Local Legend: 'Guitar Man' David Ippolito And His Central Park

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Central Park is home to lots of monuments to New York City: There's the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there's the Delacorte Theater, and then there's David Ippolito.

Ippolito, is one of Manhattan's most prolific independent artists, is best known as "That Guitar Man in Central Park" who's been performing by The Lake every summer for almost 30 years.

Ippolitio first set up camp on the lakefront hill north of Strawberry Fields and West 72nd Street in 1992 and since released eight albums, profiled by the New York Times, and performed at the Upper West Side's Merkin Concert Hall.

The singer-songwriter has also worked as an actor and playwright and even appeared on the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," earning a prize of $64,000.

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Patch talked to Ippolito as part of our Local Legends series, where we interview iconic New Yorkers about the neighborhoods they call home.

Here's what she had to say about New York City's most famous park.

Describe Central Park in three words:

I can do it in one. "Romance."

What are some of Central Park's hidden gems?

I kinda dig the history behind Cleopatra’s Needle behind The Met. I mean, it’s an obelisk that was carved by artisans in Egypt around 3,500 years ago. And I love the oldest building in the park, the Blockhouse. It’s the only remaining fortification of the many built in 1814 to defend against the British. It stands on the edge of a high precipice in the woods up in Harlem near 110th Street.

Where's the best place to eat in/around Central Park?

Well in the park, you can never ever go wrong with a dirty water hot dog from a vendor. The Boathouse is also a cool hang, especially during the week when it’s not crazy crowded.

How does Central Park influence your work and creativity?

The name of my first album is "The People on The Hill," named for the little grassy slope by the lake where I play. The park has inspired "City Song" and so many others. When I do my big concert in Merkin Concert Hall every December we always say, "We're bring that feeling from Central Park indoors."

What's your perfect day like in Central Park?

Years ago, I coined the phrase "typically amazing" to describe my Saturdays in Central Park. Showing up with a guitar, taking off my shoes by the lake, sharing my songs with a half-dozen people sitting on the grassy slope and then watching them turn into a few hundred and then a few thousand smiling, singing, laughing people over the course of the day is "amazing." But it happens every time, so at the same time it’s also "typical." Makes me feel like the luckiest man alive — certainly one of the luckiest independent artists in this town.

What's it like to be a local fixture in Central Park?

I love this town and it’s romance so much that I think it would be a really, really cool thing if there was such a thing as a guitar man, who’s been playing his music for a generation in the same spot. I think it’s so cool that there actually is such a man. And it’s AMAZING that he’s me!