Heritage Management: New York's Central Park obelisk

Ground Report (Paul Sterne)

Here's one I missed from October - a call for the obelisk of Tuthmosis III on New York's Central Park to be moved to the safer and more appropriate environment of the Met.

The obelisk was gifted to the United States in 1879 by the Khedive of Egypt as a gesture of friendship and to promote trade. It was brought to America by William Henry Vanderbilt, the richest man in the world at that time. It is not clear who owns the obelisk -- the Federal Government, the City of New York or the Central Park Conservatory.

Sited a block away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a hill next to Central Park Drive, this magnificent artifact is rarely visited. In comparison to the Met, which is mobbed in good weather and bad, the obelisk stands largely unnoticed by the joggers and bikers rounding the park. It is very difficult for a visitor to the Met to exit the museum and view the obelisk. More concerning, the obelisk has been and continues to be damaged by New York City’s harsh weather and the corrosive effects of its pollution.