This 1873 Map Of Central Park Details Its Verdant Plant Life arrow Courtesy of the NYPL Since being built in the mid-19th century, Central Park has become one of the most iconic places in New York City, and is said to be the most visited urban park in the United States with an estimated 38 million visitors annually. It has appeared in hundreds of films and TV shows, it's the titular location for a cartoon musical-comedy, and of course it was immortalized as the location where the Terror Dog chased poor Louis Tully. In addition to being filled with countless statues (albeit mostly of men), monuments, sculptures and other unique geographical features, Central Park is home to more than 20,000 trees, which represent approximately 1,500 species that were planted or imported to the park over the decades.