Washington Square Park

Description

A marsh. A cemetery. A parade ground. A gathering spot for avant-garde artists. A battleground for chess enthusiasts. A playground for canines and children. Washington Square Park has served various roles for its community throughout the years, adapting to meet its needs. Well-known for its arch, honoring George Washington, the man for whom the park is named, and its fountain, the arch's elder by 43 years and a popular meeting spot, Washington Square Park also houses several other monuments and facilities.

Observed, ca 1524

Giovanni da Verrazzano, the explorer observed "Sapohannikan" - a central gathering and farming area by the Lenape, meaning "Land of Tobacco Growth." It served as a meeting place for different Lenape groups, including Munsee and Unami speakers, who played music, traded, and held games.

Settled, ca 1640

The site later became part of Manhattan’s first free Black settlement before evolving into a potter’s field.

Converted, 1826

Eventually, converted into a military parade ground.

Constructed, 1871

By the 19th century, it transformed into a public park, surrounded by elegant residences.

Redeveloped, 1952

Factoids

Beneath Washington Square Park lie an estimated 20,000 bodies, including victims of yellow fever epidemics and people buried in the former potter's field. Legend says late-night visitors sometimes see ghostly figures hanging from the park's trees, especially near the infamous Hangman's Elm, where public executions once took place.

Related People & Organizations

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Philip Hone,The land north of Greenwich Village’s overcrowded burial grounds was owned by Sailors’ Snug Harbor, a retirement home for aging seamen. After the institution relocated to Staten Island in 1831, Philip Hone proposed converting the former potter’s field into a military parade ground to raise the property’s value. In 1826, the site was renamed the Washington Parade Ground and hosted a large celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The transformation significantly increased the land’s worth. By the end of Hone’s term, the grounds had expanded to their current size. The military departed in the late 1840s, and the space was eventually renamed Washington Square Park.

Robert Moses

George Washington

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Washington Square Park Fountain

Fairytale of New York envisioned in NYC

Washington Square Arch

1952 - Redeveloped

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1952 - Redeveloped - Images

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The park's fountain area has long been one of the city's popular spots, and many of the local buildings have at one time served as homes and studios for artists

1871 - Constructed

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1871 - Constructed - Drawings and documents

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In the early 17th century, a Native American village known as Sapokanican was nearby, and by the mid-17th century, the land on each side of the Minetta was used as farm land by the Dutch

Washington Arch, 1893 by Childe Hassam

1826 - Converted

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1826 - Converted - Drawings and documents

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1851

Seventh Regiment on Review, Washington Square

1524 - Observed

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1524 - Observed - Drawings and documents

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1922

The Bowery Road

Manhattan Island in the Sixteenth Century

1639

Manatvs gelegen op de Noot [sic] Riuier

1989

In Lenape Society, men were responsible for particular tasks

Images

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Images

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In 1889, to celebrate the centennial of George Washington's inauguration as president of the United States, a large plaster and wood Memorial Arch was erected over Fifth Avenue just north of the park

The urbanist Jane Jacobs became an activist and is credited with stopping the Moses plan and closing Washington Square Park to all auto traffic

In 1826 Alderman Abraham Valentine "introduced a resolution to re-appropriate an old potter’s field into a military parade ground," and the city bought the land west of Minetta Creek, the square was laid out and leveled, and it was turned into the Washington Military Parade Ground

The park is an open space, dominated by the Washington Square Arch at the northern gateway to the park, with a tradition of celebrating nonconformity

This monument is dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi, the 19th century Italian patriot who crusaded for a unified Italy during the European era of state building

In 1970, the Garibaldi monument was moved about 15 feet to the east to allow for construction of a promenade in Washington Square

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