What is true about Central Park in New York City?

Central Park in New York City covers an area of more than 340 hectares. It was the first public park built in the United States.
    In 1958, a design competition was held to find the best idea for planning this huge area in the center of New York City. The winners were two landscape designers, American Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux from Britain.
    It was not easy to create this park. It may look like a natural environment of lakes and woodlands, but it was entirely built by human labor.
    Workers moved millions of cubic meters of stone and earth to clear the area. They brought in more than 14,000 cubic meters of fertile soil from New Jersey to make it possible to grow trees and other plants.
    It took 15 years to complete the project. Central Park was a huge success and helped create a movement across the United States for creating public gardens.
    Today, the park is managed by the Central Park Conservancy under an agreement with the city of New York. The Conservancy raises about 85% of the park’s 27 million dollar yearly budget.
    THere are a few facts that help show just how big--and busy--Central Park is. It contains seven kilometers of paths for horseback riding and about 93 kilometers of walking paths. When you get tired from all that walking, there are more than 9,000 benches where you can sit down.
    here are 21 playgrounds for children as well as areas to play basketball, baseball, football and even chess. There is also a zoo. And, every summer, visitors can watch plays by William Shakespeare in an outdoor theater. About 25 million people visit Central Park each year to enjoy its many sights and activities.
    The park is also important for natural life. It contains more than 26,000 trees. And hundreds of kinds of birds have been sighted in the park which serves as a stopping area for birds as they fly to other places.