Central Park Arsenal

Today it is home to New York City's Department of Parks and Recreation and the Central Park Zoo, but the Arsenal, one of only two buildings that pre-date the park itself, was originally built as a military supply depot for New York State's National Guard. It has served many purposes, incorporating at various points a weather bureau, a zoo (with animals from the likes of P.T. Barnum) and a police precinct. From the outside it looks like a fortress, while inside there are rotating art and photography exhibitions, as well as the original, historic "Greensward Plan" detailing Central Park.