Having been built almost 3,500 years ago, the obelisk called Cleopatra’s Needle is certainly the oldest monument in Central Park,.

It is also the most spectacular and a favorite subject for camera buffs throughout the year.

Originally, it was one of two obelisks that were carved from pink granite in Aswan, Egypt, and erected for Pharaoh Thutmose III outside the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, near Cairo today.  During the reign of Augustus Caesar, the Romans discovered the pair toppled and partly buried in sand, and moved them to Alexandria where they were erected in front of a temple dedicated to Julius Caesar. Since the temple was originally built by Cleopatra, many think that this is the reason the obelisk is now called Cleopatra’s Needle. 

Shortly after the building of the Suez Canal, Cleopatra’s Needle was given to the United States. (Its twin was given to Great Britain and is in London today.) The effort to move Cleopatra’s Needle from Alexandria to New York City included special construction on the boat just to load the 220-ton Obelisk and a one-month journey at sea. 

It took another five months to move the Obelisk from its arrival dock on the Hudson River across town to its present location in Central Park in 1881. 

It was an immediate favorite attraction in Central Park, outside the Metropolitan Museum.

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