Central Park's Belvedere Castle To Reopen At End Of June

CENTRAL PARK, NY — One of Central Park's main attractions will reopen to the public at the end of June following a $12 million renovation that shut the site down for 15 months, the Central Park Conservancy announced Tuesday.

The Belvedere Castle will reopen to parkgoers on June 28 featuring restored walls and terraces, cleaned floor tiles, new wooden pavilions that bring the structure in line with its original Olmsted and Vaux design and new waterproofing, drainage and geothermal systems designed to keep parkgoers comfortable in both the heat and the cold.

"The Belvedere has a special place in the hearts of New Yorkers and visitors alike, who tell us they feel like royalty taking in the incredible views," Central Park Conservancy CEO Elizabeth Smith said in a statement. "We at the Central Park Conservancy are proud of our work at the Belvedere, which, like the rest of the Park was designed to provide an oasis from the stress of the city and is free to the public."

The castle is perched atop Vista Rock — the second-highest point in Central Park — near the 79th Street Transverse in the center of the park. The lookout towers of Belvedere Castle provide some of the best views of park attractions such as Turtle Pond, the Great Lawn and the Delacorte Theater.

In addition to restoration work, the Central Park Conservancy also modernized facilities at the site. Windows and doors at the castle were replaced with clear pane glass to improve visitors' sight lines. New lighting features will also improve nighttime views of the castle looking out from across Turtle Pond.

The conservancy originally planned to make Belvedere Castle ADA accessible, but eventually dropped the plan from the renovation. Park officials said Tuesday that the conservancy is "actively planning" the creation of an accessible route to the castle from East Drive.

Parks officials shut down the attraction — which draws an estimated one million annual visitors — in Feb. 2018 after announcing the renovation project in 2017. Funding for the renovation was donated by The Thompson Family Foundation, parks officials said.

The most recent renovation marks the second time the Central Park Conservancy has comprehensively renovated the Belvedere Castle. After decades of neglect, the dilapidated castle was fully restored in 1983 to make the site attractive to visitors.