Central Park's Belvedere Castle To Close For Restorations

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Central Park's Belvedere Castle will be closed to the public Monday Feb. 26, for a year-long renovation project, the Central Park Conservancy announced.

The Central Park Conservancy — the organization that oversees day-to-day upkeep of the park — originally announced renovations for the iconic attraction in 2017. At the initial announcement, the fall of 2017 was targeted for the beginning of renovations.

Work being done on the Belvedere Castle includes:

• Restoring interior and exterior masonry;
• Restoring the existing structure while modernizing mechanical systems and utilities;
• Replacing windows, doors, interior floors and interior ceilings;
• Upgrading interior and exterior lighting;
• Restoring wood pavilions and recreating a wood tower originally part of the northwest corner pavilion.

Work to make the castle fully accessible will not be included in the upcoming restoration work, according to the conservancy. The creation of an ADA accessible entrance to the castle from the east side of the structure was touted in last year's announcement of the renovations.

The castle is expected to re-open to the public sometime in 2019, the Central Park Conservancy announced.

The Belvedere Castle has become one of Central Park's top attractions due to its great views overlooking Turtle Pond and the Great Lawn. The castle was designed in 1869 as an open-air lookout tower and was last renovated in 1983, according to the Central Park Conservancy.

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