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| The Harlem Meer's natural shoreline is surrounded by oak, bald cypress, beech, and ginkgo trees |
Olmsted and Vaux called this 11-acre man-made water body the Meer (Dutch for lake) in recognition of the former swampland in nearby Harlem, the 17th-century community established in this area by New York's first European immigrants. The Meer and the wooded landscape that surround it were constructed after the lower Park had been completed. Today it is a thriving habitat for wildlife and home to several fish and turtle species, and both year-round and seasonal migrant species of waterfowl.
A 1940s reconstruction changed the existing soft grassy shoreline to a concrete and fenced edge. In1993, the Meer's shoreline was returned to Olmsted's original vision, with the addition of a miniature sandy beach. A cove in the southeast corner of the Meer has steps going down to the water's edge. Here visitors can sit surrounded by native plants — roses, hydrangeas, pickerel weed, and irises — that spill down the slope and to the water's edge. Surrounding the Meer are some of the Park's most impressive trees: oak, bald cypress, beech, and ginkgo.
The Meer and its landscapes offer a wide variety of family-related activities: catch-and-release fishing; two playgrounds with water features; education and community programs, seasonal exhibits, and holiday celebrations at The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center; the nearby Conservatory Garden; and Lasker Rink for ice-skating in winter and swimming in summer; and the popular Harlem Meer Performance Festival.
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