Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

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Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.jpg
Location Central Park, New York City
Coordinates 40°47′6.32″N 73°57′37.71″W / 40.7850889°N 73.9604750°W / 40.7850889; -73.9604750Coordinates: 40°47′6.32″N 73°57′37.71″W / 40.7850889°N 73.9604750°W / 40.7850889; -73.9604750
Type Reservoir
Basin countries United States
Surface area 106 acres (43 ha)
Water volume 3.8 million m³
Shore length1 1.58 mi (2.5 km)

1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir (sometimes abbreviated by locals as JKO) – originally and sometimes still known as the Central Park Reservoir – is a decommissioned reservoir in Central Park in the borough of Manhattan, New York City.

Description[edit]

The JKO Reservoir covers 106 acres (43 ha) and holds over 1,000,000,000 US gallons (3,800,000 m3) of water.[1] Though no longer used to distribute New York City's water supply, it provides water for the Pool[2] and the Harlem Meer. It is a popular place of interest; there is a 1.58-mile (2.54 km)[3] jogging track around it and it is also encircled by the park's bridle trail. It is often visited by tourists, especially when its double pink "Yoshino" cherries (Prunus x yedoensis),[4] followed by Prunus serrulata "Kanzan" cherries, are blooming. The rhododendrons along the "Rhododendron Mile" were a gift to the city from Mrs Russell Sage, in 1909. It is one of the main ecological sanctuaries in the Park, housing more than 20 species: aside from the familiar mallards and Canada geese, there may also be seen coots, loons, raccoons, cormorants, wood ducks, grebes, herons and egrets, both in migration and overwintering, making it a favorite venue for birdwatchers.[5]

Fountain

History[edit]

The Reservoir was built between 1858 and 1862, to the design for Central Park of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux,[1] who designed its two pumphouses of Manhattan schist with granite facings. It was never a collecting reservoir; it was used to receive water from the Croton Aqueduct and distribute it to Manhattan.[6] After 131 years of service, it was decommissioned in 1993, after it was deemed obsolete because of a new main under 79th Street that connected with the Third Water Tunnel and because of growing concerns that it could become contaminated.[7] It was renamed in honor of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1994 to commemorate her contributions to the city, because she enjoyed jogging in the area,[8] which lay beneath the windows of her Fifth Avenue apartment.

Panorama of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir at Central Park looking North
Panorama of the reservoir looking South

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Central Park Reservoir - CentralPark.com". 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
  2. ^ The Pool is in a hollow at 103rd Street near Central Park West; its outflow feeds the Meer.
  3. ^ Mileage given as 1.58
  4. ^ Some of the oldest trees remain from the original gift from the government of Japan in 1912; the earliest plantings of Prunus x yedoensis in the US were made in 1902.
  5. ^ "The Reservoir in Central Park". Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
  6. ^ "Central Park Reservoir". Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
  7. ^ Roberts, Sam (1993-08-28). "131-Year-Old Reservoir Is Deemed Obsolete". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
  8. ^ Kifner, John (1994-07-23). "Central Park Honor for Jacqueline Onassis". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 

External links[edit]
Reservoirs
(Croton Watershed)
Reservoirs
(Catskill/Delaware Watershed)
Controlled Lakes
Waterways
Aqueducts
Storage Reservoirs
Distribution Tunnels
Features of Central Park
Features
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