Photo taken very early in a Sunday morning (to avoid the crowds). In the background below the center arch you can see the Angel of the Waters. Three exposure HDR but I tried hard not to make it HDR-like. To really appreciate the picture, you have to click the link below to see the large image.

See it large in black: here.

EXIF data: Camera: Nikon D80 Lens: Nikkor 10-24mm 1: 3.5-4.5 G ED Aperture: f/4.5 Focal Length: 16 mm ISO Speed: 100

In their master plan for Central Park, the 1858 Greensward plan, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux proposed an architectural "heart of the Park" defined by a sweeping Promenade that would culminate in a Terrace overlooking the Lake. But as Vaux told a newspaper reporter in 1865, the architecture was always to be subordinate to the landscape: "Nature first, second and third ? architecture after awhile."