This bronze piece by acclaimed sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910) depicts one of the Pilgrims that landed at Massachusetts's Plymouth Rock in November 1620. The monument was commissioned by the New England Society for the organization's 75th anniversary.

The monumental figure is leaning on his musket, and his hat, boots, and belt buckle evoke the dress of the period. Architect Richard Morris Hunt (1828-1895) designed the rusticated granite pedestal, which features four bas-reliefs depicting various significant aspects of the Pilgrims' landing, including the Mayflower ship and an image of a bible and sword. The piece was dedicated in 1885 in Central Park at the north side of the East 72nd Street throughway. The slope below the monument, known as Pilgrim Hill, has long been a favorite locale for sledding during the winter. In 1979, the Central Park Conservancy chose this piece as one of the first to be restored in Central Park's comprehensive program to restore its collection of statuary. The powder flasks were recast and replaced in 1999.

North side of the E. 72nd St. transverse road

Pilgrim

One of the first statues to be placed in Central Park by an American artist, John Quincy Adams Ward created this depiction of a Native American boy, with his bow-and-arrow slung over his shoulder, and his dog by his side. He chose a "noble" depiction of the boy instead of a "savage" impression, which was often common during that era. 

The Indian Hunter

This full-standing portrait of celebrated playwright and poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was made by John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910) and unveiled here on Literary Walk on May 23, 1872.

In 1864, coinciding with the tricentennial of Shakespeare's birth, a group of actors and theatrical managers, among them noted Shakepearean actor Edwin Booth (1833-1893), received permission from Central Park's Board of Commissioners to lay the cornerstone for a statue at the south end of the Mall between two elms. Nothing further was done until the end of the Civil War, and through a competition in 1866, Ward was selected as the sculptor. Later referred to as the "Dean of American Sculptors," he contributed nine sculptures to the parks of New York; among them Roscoe Conkling (1893), Alexander Holley (1888), William Earl Dodge (1885), Horace Greeley (1890), Henry Ward Beecher (1891), The Indian Hunter (1869), The Pilgrim (1885), and the Seventh Regiment Memorial (1874). The last three can be found in Central Park.
The committee raised funds through several benefits, including a performance of Julius Caesar. Jacob Wrey Mould (1825-1886) - chief architect for parks at the time, and responsible for much of the ornament and architecture in Central Park - designed the elaborate pedestal for this statue. Ward combined a classical pose with many details of Elizabethan dress, and he relied on numerous images of Shakespeare, especially a bust in Stratford. The sculpture was cast in Philadelphia in 1870, and due to delays in procuring and cutting the granite pedestal in Scotland, was unveiled on a temporary base in 1872; some commentators found the work a noble effigy, and others derided it statue as a costume piece.

William Shakespeare

Seventh Regiment Memorial in Central Park

Located at the southeast corner of Madison Square Park this forthright, bronze full-standing statue of political figure Roscoe Conkling (1829-1888) is by the distinguished artist John Quincy Adams Ward (1840-1910), and dates to 1893. On March 12, 1888, while on his way to the New York Club at 25th Street, Conkling suffered severe exposure in Union Square, during the famous blizzard which gripped the city on that day. As a result his health rapidly declined, and he died on April 18th, 1888. Five years later friends of Conkling petitioned the Mayor and Park Board to erect a sculpture of him in Union Square. Park officials believed Conkling not of a stature to warrant placement of this work alongside existing sculptures in the park of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and the Marquis de Lafayette, but granted permission at the present location of the work. Later referred to as &ldquo;the Dean of American Sculptors,&rdquo; Ward contributed nine sculptures to the parks of New York, among them Horace Greeley (1890) now in City Hall Park, Alexander Holley (1888) in Washington Square Park, William Earl Dodge (1885), now in Bryant Park, Henry Ward Beecher (1891) in Columbus Park, Brooklyn, and The Indian Hunter (1869), William Shakespeare (1872), The Pilgrim (1885), and the Seventh Regiment Memorial (1874) in Central Park. Ward`s depiction of Conkling is a sensitive and vigorous portrait of him posed, as Conkling`s wife requested, while delivering a speech before the United States Senate. In early December 1893, the eight-foot high, 1,200 pound statue was hoisted onto its granite pedestal, and installed&mdash;in deference to the Conkling`s heirs&mdash;and installed without any formal ceremony. In the summer of 2000 as part of the redesign and renovation of Madison Square Park the sculpture was relocated 20 feet to a landscaped area, and in 2001 the sculpture was conserved by the Citywide Monuments Conservation Program.

Roscoe Conkling Sculpture

Roscoe Conkling

Located at the southeast corner of Madison Square Park this forthright, bronze full-standing statue of political figure Roscoe Conkling (1829-1888) is by the distinguished artist John Quincy Adams Ward (1840-1910), and dates to 1893. On March 12, 1888, while on his way to the New York Club at 25th Street, Conkling suffered severe exposure in Union Square, during the famous blizzard which gripped the city on that day. As a result his health rapidly declined, and he died on April 18th, 1888. Five years later friends of Conkling petitioned the Mayor and Park Board to erect a sculpture of him in Union Square. Park officials believed Conkling not of a stature to warrant placement of this work alongside existing sculptures in the park of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and the Marquis de Lafayette, but granted permission at the present location of the work. Later referred to as &ldquo;the Dean of American Sculptors,&rdquo; Ward contributed nine sculptures to the parks of New York, among them Horace Greeley (1890) now in City Hall Park, Alexander Holley (1888) in Washington Square Park, William Earl Dodge (1885), now in Bryant Park, Henry Ward Beecher (1891) in Columbus Park, Brooklyn, and The Indian Hunter (1869), William Shakespeare (1872), The Pilgrim (1885), and the Seventh Regiment Memorial (1874) in Central Park. Ward&rsquo;s depiction of Conkling is a sensitive and vigorous portrait of him posed, as Conkling&rsquo;s wife requested, while delivering a speech before the United States Senate. In early December 1893, the eight-foot high, 1,200 pound statue was hoisted onto its granite pedestal, and installed&mdash;in deference to the Conkling&rsquo;s heirs&mdash;and installed without any formal ceremony. In the summer of 2000 as part of the redesign and renovation of Madison Square Park the sculpture was relocated 20 feet to a landscaped area, and in 2001 the sculpture was conserved by the Citywide Monuments Conservation Program.

This sculpture depicts the moment after President Washington took the oath of office, which he did at Federal Hall on Wall Street in 1789. The pedestal was designed by Richard Morris Hunt.

Overlooking the crowds filling Broad Street up to Wall Street.  

Federal Hall National Memorial

George Washington at Federal Hall

 On the north side of the park is a statue in bronze of William Earl Dodge (1805-83), businessman (a founder of Phelps, Dodge &amp; Company, leaders in the copper trade) and philanthropist. John Quincy Adams Ward, an American, created the statue, which was dedicated in Herald Square, in 1885. In 1941, when Herald Square was renovated, the Dodge statue was moved to its present location. 

William Earl Dodge

 This statue commemorates Horace Greeley, longtime editor of the Tribune. The pedestal upon which the statue rests was designed by Richard Morris Hunt. Greeley established the New York Tribune in efforts to promote the Whig and Republican parties as well as opposition to slavery. In the 1872 presidential election, he was the candidate for the Liberal Republican party. 

 to editor Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune and publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World  

 Started with the goal of providing a straightforward, trustworthy media source  

 "As founder of New York Tribune whose headquarters were located opposite City hall Park on Park Row. Horace Greeley set new standards for integrity in American journalism. Greeley's editorials address the social and political issues of his era, including the abolition of slavery and the settlement of the West. Greeley was nominated for the presidency in 1872, but he lost the election and died several weeks later. His body lay in state atop the rotunda staircase in City Hall. This statue by John Quincy Adams Ward was commissioned by his co-workers at the New York Tribune."  

City Hall Park

Horace Greeley Statue (City Hall Park)

Across from the Meal Market, where enslaved workers could be hired or bought, was the Tontine Coffee House, home of the New York Stock Exchange. Powerbrokers of the day met in a room there to buy, sell, and trade. As soon as a ship’s captain reached the harbor, this is where he came to register his cargo. The goods coming into New York in the 1790s included coffee, tea, sugar and molasses, fine furniture, cloth, cotton, and enslaved men, women, and children.The companies that insured, outfitted, and owned the boats used to carry Africans from their homelands to enslavement often traded on the stock market. The slave trade was big business and New Yorkers made huge profits from it long after slavery was made illegal in the state. The first and last New York slave trader to be executed was caught in April 1861, as the first shots of the Civil War were fired.The New York Stock Exchange has roots that go back to a spring day in 1792, when a group of 24 men met outside 68 Wall Street in the shade of a huge sycamore tree that locals called a buttonwood. They set down the rules they would trade by and called it the Buttonwood Agreement. Later that year, trading moved into a room on the second floor of the Tontine Coffee House, where it remained until 1817.

A group of NY brokers formally establish the New York Stock and Exchange Board, an organization that later will be renamed the NewYork Stock Exchange (N.Y.S.E.). formalized and established its first quarters in a rented room at 40 Wall St. The exchange grew into the largest in the world of companies listed with a capitalization of over $30 trillion. Technology changed as inventions such as the telegraph, stock ticker, and computers transformed stock trading from the physical exchange of documents between specialist brokers on the trading floor to an electronic platform.

The first New York Stock Exchange building was completed in 1865. About 15 years later, James Renwick expanded the building.

The structure was in turn demolished to make way for Emily Post's architect father George Post's Beaux Arts Style building. The exchange is now owned by ICE, a holding company based in Atlanta.The central third of the block contains the original structure at 18 Broad Street, designed in the neoclassical style by George B. Post.The northern third contains a 23-story office annex at 11 Wall Street, designed by Trowbridge &amp; Livingston in a similar style.

Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange purchased the New York Stock Exchange for $8.2 billion.

Slave ships were registered here and a value was assigned to the Africans on board.Creator: Francis Guy

New York Stock Exchange

State Capital Grounds

John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910) was one of the premiere American sculptors of his day. His life-size statues of preeminent men still stand throughout the country.

Portrait of John Quincy Adams Ward by Henry Augustus Loop

John Quincy Adams Ward

SITES