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Cedar
Hill is a classic pastoral landscape, synonymous in many people's
minds with the most traditional of Park activities: picnicking,
reading, and sunbathing. Cedar Hill undulates softly down to a
shallow green valley. The name comes from the red cedars on its
crest, but several other varieties of evergreen dot the hill as well.
At
the southern border is Glade Arch, a handsome stone archway that
originally supported carriage traffic to Fifth Avenue. In springtime,
a variety of flowering bulbs and perennials crowd the slopes on
either side of the pathway under the arch. To the north is the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
Just
as Olmsted and Vaux intended, the combination of lush grass, sun,
and shade made Cedar Hill a "landscape destination," a site
that stood a world apart from the City's grid and traffic. But over
time heavy use took its toll. A 1994 restoration included new
irrigation, repaired and improved drainage (clay drainage pipes
dating from the 1860's still snake across the Park) and replanted
grass. Perhaps most important at that time, a new management system
was introduced dividing the Park into 49 zones, each with its own
gardener and support team assigned. In the spirit of "nothing
new under the sun," this maintenance technique was first piloted
in the 1880's at Sheep Meadow. According to those early posted
instructions, when "the turf of the green (Sheep Meadow) is not
specifically unfit for use," a variety of activities was allowed
on a rotating basis: ballplaying on Saturdays; croquet playing on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; the public in general on Sunday. A
color-coded flag system signaled proper usage. Today's system uses
only one color: red. At Cedar Hill today (and at the Great Lawn) red
flags alert the public to horticultural care being performed or
adverse lawn conditions (such as wetness after a rain, when grass is
vulnerable to damage) requiring the landscape to "take a
breather" from use. When the red flag comes down, it's back to
books, hampers, and lotion. |
