Columbus Circle

On our list of the best activities in New York.

The circle traces back to Frederick Law Olmsted's plan for Central Park, where it first served as a turnabout for horse-drawn carriages at the park's southwest corner. Its name came later, after Italian immigrants raised funds through the newspaper Il Progresso and donated their own labor to erect a marble statue of Christopher Columbus, dedicated in 1892 on the 400th anniversary of his voyage. Sculptor Gaetano Russo carved the figure from Carrara marble and set it atop a granite column ringed with bronze replicas of the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, plus a winged figure poring over a globe. Fountains were added in 1965, and the monument itself was restored in 1992.