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Flashback: Horse Drawn Sleighs in Central Park
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 3, 2010
Modified Jan 3, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 3, 2010
Modified Jan 3, 2010
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There's much controversy over the future of the city's carriage horse industry — and now Ephemeral NY takes a look back to when there were horse drawn sleighs all over a snowy Central Park. It certainly romanticizes what many believe to be a cruel industry. And check out this December 1898 video showing just how popular those horse-drawn sleighs were! Back in February of 1876, the NY Times reported over 10,000 sleighs passing through the park in one day.
The Central Park blogger recently recalled the days when the sleighs were active, noting: "For most of the latter half of the 19th century, right up until its demolition in 1915, the McGown’s Pass Tavern awarded a magnum of champagne to the first sleigh that reached it each season. The tradition was carried on with the Central Park Casino until it’s demise in 1934." The NY Times reported on the tradition back in 1910, saying that year the snow wasn't heavy enough for "good sleighing."
Tagged
carriage horses
central park
flashback
history
horse
horse drawn sleigh
race
sleigh
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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