# What are these things in Central Park **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140 "2007-03-08T18:52:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/21 "2007-03-08T20:50:11Z")
What I’m curious about is if specific information can be gained about any of these pictures with respect to when they were taken. A lot can, of course, be inferred by what we see. Multiple softball games, so you’d think maybe September or so. The green grass and tree foilage supports something after summer but before fall. Ducks on the Turtle Pond, so not beginning to migrate yet. Fairly short shadows that point westward, so probably it’s mid-morning, maybe about 10:30 or 11:00. From the number of sunbathers and ball games, maybe it’s a Saturday or Sunday. I’m going with Sunday, September 17, 2006 @10:45 am. 😃 It’d be interesting to find out how close we could get provided, again, that a definitive answer is available somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/22 "2007-03-08T21:00:52Z")
Lieu- depending upon preprocessing, it’s probably embedded in the image somewhere, especially on the database side. Google would want to have some idea of the age of the photos, and the original picture taker certainly has timestamps on the files. It’s probable that Google is reprocessing the images for display at various resolutions and therefore hiding that info from the general public. Sometimes this kind of stuff can be derived from headers even after processing. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/23 "2007-03-08T21:10:19Z")
[QUOTE=stolichnaya] Here in Chi-town we sometimes play with giant 16 inch balls, that limits the flight and changes the game in all sorts of fun ways. [/QUOTE] These balls didn’t look any bigger than the regular 12" balls. Also, isn’t Chicago 16" softball usually played without gloves? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/24 "2007-03-08T21:16:03Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] BTW, isn’t Central Park huuuge? 🙂 [/QUOTE] Isn’t it great! I think it’s so cool it’s been preserved. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/25 "2007-03-08T21:16:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sigene] Doesn’t anyone else think it is REALLY cool that the resolution is so good you can make out individual people on the fields as well as the bases? [/QUOTE] - Click on “Link to this page” - Find z=17 in the URL - Replace “17” with “20” - Scroll around the map, especially towards the southern end of Manhattan Island. _THAT_ is cool. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/26 "2007-03-08T21:46:13Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] BTW, isn’t Central Park huuuge? 🙂 [/QUOTE] It is but there are comparable parks in your neck of the woods. Hampstead Heath is almost Central Park size and Richmond Park is three times the size. ---
**Author:** ![Spiral\_Stairs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Spiral\_Stairs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiral_Stairs)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/27 "2007-03-08T21:57:44Z")
I’ve seen fast pitch softball played on [these fields](http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&z=18&ll=40.770162,-73.977106&spn=0.002251,0.004839), a little south of the ones in the OP. Fast pitch softball is scary as hell. I miss Central Park more than anything else about New York. Without it, New York would be a dreary, dreary place. With it, every resident gets the most amazing back yard in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/28 "2007-03-08T22:12:49Z")
I’ve read through the posts and I don’t think anyone has mentioned that the brown area is the infield. You can see the bases. The dirt makes for a more even playing field than grass. The outfields are the grass areas and quite often overlap each other in park settings. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/29 "2007-03-08T22:16:56Z")
[QUOTE=Spiral Stairs] Fast pitch softball is scary as hell [/QUOTE] Agreed. There is definitely something frightening about knowing the 13-year-old girl across the street (okay, she’s over 30 by now) can sling something at you at 75 MPH, with pinpoint accuracy. (She may have been considered “exceptional” as to her pitching ability, but … dayum!) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/30 "2007-03-08T22:42:16Z")
[QUOTE=Spiral Stairs] Fast pitch softball is scary as hell. [/QUOTE] No kidding. I always have students who are on the softball team, so I get to see the games often. I’d rather stand at the plate with Randy Johnson on the mound than face one of those high school softball pitchers. That fall travels fast, and they are 20’ closer to the plate. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/31 "2007-03-08T22:48:10Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] These balls didn’t look any bigger than the regular 12" balls. Also, isn’t Chicago 16" softball usually played without gloves? [/QUOTE] Yes, mostly. But some of those April days are chilly… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/32 "2007-03-08T23:45:10Z")
Here’s a better question: If you move the map to the southwest, where the inset map says “The Lake”…what the heck is that white stuff? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/33 "2007-03-08T23:54:44Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Here’s a better question: If you move the map to the southwest, where the inset map says “The Lake”…what the heck is that white stuff? [/QUOTE] I think it’s sunlight/cloud reflection. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/34 "2007-03-09T00:18:43Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Here’s a better question: If you move the map to the southwest, where the inset map says “The Lake”…what the heck is that white stuff? [/QUOTE] It might be reflected clouds, but it does not have that sort of appearance to me. It looks a little bit like mid-Spring floe ice breaking up, but the white follows the contours of the lake while most summer/winter views on aerial mapping photographs follow the straight lines of film frames. Alternatively, it could be stones at the bottom of that section of the pond during a draw-down. However, when I compare shore lines with [local.live.com](http://local.live.com) photos, the shores with stones appear to be the same as those with clearly higher water. I’m wondering if that section of the park was photographed in mid-April with enough trees in early greenery to make it summery looking while that portion of the pond did not have enough flowing water to flush out the ice, yet. (Is that a pipeline running just beneath the surface across the Onassis Reservoir?) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/35 "2007-03-09T00:32:29Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] (Is that a pipeline running just beneath the surface across the Onassis Reservoir?) [/QUOTE] That’s what it looks like to me. ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/36 "2007-03-09T01:57:08Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] That’s what it looks like to me. [/QUOTE] Hehe…I thought it was a tunnel for people too lazy to walk around the pond. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/37 "2007-03-09T03:27:45Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] (Is that a pipeline running just beneath the surface across the Onassis Reservoir?) [/QUOTE] Nope! It’s a wall. [The Central Park Reservoir](http://www.centralpark2000.com/database/reservoir.html) > [@](#): > > A low stone wall running from the Southeast Gatehouse to the Northwest Gatehouse bisects the Reservoir allowing the closing of one section or another for cleaning. [The South Gatehouse](http://www.centralpark2000.com/database/south_gatehouse.html) > [@](#): > > On the Central Park Reservoir rim are two fortress-like stone gatehouses, one on the south and the other on the north. Built as stations for monitoring the amount and quality of the water, the south gatehouse, the larger of the two buildings is still minimally staffed. > The stone divide passing from one to the other enables one section to be isolated from the other for maintenance purposes. Given that the reservoir is forty feet deep, I wonder if it is a very high wall or whether the forty foot depth is in some isolated portion of the reservoir. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/38 "2007-03-09T03:51:54Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Nope! It’s a wall. [The Central Park Reservoir](http://www.centralpark2000.com/database/reservoir.html) [The South Gatehouse](http://www.centralpark2000.com/database/south_gatehouse.html) Given that the reservoir is forty feet deep, I wonder if it is a very high wall or whether the forty foot depth is in some isolated portion of the reservoir. [/QUOTE] I’ve been trying to google for a contour map or a pic of the reservoir emptied or something, but can’t find anything. I had a promising lead when I caught a line about “the Hooverville in the empty reservoir in Central Park”, but further research uncovered that it was the OLD reservoir, which was filled in to become the Great Lawn, just south of the current res. So I got nothin’…except there are pics of the wall, and the top of it is literally [inches](http://www.lightningfield.com/log4/0912b.jpg) [above](http://www.lightningfield.com/log4/0912c.jpg) the water surface, when it’s above it at all. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/39 "2007-03-09T04:02:02Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] No kidding. I always have students who are on the softball team, so I get to see the games often. I’d rather stand at the plate with Randy Johnson on the mound than face one of those high school softball pitchers. That fall travels fast, and they are 20’ closer to the plate. [/QUOTE] I played fast-pitch as a kid/teen. When my parents had me join the church softball team, I didn’t realize that when they said slow-pitch, they meant it. I literally swung twice before the ball got near me. I achieved this by swinging before it was released, as done in fast-pitch, and again when I saw he was actually about to let go of it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140/40 "2007-03-09T14:12:34Z")
[QUOTE=MrFloppy] It is but there are comparable parks in your neck of the woods. Hampstead Heath is almost Central Park size and Richmond Park is three times the size. [/QUOTE] True, but they’re not slap in the centre of London. Central Park couldn’t be any more, um, central! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-things-in-central-park/395140.md?page=1)