I Took a 'Secret Places of Central Park' Tour and Learned the History Behind My Own Backyard

I once spotted a coyote during a winter walk through Central Park—whether it was Romeo or Juliet, I'll never know—and it made me realize how much of my local park remained a mystery. So I booked the 'Secret Places of Central Park' walking tour led by Bruce Racond of Revolutionary Tours.

Racond, a New York-born historian with a master's degree in American history and more than 25 years as a licensed tour guide, meets guests at 100th Street and Central Park West. On a July afternoon, our small group learned that most visitors never go above 85th Street. Racond showed photos of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and the swampy land that became the park, built between 1858 and 1873 as a response to the Industrial Revolution. Many attendees were locals, and some had already taken the tour before.

Racond pointed out favorite arches and springs made to look natural. We learned that Manhattan Schist, the gray bedrock loved by park-goers, formed 450 million years ago and was shaped with gunpowder. Since the original soil couldn't sustain the trees, five million cubic yards of dirt and rock were brought in from New Jersey and Long Island.

The group climbed to Blockhouse No. 1, a War of 1812 fort and the oldest surviving building in the park. We visited Harlem Meer—Dutch for 'small sea'—and the Conservatory Garden. A bench dedicated to Andrew Haswell Green honored the underrated figure who helped found public institutions and consolidate the five boroughs.

Racond stressed that Olmsted and Vaux deliberately designed Central Park as a democratic space where tourists and locals of different classes could mix. The tour is bookable on the Revolutionary Tours website or Airbnb, with warmer-month outings. In winter, 'The Central Park Experience' covers the lower park, including Bethesda Terrace and the Delacorte Theater. Racond also leads a Brooklyn tour featuring the Brooklyn Bridge—stress-tested by 21 elephants and 17 camels in 1884—and a Hamilton-themed option.