Standing between the Great Lawn and the Met Museum, the Obelisk is the oldest outdoor monument in NYC. In the 1870s, the Egyptian government gave one obelisk to England, and the second obelisk was gifted to the United States by the Khedive Ismail Pasha in commemoration of the opening of the Suez Canal.

The Egyptian obelisk in Central Park, nicknamed "Cleopatra’s Needle," was a gift from the Khedive of Egypt to the United States in the late 19th century. It was given as a gesture of gratitude to mark the opening of the Suez Canal and to foster closer diplomatic and economic ties between the two nations (specifically in exchange for foreign aid to help modernize Egypt). The 200-ton pink granite monolith was originally commissioned by Pharaoh Thutmose III around 1450 B.C. for the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis. Moving it to New York in 1880 was a massive engineering feat that involved a custom-built ship and a complex "rolling" system to move it through the streets of Manhattan. It was officially erected behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in January 1881. Its "twin" was sent to London and stands on the Victoria Embankment, while a third "cousin" stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

That’s an excellent question! The Egyptian obelisk in New York’s Central Park is known as Cleopatra’s Needle, and its story involves a blend of diplomacy, archaeology, and 19th-century fascination with ancient Egypt.

Here’s why it’s there:

1. It Was a Gift from Egypt

• In the 1870s, the Khedive (ruler) of Egypt, Isma’il Pasha, offered an obelisk to the United States as a gesture of goodwill and to cultivate economic and political ties. This was part of a trend where Egypt gifted obelisks to powerful Western nations (London and Paris received theirs earlier).
• The American offer was championed by William H. Hurlbert, a journalist for the New York World, who saw it as a symbol of New York’s growing global status.

2. Its Historical Significance

• Despite its nickname, the obelisk has nothing to do with Cleopatra VII. It is far older, dating from the reign of Thutmose III (c. 1450 BCE). It was originally erected in the city of Heliopolis.
• Centuries later, around 12 BCE, the Roman Emperor Augustus had it moved to Alexandria to adorn the Caesareum, a temple dedicated to Julius Caesar. It was there that it acquired the “Cleopatra’s Needle” moniker.
• Its sides are inscribed with hieroglyphs praising Thutmose III and Ramesses II.

3. The Monumental Engineering Feat of Moving It

• Transporting a 69-foot (21-meter), 220-ton granite monolith from Alexandria to New York in the 1870s was a massive undertaking.
• A wealthy railroad magnate, William Henry Vanderbilt, privately funded the project (costing over $100,000, equivalent to millions today).
• Engineer Henry Honychurch Gorringe oversaw the complex operation. The obelisk was encased in an iron cylinder, rolled to the sea, loaded onto a specially designed steamship (the SS Dessoug), sailed across the Atlantic, rolled through the streets of Manhattan, and finally erected in Central Park behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in January 1881.

4. Symbolism and “Egyptomania”