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If your idea of a good park is larger and more organized events being held, then sure (though GGP has a good list of yearly activities). If your opinions aren't strongly weighted towards those events though, I don't see how they are supposed to be in a separate league.
actualy golden gate park is larger.
and both of them were designed by the exact same man!
they are so different but simillar at the same time... definitely the same league... although i think presidio beats both of them!
Central Park by a landslide for me. GG park is sketchy as all hell. Tons of upper haight street kids living in the woods, smoking pot and harassing those that just wish to go for a stroll. GG also lacks the mystique that CP has. Nothing to me is more magical than CP. Whether jogging around the reservoir,walking in from the west 60s and seeing midtown sparkling beneath you or throwing a football around on the great lawn on a hot august afternoon, CP invokes a certain feeling that is really unmatched by GG park.
CP is also a center of cultural activities. Shakespeare in the park, The Met, CP zoo, museuam of natural hist borders CP on CPW and W 81st. There are constantly concerts, performers. You'll even run into impromptu deep house sessions and 70 random people dancing and rollerblading around to the groovy basslines. all ethnicities, smiling, dancing. It warms the heart. GG park just doesnt compete at this level. Plus, in NY, you really NEED CP. It is a refuge in the middle of an enormous city. The neighborhoods that surround CP are also much more dense and vibrant that surround CP. From midtown, the upper west and east sides respectively, lincoln center, harlem. Amazing.
Yes, the neighborhoods are denser around CP than GGP, but upper haight and several other sections that border GGP are also very, very urban compared to any other city in the country
Location: NY-NJ-Philly looks down at SF and laughs at the hippies
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I wanted this thread discussed more in depth. I have visited both parks and give a huge edge to Central Park. Golden Gate Park is nice but is quite honestly completely out of their league on this one.
First, Central Park was created in 1837 and Golden Gate Park was created in 1870s. I am posting their dates created because it looks to me as if GGP copied the model from CP. Does anyone else notice this? You guys can't come up with your own model for a park so you go out and copy CP?
Second, Central Park is of high quality and has a good vibe. GGP was very unapealing with the amount of homeless hanging out. Also, the amount of normal citizens lurking under trees with long hair and playing hackie sack was odd. They looked as if they were the "Save the Earth" police and I couldn't stop myself from shouting out "get a job!". I visited hippie hill too and it was not fun because it lived up to it's name, the organic granola was flowing fluently. The other features I saw were Rainbow Falls, The Conservatory of Flowers and Strawberry Hill. Overall, GGP is a fun park but not on the level of CP, the hippie spirit lives on throughout GGP.
Last edited by Gateway Region; 08-14-2011 at 12:24 AM..
I used to live near Golden Gate Park. I would say that Central Park is way better than Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate Park has the cooler name though. The Golden Gate Bridge is by far the coolest bridge in the country. I miss it very much. I have to say though, New York City is a much better city then San Francisco. San Francisco is a pretty good city overall but it can't come close to beating New York. Maybe that is a big reason why I like Central Park better than Golden Gate Park because I like NYC way better than SF. Also, let me add that I think that the Bay to Breakers event is pretty cool.
It's hard to beat Central Park (worldwide, not just GGP)... the views surrounded by some of the nicest areas of NYC are hard to beat. It is far more polished and better landscaped, not to mention it is lined with most of the best museums in the city. GGP might be a similar size, but outside of that I don't think they compare that much.
I think SF has better "nature" in the immediate area than NYC, that is no question and GGP has a more unmanicured feel to it...but as far as landscaped "city parks" go... Central Park has this pretty easily. If one wanted "great nature and views" in a park, there are many better places around SF area for that.
Central Park used to have some vagrants and such (not homeless that much, but just some "wildings" generally at night), but that hasn't been the case for well over a decade. GGP still has quite a few vagrants any time of day that take away from the experience. I care about the homeless and city issues, but when I want to go have a picnic under a tree or something, I don't really want some guy sleeping in a bush to come stumbling out.
Central Park, its just more inline with the city, and it is awesome during the winter, not ugly and brown.
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