"JOE: I'm near the boathouse in the park.
HANNAH: What park?
JOE: Central Park.
HANNAH: CENTRAL PARK! Oh my Lord. What on earth are you doing in Central Park at this time of night? Are you...
JOE: I come here to watch, Mom. Sometimes. Just to watch.
HANNAH: Watch what?"

(pt. 1, act 2, scene 8)

With their 1858 landscaping plan under construction, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux began adding architectural features to their Park design. Around 1874, Vaux designed a two-story boathouse at the eastern end of the Lake. Visitors could purchase refreshments, take boat rides, and watch other boats. When this wooden Victorian structure with sloping mansard roof burned down, the current Loeb Boathouse took its place in the 1950s.

Visitors can enjoy a meal in any season, with overhead heating helping to extend as long as possible the pleasure of dining on the deck overlooking the Lake. More informal snacks are available on the outside terrace across from the bicycle rental concession. Yb you can also rent rowboats or take a ride in an authentic Venetian gondola.

To the west of the Boathouse entrance at the entrance to the Ramble is a small, wire-fenced area where Conservancy staff and volunteers are experimenting with growing wildflowers that attract butterflies. To date, 26 species of butterfly have been spotted. July and August are the best times for butterfly-watching.

Visitors also come to the Boathouse to record their observations of birds and other Park wildlife in the "Bird Register." This 2-inch loose-leaf notebook kept in the Boathouse documents the incredible compendium of wildlife in the Park. Birders record birds seen or heard or document a small wildlife drama witnessed in one of the Park's landscapes.

Most Central Park birders make entries in fact there is at least one entry for every day in 1998. On December 12, 1998, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn wrote, "Enjoyed [the book] Red-Tails in Love we've been birdwatchers for the past 10 years in about 15 nations and in a number of states. Glad to know the red-tails were seen yesterday. Have about 750 birds on our list. Hope to come back to Central Park and will." Birding aficionados report that 750 birds is an exceptional number!

Some entries provide surprising information to birders. For example, the sighting of two snow geese at the Harlem Meer is rare in this area. And a growing number and variety of red-headed woodpeckers are being spotted on the west side of the Great Lawn. Some birds inspire nicknames, such as L.E.O., the long eared owl that has returned the last four years to a Norway Spruce at Cedar Hill, and Pale Male of Marie Winn's Red-Tails in Love.

Visitors should feel free to enter their observations and be part of this Central Park tradition.