New York City's Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States. In the early 1850s, wealthy New Yorkers envisioned a project to construct a park that had spanned for over a decade and cost the city millions of dollars. Following a long period of debate concerning the site and cost of the project, the state legislature authorized the acquisition of 700 acres of land through eminent domain. Advocates of the park hoped to refute the European notion that Americans were devoted to a life of materialism without taking consideration of the common good. Furthermore, in awe of the public grounds in London and Paris, wealthy New Yorkers wanted to uplift the international reputation of the city—or better yet, the United States—by constructing a similar feature. The high society of New York City imagined an idyllic and rustic landscape, where they could travel in carriages, socialize with the rest of the upper class, and allow the poor to live in a safer and cleaner environment as well. Using the "Greensward Plan" designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux as winners of a design contest, the park underwent construction in 1853. Upon the park's completion in 1873, the idyllic landscape that encompassed large meadows, several lakes and hills, and a reservoir finally came to life. During a time period when industrialism in New York City was growing at a rapid and extraordinary pace, the green space intended to lure workers into spending time towards a life of healthy leisure and recreation, perhaps as a rejuvenating retreat from the unnatural urban life. While Central Park may appeal to the general public as an innocent green world for the entire society, it became clear within the first act of landscaping of the park that the project would be problematic. Original inhabitants of this particular region in Manhattan had to be displaced to initiate the early acts of construction. Even though at this point Native Americans like the Lenape tribe were already dwindling in numbers from contact with Europeans, the city nevertheless drove out the residing park settlers at the time: "1,300 African Americans, Irish, and German New Yorkers" (Fisher, 28). A space that previously served as a housing shelter for early settlers to fish, farm, and raise domestic animals ultimately disappeared. Fisher concludes through Oliver Goldsmith's poem, "The Deserted Village", that the city's removal of New Yorkers is no different from the approaches Europeans took to build urban landscapes. In fact, European aristocrats had to displace large-scale villages in order to build breathtaking public parks. The creation of an awe-inspiring park in New York City required the relocating of ordinary people to another part of the city. This process brings to light regarding whether landscaping and urban planning is worth the loss and displacement of the local population. The city government and the upper class society might have intended to create the park for the common good, but they made a choice that did not value the lives of working class immigrants. In constructing the park site and acquiring nearly 700 acres of land through eminent domain, the government had the power to determine the significance of the previously swampy, rocky, and muddy site and whether it was worthy enough of preserve and thus move social minorities. The process is indicative of the government's authority over certain social classes without seeking their interests. To this day, the Central Park Conservancy, a nonprofit and charitable organization under contract with the city government, manages the restorations and enhancements of the park. Even though Central Park today is a protected area that anyone can visit and spend leisurely time in, this historic landmark obscures the controversial obstacles that had transpired in the process of building the park. To highlight further scrutiny of authority of Central Park, the Central Park Conservancy relies on the private funds and donations of Park-area residents, corporations and foundations in order to keep maintenance. In 2012, hedge fund billionaire John Paulson donated $100 million dollars to the Central Park Conservancy, which some claim to believe is a way for him to establish his legacy on Wall Street and in New York City (Ulam, 65). Subsequently, this is an issue concerning how the public parks are financed, and serves as a means of establishing upper-class control. Furthermore, the influx of private funds toward the Conservancy resembles the privatization of public space. With state and local governments coming under increased budget pressure, the private management of public parks becomes a convincing tool for public authorities intending to keep the park open for the public. At the same time, the actions of people like Paulson causes one to question whether the public park is in the hands of wealthy individuals. The privatization occurring in Central Park can emerge to a point where the Conservancy will no longer operate in the eyes of public interest. While it appears that the constant maintenance of Central Park will stand for generations, local New Yorkers have frequently sparred with the Conservancy—and lost—regarding its responsiveness to how the public would like to use Central Park. The Conservancy might be concerned with the appearance of the park, but they are not too concerned with the local residents who want to play soccer or softball on the park's Great Lawn. As a result, the park will look beautiful and natural, but will succeed at the cost of not properly serving what local residents' desire. With the public voice falling on deaf ears, local city residents lose faith in the government's ability to do what it takes to provide for the public good. Every year, nearly thirty-five million people visit the scenic beauty of lush green. Among the millions of park visitors, Angel Chan came across the pastoral scenery every day for three months when commuting to her fashion internship at Marchesa. As a foreign intern from London, she never ceased to be amazed at the lushness and beauty of large fauna while strolling through the walking trails. With an abundance of trees surrounding the park site, she claimed that she could barely see the city's buildings from within the park. As a result, she found herself in a secluded ambience, where she wouldn't have to be concerned with the stressful demands that came from designing clothes at her internship (Interview). As visitors of the park admire in awe of Central Park, they lose sight of the effort taken for the park to become as natural as it seems, and the effort to implement the park's intended plan was anything but natural. Before construction of the park site even began, Olmstead and Vaux created a plan that imposed an "idealized landscape of gentle slopes and sweeping vistas on a rugged, 778-acre site characterized by bogs, ridges, plateaus, and rocky outcrops" (Brown, 42). With the assistance of engineers, the project's design attempted to follow the natural topography while performing industrial tasks such as building a drainage system, excavating the earth, and constructing bridges and roads. The extent to which industrialism emerged in New York City was undoubtedly prevalent in the formation of Central Park. In fact, urban landscapes like Central Park can be rendered contributions to the formation of an industrialized city. There is an ironic result in which engineering and man-made work shaped a landscape that many people consider natural. In spite of the controversy and tension that transpired from an urban park in the heart of Manhattan, the park nevertheless holds a wondrous place through a combination of relaxation and recreation. Central Park is not only a place for naturalists to seek a close feeling of nature, but it is an undisputed place for the festive soul to seek fun through pastimes. Times have changed the perspectives people make of Central Park, and perhaps the disputed tensions that came about in the past will be resolved in the future. Working immigrants who once lived on the grounds of the park site might have been displaced, but perhaps the relocation has brought forth a better lifestyle. Moreover, the government might be facing pressure with budgets to sustain the park's scenery, but the private funds toward the Conservancy can help the government build funds that will relieve the financial burden of taxpayers. Additionally, industrialism today seeks to find ways to be more sustainable than before. The park can in some ways represent the progress of architectural landscaping, with a goal of aiming to become more natural. Conclusively, Central Park is a site that provides history, significance, and a variety of meanings.