The oldest man-made object in Central Park, and the only thing in this city using bronze crab claws as supports, is in need of a wash down. The Obelisk, also known as Cleopatra's Needle, will be cleaned during a conservation project, the Central Park Conservancy announced today.



Photo by Scott Lynch

Stabilization and cleaning of the 3,500-year-old Obelisk, situated right behind the Met, starts this week, and is part of an effort to "promote its long term preservation and enhance the public’s understanding of the ancient artifact." Working with the Met and the Parks Department, the Conservancy will kick things off with a cleaning... with LASERS, which they found to be "most sensitive to the stone’s surface and safest for the environment." The laser's infrared light will vaporize the dirt, which has been accumulating throughout the years.



The NY Times, from February 23, 1881

From the Conservancy's announcement today, a little bit of history on the towering structure—the NY Times noted upon its arrival here in 1880: "There is almost nothing tangible that is older than the obelisk. There is nothing much younger than New York. The extremes have met." And New Yorkers were eager to see it—when it was on the ship docked at West 23rd street, the Times noted the rush of visitors, calling it Obelisk Mania.

"The Central Park Obelisk is one of two obelisks created approximately 3,500 years ago to honor Pharaoh Thutmose lll. They were installed outside Temple of the Sun in the city of Heliopolis, north of modern day Cairo. The monuments eventually fell and were partially buried in sand near the Nile River; over time, water and salts penetrated the granite. A salt residue on the obelisks’ surfaces caused cracking and the erosion of some of the monuments’ hieroglyphs.

Getting packed up for the U.S. in 1880

"In 12 BCE , Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus discovered the obelisks and brought them to Alexandria. In the late 19th century, the Egyptian government gave one obelisk to England and the other to the United States to further diplomatic relations. Transporting the Obelisk from Egypt to New York City was a huge feat of engineering that required the construction of a special railroad from the banks of the Hudson River into Central Park; moving the Obelisk that distance alone took 40 days. Finally, in 1881, the Obelisk was erected in Central Park."

But what about the TIME CAPSULE? According to this report from September 1880, the Postmaster General buried one under the Obelisk right before it was put in to place.

We'll be contacting the CPC about this so stay tuned for an update.