when did central park open to the public
Central Park The park was established in 1857 on 778 acres (315Â ha) of land acquired by the city. In 1858, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect/landscape designer Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they titled the "Greensward Plan". Construction began the same year, and the park's first area was opened to the public in the winter of 1858. Construction north of the park continued during the American Civil War in the 1860s, and the park was expanded to its current size in 1873. After a period of decline in the early 20th century, Robert Moses started a program to clean up Central Park. Another decline in the late 20th century spurred the creation of the Central Park Conservancy in 1980, which refurbished many parts of the park during the 1980s and 1990s.
Parks and Recreation Immediately after Ben Silverman was named co-chairman of NBC's entertainment division in 2007, he asked Greg Daniels to create a spin-off of The Office.[66][116] Daniels co-created Parks and Recreation with Michael Schur, who had been a writer on The Office. The two spent months considering ideas for the new series and debating whether to make it a stand-alone show rather than a spin-off.[66] According to Daniels, they eventually abandoned the original spin-off plan because they "couldn't find the right fit".[116] They considered a series about a local government official trying to rebuild a political career following a humiliating public spectacle. They eventually abandoned the idea, though it did end up being incorporated into the backstory for Ben Wyatt late in the second season.[48][117] After Amy Poehler agreed to play the lead, they decided the show would revolve around an optimistic bureaucrat in small-town government.[66]