Belvedere: The Castle of New York City
Among the many beautiful aspects of the city of New York, is Central Park. And two of the many beautiful aspects of Central Park, are the Shakespeare Garden and the Belvedere Castle. The Belvedere Castle sits atop the second tallest hill in Central Park, the Vista Rock. So in any direction one chooses to look, there will be a panoramic view, one that is offered by a building that combines function, design, form and a bit of romance to boot.
This was originally designed as a fantasy building, a castle built in 1865, by Jacob Wrey Mould and Calvert Vaux. There intention was to create a place where people could not only take in the view of the surrounding area, but one in which they could catch a show at the Delacorte Theatre, or a performance of Shakespeare in the Park. Turtle Pond sits below the castle walls and the green expanse of the park is all-surrounding. In current times, when you listen to the radio for news of the weather forecast, this news travels from the weather station located in Belvedere Castle.
This is a mix of a building really, with such artifacts of times gone by as paper mache sculptures and skeletons, to such scientific equipment as telescopes and microscopes. When you find yourself wondering through the park, and consider the need for binoculars, you can find them here at the station. Notepads and sketching paper is also available, so one can take time to draw the natural environment, whether it be the hawks that fly over head, or the aquatic life that swims in Turtle Pond. There are many hotels in the city, located close to the castle of Central Park, which gives the naturalist travelers easy access to one of the man made, naturally beautiful spots in the world, Central Park of New York City.
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