The Arsenal

The Arsenal. . , The historic Arsenal is one of two buildings in Central Park predating the park. It was designed by esteemed architect Martin T. Thompson (1786-1877) and built between 1847 and 1851 by the State of New York as a storage repository for the storage of munitions. Thompson designed a fortress-like stuccoed structure, with a crenulated cornice and rooftop turrets. The cast-iron eagle over the doorway is also an original feature. The project’s funding was overseen by state Comptroller Millard Fillmore, later President of the United States., The building’s military use was short-lived, and in 1857 the City purchased the Arsenal for $275,000, removed all arms, and established park administrative functions on the premises. Over the ensuing decades it has served diverse roles. At the outset the 11th Police Precinct was stationed here. In 1859 the Menagerie (later the zoo) was created in and around the Arsenal. When the American Museum of Natural History was founded, its first home was the Arsenal, from 1869 to 1877; also at that time B. Waterhouse Hawkins, an eminent British paleontologist, set up a studio of the second and third floors, where he reconstructed dinosaur skeletons., A Gallery of Art occupied the first floor in the early 1870s, and the Municipal Weather Bureau’s instruments were kept on the Arsenal roof from 1869 to 1918. The building fell into disrepair, and was largely vacant from 1914 to 1924, when it underwent a renovation that added the central turrets and clock facing the zoo., When Robert Moses (1888-1981) was appointed the first citywide Parks Commissioner in 1934, the Arsenal again underwent extensive renovation and the stucco was removed from the exterior brickwork. The lavish murals inspired by images of old New York in the lobby were part of a Works Progress Administration project in 1935-36 by artist Allan Sallburg (1899-1987). The front entrance was also redesigned to include military-style decorative drums over the door, and cast-iron musket replicas supporting the bannisters., In 1967, the Arsenal was designated an official city landmark. Since 1976, the central chamber on the third floor has been used as a public gallery. Its military origins long ago replaced by civilian functions, the historic Arsenal is home today to Parks’ central administration and Wildlife Conservation Society.