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17 past moments from Merseyside park that inspired New York - Liverpool Echo
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17 past moments from Merseyside park that inspired New York

These images have been unseen for years

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    • The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park, Merseyside. Pictured, Shergar munches grass as his handler Emma Parry (8) has a picnic with friends at the show. 16th May 1992. [The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park, Merseyside. Pictured, Shergar munches grass as his handler Emma Parry (8) has a picnic with friends at the show. 16th May 1992.]
    The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park. Shergar munches grass as his handler Emma Parry (eight) has a picnic with friends at the show. May 16, 1992

    It's now been almost 180 years since Birkenhead Park officially opened to the public - and went on to inspire the world-famous Central Park in New York City. The first park to be created by a municipal authority, it was planned as a public health response to a rise in illness and disease as the industrial revolution gathered pace.

    Young farmer Frederick Law Olmsted visited the region three years later while travelling from his home in Connecticut, USA. Stumbling upon the 125-acre green space, Olmsted was impressed with its English landscape design, carefully constructed follies and the fact it was accessible to everyone regardless of social class, age or colour, the ECHO previously reported.

    In 1858, and now a landscape architect, he used what he had seen on his visit to Birkenhead Park as inspiration to create Central Park. Today, Birkenhead Park is now a conservation area and a Grade I-listed landscape and continues to welcome thousands upon thousands of visitors every year.

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    More recently, the connection and Birkenhead Park's World Heritage bid were the subject of talks between Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and senior officials in New York as he led a 'trade mission' to the United States. The ECHO has since delved into the archives to rediscover these photographs - unseen for years - of Birkenhead Park as it looked in the 80s and 90s.

    A number of images capture the Birkenhead Park Fun Day and The Shetland Pony Show in 1992, whereas other show what the park looked like and the people who visited at different moments in time. See more in our gallery below.

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    Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.

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    1. Birkenhead Park Fun Day. Birkenhead, Merseyside. Pictured, youngsters enjoys a race on the quad bike circuit. 27th May 1992. [Birkenhead Park Fun Day. Birkenhead, Merseyside. Pictured, youngsters enjoys a race on the quad bike circuit. 27th May 1992.]

      Birkenhead Park Fun Day. Pictured, youngsters enjoy a race on the quad bike circuit. May 27, 1992

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    2. The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park, Merseyside. 16th May 1992. [The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park, Merseyside. 16th May 1992.]

      The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park. May 16, 1992

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    3. The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park, Merseyside. 16th May 1992. [The Shetland Pony Show at Birkenhead Park, Merseyside. 16th May 1992.]

      The Shetland Pony Show, Birkenhead Park. May 1992

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    4. The Pavilion at Birkenhead Park as it celebrates 150 years. Celebrations begin on the 5th April and continue though to November. 1st April 1997. [The Pavilion at Birkenhead Park as it celebrates 150 years. Celebrations begin on the 5th April and continue though to November. 1st April 1997.]

      The Pavilion at Birkenhead Park as it celebrates 150 years. April 1, 1997

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    5. Sitting ducks on the green lake of Birkenhead Park, no water is visible on the weed covered lake. 26th September 1989. [Sitting ducks on the green lake of Birkenhead Park, no water is visible on the weed covered lake. 26th September 1989.]

      Sitting ducks on the green lake of Birkenhead Park. September 26, 1989

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