Some tourists think that the park shows natural Manhattan from the days before the city This is not true. In fact the park was carefully planned and built. In the 1850s, rich New Yorkers wanted a place like the parks in London and Paris, They wanted a park for walking or riding horses, Frederick Law olmsted and Calvert Vaux showed their plan for the park in 1858. But at the time the land this area of Manhattan was flat and not very nice. A lot of stone and earth was brought to make the park's hills Half a million trees and plants were put in the ground. Paths and beautiful stone bridges were built. The lakes and streams under the bridges were not there before. The park was finally finished in 1876. Today people still walk and ride horses in central Park. They also ride bikes. Cars can go into the park. but they cannot go everywhere. On the weekend, they cannot go in at all