Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre

79-01 West Drive | also 1000 5th Avenue | Central Park | built 1876

Open on the map5 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1877

    Olmsted brings Sweden's Centennial Exposition cottage to Central Park

    Sweden shipped this cottage to Philadelphia in 1876 as its exhibit for the Centennial Exposition. Frederick Law Olmsted admired its Swedish architecture and craftsmanship and moved it to Central Park in 1877.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1912

    The cottage becomes an entomology center after stints as a shed and restrooms

    Parks officials had no clear use for the imported schoolhouse at first, turning it into a tool shed and then public restrooms, which upset the Swedish-American community that had championed the building. In 1912, after Commissioner Charles Stover funded a separate comfort station nearby, the cottage was converted into an entomology center despite newspaper objections.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1947

    A traveling marionette troupe moves into the cottage

    In 1947, a marionette theater troupe took up residence in the cottage and began touring the city's playgrounds and school auditoriums with puppet shows. That troupe grew into the CityParks PuppetMobile, described as the oldest continually operating company of its kind in the country.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 1973

    A permanent marionette theater is built inside the cottage

    From 1947 the cottage was the base of a marionette company that toured the city's playgrounds and school auditoriums. In 1973 a permanent puppet theater was built inside it, and the City Parks Foundation still stages original marionette shows there.

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 2026

    March 18

    The cottage secures $10.4 million for its first major overhaul since 1997

    City Parks Foundation announced a $10.4 million renovation of the Swedish Cottage on March 18, 2026, its first major overhaul since 1997, working with NYC Parks and the Historic House Trust. The project covers the building's historic exterior and interior, theatrical infrastructure, accessibility and mechanical systems.

    Source: centralpark.com

Further reading

Nearby

All 15 buildings with stories in Central Park