Sunbathers in Central Park

In the 1960s and the 1970s thousands of people were attracted to Sheep Meadow for large-scale concerts. The first landing on the moon was televised to a large crowd in the meadow on July 20, 1969. These events, and the lack of maintenance, severely eroded the lawn. Sheep Meadow was the first area in Central Park to be restored. It reopened in 1981 as a swath of green dedicated to sunbathers, picnickers, and kite flyers.