8. Forest Park Was Designed by the Same Person Who Is Responsible for Central Park and Prospect Park

Image via Wikimedia Commons, The World’s Work 

Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted is best known as the designer of Central Park and Prospect Park, which he developed alongside architect Calvert Vaux. Today, these green spaces are some of the most popular in New York City, welcoming 25 million and 10 million visitors each year, respectively. In comparison, only 900,000 people visit Forest Park annually – partly due to its the fact that there are no nearby subway stations. In the late 19th century, when Olmsted surveyed the land to construct Forest Park, he purposely designed the space so that it would maintain its “pastoral quality.” Its inaccessibility now helps to preserve its idyllic nature.