Lush landscapes that had deteriorated through much of the 20th century are making a striking  comeback at the heart of Central Park, thanks to an ambitious restoration effort by the Central Park Conservancy.

The Conservancy is roughly halfway through a comprehensive project launched in late 2006 to restore the crumbling shoreline and surrounding landscapes of the Lake. Located mid-Park between 71st and 79th Streets, the 17.5-acre lake is the last — and largest — of Central Park’s five man-made, naturalist water bodies to be restored.

The project returns the scenic character of a major Park destination that is surrounded by some of its best-known landmarks and vistas. 

Over the past two years, the shoreline and surrounding landscapes have been restored at the Ramble, and Bethesda Terrace. The Point — the landscape jutting just across from Bethesda — was completed within just last several weeks.

Perhaps the best symbol of the project’s mission to reclaim these battered landscapes is the complete reconstruction of the Island, a small mass of land just west of Bow Bridge that had largely eroded and disappeared from view.

The Lake’s restoration gives visitors beautiful landscapes to admire on their strolls in the Park, but the project’s importance quite literally goes much deeper than aesthetics and landscape plantings.

With construction crews rebuilding the landscape and shoreline from beneath, the project ensures the Lake’s future health and preserves its significance as a wildlife habitat. Workers reclaimed silted coves and increased water depth by removing sediment — a move that greatly improves water quality. By replacing boulders and establish diverse plantings on an engineered edge, the Conservancy has stabilized the shoreline that had long been crumbling and slowly shrinking the Lake.

Supporting a more diverse wildlife habitat is also good news for the thousands of birders who come from across the globe each year to marvel at the 240 species that flock to Central Park. 

Next up for the project, the Conservancy will focus in 2009 on restoration of the western shoreline, from Hernshead south to Wagner’s Cove. Future phases will include Cherry Hill and the restoration of Balcony Bridge.