1966 Map of Central Park

About this map

Central Park serves as the green anchor for this mid-1960s study of upper Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs. The map documents the dense urban landscape of the Bronx, Harlem, and western Queens, including Rikers Island and the bustling operations at La Guardia Airport. This era captures the city's complex transit network at a peak, from the George Washington Bridge and Triborough Bridge to the rail lines of the Penn Central and Erie-Lackawanna. Institutional landmarks are remarkably detailed, including the campus of Columbia University, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Across the Hudson River, the steep Palisades define the New Jersey shoreline, where established communities like Fort Lee and Cliffside Park overlook the water, showing the geographic transition from the Manhattan grid to the suburban heights of Bergen County.