The Pool at Central Park

The Pool is a naturalistic water body in the northwest section of Central Park, fed by a stream that flows from the North Woods through a series of small waterfalls before entering the Pool's calm, reed-lined waters.

Olmsted and Vaux designed the Pool to appear as if it had always been there, using native plantings, rocky shoreline, and carefully placed boulders to create a landscape that looks like a pond in the Catskill Mountains rather than a man-made feature in Manhattan.

The Pool supports a diverse population of waterfowl, turtles, and fish, and the surrounding plantings provide habitat for songbirds. The stream feeding the Pool creates a soundscape of flowing water that masks the traffic noise from Central Park West.

The northwest corner of Central Park, where the Pool is located, is the least visited section of the park, preserving a sense of discovery for visitors who venture beyond the more famous southern and central landscapes.

The Pool demonstrates Olmsted and Vaux's mastery of naturalistic water design, a man-made pond that appears entirely wild in the quietest corner of the world's most famous urban park.