Cleopatra’s Needle

Ancient Egypt
Monument
Ruins

10 obelisque de cleopatre new york 1 poi grand

Romane

Published on 19/03/2025

This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit New York, A Stroll in Central Park

This nearly 21-metre-high obelisk was installed in Central Park in 1881, in the presence of some 10,000 people who had come to see this historic object erected in New York’s most beloved park. The Egyptian government gifted it to the United States in 1879. It was shipped to New York by boat, and it took four months and the construction of a railway to transport it from the Hudson River to Central Park! It’s a real historical landmark, admired by the millions of people who visit the park each year. Erected some 3,500 years ago in Egypt at the behest of Pharaoh Thutmosis III, it was one of two obelisks that adorned the entrance to the Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis. It appears they stood there for over 1,500 years, before being toppled by the Persians in 525 BC. Roman Emperor Augustus discovered them 500 years later, buried underground, and used them to support the Caesarium, a temple designed by Cleopatra – hence the obelisk’s current name. One was donated by Egypt to London and the second was brought here after a five-month journey. It was decided to place the obelisk here, in the heart of Central Park, rather than on a square in Manhattan, so that it would stand out and not be overshadowed by the city’s skyscrapers. Today, it stands proudly opposite the Met, one of the world’s greatest art museums.