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Members gather on site. Photo courtesy of Malcolm Pinckney.
Ray Thompson and Natasha Hopkinson with CPC dignitaries. Photo courtesy of Cutty McGill.
Marian Hill kicks off the Ceremony. Photo courtesy of Cutty McGill.
Countdown to Centennial
*Images provided by C. McGill, M. Pinckney, and N. Hopkinson.
2013 Founders Fund Update: Groundbreaking Ceremony in Central Park
October 5, 2011, New York City - Members of GCA clubs throughout the country gathered to celebrate the start of a major renovation of the East 69th Street entrance to NYC’s Central Park, a project that partners GCA with the Central Park Conservancy (CPC). Joining GCA President Marian Hill at the Groundbreaking was NYC Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, CPC President Doug Blonsky, GCA/CPC Liaison Natasha Hopkinson and Centennial Committee Chair Ray Thompson.
In the most visited park in America and in close proximity to GCA Headquarters, the East 69th Street Entrance to Central Park were chosen by GCA member clubs to be the site of the 2013 Centennial Founders Fund gift from The Garden Club of America. Made possible by the generosity of all 200 member clubs and their member donors, this gift to the Central Park Conservancy will restore the two-acre site to the original vision of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
The plans and plant list for our site (shown in the photo gallery) portray how the restoration will be accomplished. Thousands of the GCA Daffodil Bulbs, registered with the Royal Horticultural Society to honor GCA’s Centennial, will be planted at the site in the fall of 2012 and the project’s official dedication will be in June of 2013.
Project Overview: History and Project Description
Redesigning the East 69th Street Entrance of New York City’s Central Park was selected by The Garden Club of America member clubs to be the 2013 Founders Fund Project in honor of the GCA Centennial.
Located in the most visited park in the country and near GCA Headquarters, the redesign of the East 69th Street Entrance to Central Park is a joint venture between The Garden Club of America and the Central Park Conservancy. The project aims to restore this two-acre site to the original vision of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Consistent with this vision, the project will create a more harmonious blend of materials and tie together the East 69th Street Entrance with the character of the adjacent Dene (valley).
Paths and benches will be realigned to provide more direct views into the park and ample seating. Existing shrub masses that currently block sight lines will be thinned; the tree canopy will be opened, and new benches, hardscape, and drainage will be included in the landscape. Flowering shrubs will line the path, and GCA will provide thousands of the new GCA Daffodil Bulbs, registered by the Royal Horticultural Society in honor of GCA’s Centennial, for planting in 2012.
The Garden Club of America is planning the Dedication of the 2013 Founders Fund Project in June 2013.