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Belvedere Castle Review

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Belvedere Castle

  • Address: Midpark at 79th St. Transverse, Central Park, New York, NY | Map It
  • Phone: 212/772-0210

Fodor's Review:

Standing regally atop Vista Rock, the second-highest natural point in the park, Belvedere Castle becomes the highest (manmade) point in the park. From here you can see the stage of Delacorte Theater and observe the picnickers and softball players on the Great Lawn. The castle was built in 1872 of the same gray Manhattan schist that thrusts out of the soil in dramatic outcrops throughout the park (you can examine some of this schist, polished and striated by Ice Age glaciers, from the lip of the rock). A typically 19th-century mishmash of styles -- Gothic with Romanesque, Chinese, Moorish, and Egyptian motifs -- the castle was deliberately kept small so that when it was viewed from across the lake, the lake would seem bigger. (The Ramble, to the south, now obscures the lake's castle view.) Since 1919 it has been a U.S. Weather Bureau station; look for twirling meteorological instruments atop the tower. Inside, the Henry Luce Nature Observatory has nature exhibits, children's workshops, and educational programs. Free discovery kits containing binoculars, bird guides, maps, and sketching materials are available (before 4 PM) in exchange for two pieces of identification.

  • Cost: Free
  • Open: Tues.-Sun. 10-5
  • Subway: B, C to 81st St.

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