New York City is a bustling, multicultural hub that has been home to a variety of people and cultures since its founding in 1624. From its rich history to its vibrant art scene, the city's cultural landscape is one of the most important in the nation. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service (NPS), the Cultural Landscape Foundation and the NPS partnered to document landscapes of national importance in five cities, including New York City. The city is located at the mouth of the Hudson River, in southeastern New York State, which is situated in the northeastern section of the United States. Its approximately 600 miles (1000 km) of coastline is constantly changing due to erosion and sedimentation.
The Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to enter the port, which he called Santa Margarita, and reported that the hills surrounding New York Bay seemed to be rich in minerals; in fact, more than 90 species of gemstones and 170 of the world's minerals have been found in New York. The Cultural Landscapes Guides project will significantly expand an interactive, graphically rich and easy-to-use database that will highlight the diversity, interconnection and importance of national parks and historic sites in urban areas. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Notage shared her ideas about what it's like to be a multi-scripted creator in today's New York City. We were also accompanied by legendary artist, musician and multimedia creator Laurie Anderson, whose genre-defying work has been part of the New York art world for decades, providing a visual and auditory backdrop to the city's history.
The guide is an interesting way to explore the names behind landscape design, especially women such as Beatrix Farrand who planned a rose garden at New York Botanical Garden in Bronx; Ellen Shipman who designed perennial border; Marian Coffin who imagined a conifer arboretum; and many more. Read their profiles to learn more about their work that has shaped New York City over three hundred years. Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, Old Quaker Meeting House in Flushing Queens, Governors Island in New York Harbor and The New York World's Fair located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park are some of the sites listed in What's Out There Cultural Landscape Guide. Explore these places to get a better understanding of New York City's cultural landscape.
