What’s Below New York’s Central Park?

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At over 840 acres, Central Park is bigger than the nation of Monaco—and every hill, pond, and path was built by hand. But the real history of New York’s most famous park lies below the surface. Beneath the lawns are traces of forgotten neighborhoods, lost infrastructure, and tunnels that shaped Manhattan’s rise to power.

In this episode, we uncover what truly lies under Central Park: the remains of Seneca Village, one of America’s first communities of free Black landowners; the massive Croton Reservoir that once supplied New York’s water; and the modern tunnels that keep the city alive today. Along the way, we’ll separate fact from legend and reveal how the park’s buried past tells the story of New York itself.

#ItsHistory #CentralPark #NewYorkCity

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IT’S HISTORY – Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

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Some media elements in this video are used under the fair use provisions of U.S. copyright law (Title 17, Section 107) for purposes of commentary, criticism, and education. If you believe your image or content was used in a way that violates your rights, please contact us at [email protected]

» CREDIT
Scriptwriter – Ryan Socash
Editor – Karolina Szwata
Host – Ryan Socash

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Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only – always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes – retractions will be published in this section.

Date: October 19, 2025

36 thoughts on “What’s Below New York’s Central Park?

  1. Although fascinating, there are some serious errors here. The most serious is that the Egyptian-style reservoir shown repeatedly was at 5th Ave. between 40th and 42nd, at the site of the current Public Library. Also, it's the Central Park Conservancy, not Conservatory, and the plan was the Greensward Plan, (with an "s"), not the Greenward Plan.

  2. SENECA VALLEY WHERE THOUSANDS OF BLAC AMERICANS HAD A THRIVING COMMUNITY IS UNDER CENTRAL PARK LIKE MOST OF AMERICA WHERE BLAC BODIES LAY BECAUSE WE ARE THE INDIGENOUS PPL OF AMERICA THATS WHATS UNDER CONTINENTAL AMERICA SO YOU BETTER LEAVE

  3. The pictures of the reservoir shown at time 11:00 are actually the Croton Distributing Reservoir, also known as the Murray Hill Reservoir, located on 5th Avenue at 42nd Street (current site of the New York Public Library). It was demolished in the late 1890s.

  4. Interesting bit of history. Sounds like you researched the story well. I can only imagine what it takes to run and manage a city such as NYC. Apparently it's a city beneath a city. I prefer the good old countryside. Never felt much like living in a city. Don't really care to visit one even. I do enjoy watching videos about the histories of cities. Well done.

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