Central Park Encircled by water, the city that never sleeps has been forced to grow up instead of out, and the Canyons of Steel are steeper than ever, their metal spires a striking contrast against the seeming wilderness of the park. To the south sprawls the tangle of downtown Manhattan, the massive United Nations complex now rising high to rival the skyscraping Empire State building. The sloping glass wall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, repository of many of Earth's greatest art treasures, reflects the sunlit sky on the east side of the Park. Crowds throng the park no matter the weather, walking, hoverboarding, playing or simply relaxing. Wide open spaces combine with stretches of crowded pines and maples.