Davis Center
106-51 East Drive | also 1000 5th Avenue | Central Park | built 2025
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1962
Parks announces a pool and rink for Central Park's north end, funded partly by Albert Lasker
In 1962 the Parks Department announced a $1.8 million swimming pool and skating rink, later known as Lasker Rink and the predecessor of the Davis Center on this site. It was to stand above the mouth of the Loch, at the southwest corner of the Harlem Meer. The facility honored Loula Davis Lasker (1886-1961), and her brother Albert Lasker donated $600,000. The work shrank the Meer from 10.6 to 8.1 acres, and the lake was temporarily drained for construction.
“In 1962, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced plans to build a swimming pool and ice skating rink in this area…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1966
Lasker Rink and pool open at the north end of the park
The Loula D. Lasker Memorial Swimming Pool and Skating Rink, designed by Fordyce & Hamby Associates, opens on December 22, 1966, at the northern edge of the park near Harlem Meer. The city first plans the facility in 1962 at a cost of $1.8 million, and Loula Davis Lasker's name goes on it along with a $600,000 donation toward construction. Building it shrinks the Meer from 10.6 to 8.1 acres, and the rink and pool operate until 2021.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1987
The Trump Organization wins the concession to run Lasker Rink
In 1986 Donald Trump offered Mayor Ed Koch to rebuild Wollman Rink at no cost in return for a franchise, and he agreed to take a concession for Lasker Rink, the predecessor of the Davis Center, as well. The Trump Organization won the concessions in 1987. It kept them until 1995, when M&T Pretzel outbid it for a six-year contract.
“As part of the agreement to keep operating Wollman Rink, Trump agreed to also take a concession for Lasker Rink, and the Trump Organization won concessions for the rinks in 1987.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2015
Faulty drainage forces an emergency closure of Lasker Rink
In November 2015, a few weeks into the skating season, poor drainage forced an emergency closure of Lasker Rink, the Davis Center's predecessor on the site. At first it was expected to stay shut for the rest of the season, but repairs went faster than planned and the rink reopened two weeks after it closed.
“In November 2015, a few weeks after the start of the 2015–2016 skating season, faulty drainage forced an emergency closure of the rink…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2018
A $150 million plan to replace Lasker Rink is announced
A $150 million project to replace Lasker Rink was officially announced in 2018. The rink was prone to flooding and sat empty for several months each year, when it could be used as neither pool nor rink. Neighbors worried that it might close and that the Central Park Conservancy was more involved in projects near the wealthier southern end of the park. By late 2024 the cost had risen to $160 million, with the Conservancy providing $100 million.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2021
Mayor de Blasio announces the city will cut its contracts with the Trump Organization, including Lasker Rink
On January 13, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would end every contract it held with the Trump Organization, citing Trump's involvement in the storming of the U.S. Capitol the week before. The cancellation covered Wollman Rink, Lasker Rink (the Davis Center's predecessor on the site) and the Central Park Carousel. The city later let the rinks stay open to the end of the season, and the concession expired on April 30, 2021.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2021
Crews break ground on the Davis Center after Lasker Rink closes
Lasker Rink and its pool close after their last season in 2021, and construction on the Davis Center begins that September. By late 2024 the cost of the replacement has risen to $160 million, of which the Central Park Conservancy provides $100 million and the city the rest. Christopher Nolan is the landscape architect, John Doherty the executive architect and Susan T. Rodriguez the design architect.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2025
The new Davis Center is built into a slope, with a green roof and Adirondack stone
Christopher Nolan was the landscape architect, John Doherty the executive architect and Susan T. Rodriguez the design architect of the Davis Center, a 34,000-square-foot building designed to LEED Gold standards and reusing materials from the old rink. Its facade is Adirondack stone, and its green roof has a skylight and a walkway that links to the boardwalk. The Gottesman Pool, an oval of 120 by 285 feet, sits at a lower level than the old pool and can be converted to a rink in winter.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2025
The Davis Center opens beside the Harlem Meer
The Central Park Conservancy opens the 34,000-square-foot Davis Center on April 26, 2025. Its facade is Adirondack Mountains stone, its ceiling has Douglas fir beams, and a green roof sits above. The oval Gottesman Pool, 120 by 285 feet, opens that June and converts to a rink in winter. Unlike Lasker Rink, which the city leased to private operators, the Conservancy runs the new center directly.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Davis CenterWikipedia
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