 These plaques depict historical events in Union Square. Twenty two bronze panels inset into a block-long ellipse of bluestone pavers illustrate a timeline beginning with Native American history and leading to the late 1800's. 

Formerly a burial ground, it was laid out in 1815 as Union Place and opened as a park in 1839. Although Parks Engineer-in-Chief M.A. Kellogg and Acting Landscape Gardener E.A. Pollard created a new plan for the park in 1871, it was redesigned the following year by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. and Calvert Vaux.&amp;nbsp;  

The park was demolished in the late 1920s&amp;nbsp;to accommodate the 14th Street subway station, and the pavilion was reconstructed, the Independence Flagstaff by Anthony de Francisci (1930) dedicated at the park&amp;rsquo;s center, and park paths straightened.&amp;nbsp;In 1985&amp;nbsp;the Department of Parks created a new plaza at the park&amp;rsquo;s southern end and planted a central lawn.  

&lt;p&gt;Broadway and 14th Street, during the late 19th century, has always been seen as &amp;ldquo;New York&amp;rsquo;s Most Dangerous Crossing&amp;rdquo; (according to a Harpers Weekly article). &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But even in the new century, this morbid corner could never quite shake its reputation. &amp;ldquo;McGowan and Keenan Narrowly Escape Death At &amp;lsquo;Dead Man&amp;rsquo;s Curve&amp;rdquo; shouted an Evening World headline from February 15, 1906, reporting a serious accident here involving two major city officials, one (Patrick McGowan) the head of the Board of Alderman.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Getting rid of the cable cars reduced &amp;mdash; but did not eliminate &amp;mdash; the problems posed by the heavily trafficked, sharp corner along New York&amp;rsquo;s most famous avenue. Grim accidents kept occurring here, such as this one in September 1908: &amp;lsquo;Legs Are Crushed&amp;hellip;at Dead Man&amp;rsquo;s Curve&amp;rsquo;. One source posits an interesting theory: with the district to the west still considered Ladies Mile, New York&amp;rsquo;s prime shopping district, male drivers (as they would have mostly been at this time) became distracted at this difficult corner by lively female shoppers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Fortunately, it seems reputation can be the wonderful deterrent. While other cities would develop their own deadly traffic curves &amp;mdash; and apply the nickname &amp;lsquo;dead man&amp;rsquo;s curve&amp;rsquo; to those unfortunate places &amp;mdash; New York would see fewer accidents at Broadway and 14th Street in the following decades.&lt;/p&gt; 

Union Square Timeline Medallion 22