that's the park. Running tracks 843 acres of woods, monuments and playgrounds. Okay, I should be more specific. The park runs vertically from 59th Street to 110th Street, so I walk about four blocks east and enter the park just above the reservoir.
My first trip in I didn't know of any monuments in the park so I figured I'd pick a path and see where it went. My path crossed by a tennis court and some of the roads that run through the park. I drifted away from these, until there were just bicyclists, joggers, people walking their dogs, people jogging with their dogs, and tiny birds hopping out of the leaves when they realized I don't have a dog.
At Fifth Avenue, the east border of the park, I headed south and ran into a building. Not literally, but I was surprised to find a building on the edge of the park with the bulk largely situated in it. It was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As I discovered when I reached Central Park West, the park is hugged by the Met and the Museum of Natural History. Tempting, but those are for another day.
South of the Shakespearean amphitheater and an Egyptian obelisk, or Cleopatra's needle, is Strawberry Fields, a memorial to John Lennon. It's a lovely area, even in winter. Near the entrance is a plaque quoting Lennon's Imagine, and hosting an impressive list of countries that endorse the area as a garden of peace. The main draw is the mosaic near the entrance: A tile, circular design that resembles a sun has at its center circle IMAGINE. It's normal for people to leave something on the spot. When I was there someone had ringed the center circle with flowers, and used grapes to make the area a peace sign, while someone else had left a candle.
Despite it being rainy, overcast and nearing sunset the area was busy with visitors. So I went home for some peace and quiet, and to chuckle since the candle on the Imagine mosaic had a picture of Jesus on it.
My first trip in I didn't know of any monuments in the park so I figured I'd pick a path and see where it went. My path crossed by a tennis court and some of the roads that run through the park. I drifted away from these, until there were just bicyclists, joggers, people walking their dogs, people jogging with their dogs, and tiny birds hopping out of the leaves when they realized I don't have a dog.
At Fifth Avenue, the east border of the park, I headed south and ran into a building. Not literally, but I was surprised to find a building on the edge of the park with the bulk largely situated in it. It was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As I discovered when I reached Central Park West, the park is hugged by the Met and the Museum of Natural History. Tempting, but those are for another day.
South of the Shakespearean amphitheater and an Egyptian obelisk, or Cleopatra's needle, is Strawberry Fields, a memorial to John Lennon. It's a lovely area, even in winter. Near the entrance is a plaque quoting Lennon's Imagine, and hosting an impressive list of countries that endorse the area as a garden of peace. The main draw is the mosaic near the entrance: A tile, circular design that resembles a sun has at its center circle IMAGINE. It's normal for people to leave something on the spot. When I was there someone had ringed the center circle with flowers, and used grapes to make the area a peace sign, while someone else had left a candle.
Despite it being rainy, overcast and nearing sunset the area was busy with visitors. So I went home for some peace and quiet, and to chuckle since the candle on the Imagine mosaic had a picture of Jesus on it.
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Stephanie Irvin
posted 2/26/08 @ 2:19 AM EST
Actually it's Strawberry Fields, not Park.
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