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The obelisk in Central Park, also known as Cleopatra's Needle, was formally dedicated on February 22nd, 1881 after a long trip involving ships, cannonballs, and the sharp corners put in place by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. At over 3,500 years old, it's the oldest man-made object in Central Park, the oldest outdoor monument in New York, and it has a story that includes ancient Egypt's Temple of the Sun, Cecil B. DeMille, the complete works of Shakespeare, and a journey for the ages.
It also holds not one, but two time capsules, and this week the Central Park Conservancy (CPC) confirmed with Gothamist that we'll never see what's inside of them.
The obelisk in Central Park, also known as Cleopatra's Needle, was formally dedicated on February 22nd, 1881 after a long trip involving ships, cannonballs, and the sharp corners put in place by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. At over 3,500 years old, it's the oldest man-made object in Central Park, the oldest outdoor monument in New York, and it has a story that includes ancient Egypt's Temple of the Sun, Cecil B. DeMille, the complete works of Shakespeare, and a journey for the ages.
It also holds not one, but two time capsules, and this week the Central Park Conservancy (CPC) confirmed with Gothamist that we'll never see what's inside of them.
But let's start at the beginning.
While I knew most of this, it is always good to see a piece of NYC history reviewed again for the younger folks. I am confident that there will be a way some day to figure out the contents of the mystery capsule. Maybe you could do it even now: locate the box with ground-penetrating radar (I think you could do it with radar waves at an angle?), then dig a narrow tunnel to the box under the Obelisk - you don't need to move the Obelisk, and it will not topple if you dig just a 2 ft wide tunnel under it.
I thought they just found the needle and built the park around it.
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