Sunday night’s episode of “Secrets of America’s Favorite Places: Central Park” examines the origins of the park’s most distinctive and unusual attraction: the Egyptian obelisk that sits behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Affectionately called Cleopatra’s Needle, and commissioned by Thutmose III, it was originally erected in the ancient city of Heliopolis in 1450 B.C. before finding its way to Caesareum, a temple in Alexandria.
Railroad magnate William Vanderbilt financed the shipping of the 238-ton obelisk from Egypt to New York. Transporting the 68-foot shaft of stone from the East River into the park — part of which took place via steam engine — took 112 days. It finally arrived on July 20, 1880, and was opened to the public in October of that year.
The hieroglyphics adorning the obelisk date from the time of two pharaohs — Thutmose III (1479-1425 B.C.) and Ramesses II the Great (1279-1213 B.C.) — and pay tribute to their reign.
“Secrets of America’s Favorite Places: Central Park” airs 6 p.m. Sunday on Discovery Family Channel.