For more than ten years PBDW worked with the Central Park Conservancy to introduce amenities and new services to Central Park in a vocabulary that would complement the original architecture and sit comfortably in the landscape. Our team worked on projects of every scale, from new railings for the Carousel and information kiosks at principal entrances, to freestanding buildings, all with the goal of reflecting Olmsted’s original vision.

We renovated the Loeb Boathouse from a snack bar to an elegant lakeside restaurant, and we built the Ballfield Cafe on the site of the original ballplayers house designed by Vaux. At the southern end of the Park we designed and executed the restoration of the Pulitzer Fountain and the renovation of Grand Army Plaza, one of the most important public spaces in New York. As part of the program of revitalization, a restaurant and an innovative environmental education facility were proposed for Harlem Meer, in the park’s northeast corner, inserting contemporary park uses into the venerated landscape. Careful management of borrowed forms, patterns, and materials brought off a close interpretation of “cottage” architecture at a larger size. The visitor’s center was built as the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center and has become the anchor for visitors to the north end of the Park.

AIA New York State Design Award, Charles A. Dana Discovery Center

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Design Award, Charles A. Dana Center

AIA New York State Design Award, Ballplayers Refreshment Stand

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Design Award, Ballplayers Refreshment Stand