Recently unearthed evidence indicates that Central Park may have come close to not existing

Image of Second Avenue Manhattan in 1861.

According to a recent article published in the New Yorker, various white marble stone markers Randel used to plot future intersections of every street and avenue have been found in the park, revealing that the city's eight hundred and forty-three acres of beloved park space came very close to being covered with concrete and glass buildings.

1812 planning map of NYC (Image via <a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2006629796/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a>)