Bad Forced Perspective

From before 1916, “Entrance to Central Park at 5th Avenue and 59th Street, New York City”: and the somewhat hyperbolic description on the back: The plaza (for which the Plaza Hotel is named) consists of two roughly equal pieces, north and south of 59th Street. The north half takes a small bite out of the park, the south half cuts off the end of the block between 58th and 59th Streets. In the postcard photo, the south half is missing, with just an open paved area. The memorial fountain dedicated to Jospeh Pulitzer was constructed in the south half in 1916, so the picture was taken before then. It may ben slightly earlier, as construction of the pedestrian south half of the plaza started a few years before the fountain was ready. The statue of William Sherman in the north half was placed in 1903. The road on the right is the park’s East Drive, now closed (as are all of the park’s drives) to cars. The thing about this photo is that the buildings in the distance are on Central Park West…