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68-626: Washington Square Park is a 9.75-acre (3.95 ha) public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan , New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). The park is an open space, dominated by the Washington Square Arch at the northern gateway to

136-451: A 10-minute walk , provides multiple benefits. A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintained by a local government. Grass is typically kept short to discourage insect pests and to allow for the enjoyment of picnics and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide shade , with an increasing emphasis on reducing an urban heat island effect. Some early parks include

204-403: A buffer zone to Native Americans outside the settlement. In 1643, a group of "half-freed" slaves and elders such as Domingo Anthony, Manuel Trumpeter and Catalina Anthony, received land grants to build and maintain farms in the areas containing and surrounding Washington Square Park. The families who received the land were no longer slaves, but had to give a portion of the profits they received from

272-400: A hygienic measure. A legend in many tourist guides says that the large elm at the northwest corner of the park, Hangman's Elm , was the old hanging tree. However, research indicates the tree was on the side of the former Minetta Creek that was the back garden of a private house. Records of only one public hanging at the potter's field exist. Two eyewitnesses to the recorded hanging differed on

340-537: A narrow marshy valley through which Minetta Creek (or Brook) ran. In the early 17th century, a Native American village known as Sapohanikan or "Tobacco Field" was nearby. By the mid-17th century, the land on each side of the Minetta was used as farm land by the Dutch. The Dutch gave the land, then outside the city limits (Wall Street) to Angolan residents of the colony, intending for their plots and settlement to serve as

408-411: A public hearing in 1958, a "ribbon tying" ceremony was held to mark the inception of a trial period in which the park would be free of vehicular traffic. In August 1959, the efforts of Ms. Hayes and her allies paid off; from that time forward Washington Square Park has been completely closed to traffic. A plaque commemorating her tireless crusade can be seen in the park today. Hayes's papers are archived at

476-504: A public outcry for the park in 1952 when a large, modern apartment building was constructed on the northwest corner of Washington Square North and Fifth Avenue. When then-Manhattan borough president Hulan E. Jack suggested an elevated pedestrian walkway over a four-lane road through the park, Ms. Hayes initiated "Save the Square!", a seven-year battle to keep automobiles out of the quiet area. Though several different proposals were given for

544-399: A redevelopment of the park, a skating rink and bandshell would have been reconstructed. Later that year, a committee was organized to appoint a landscape architect for a $ 800,000 renovation of Washington Square Park. The city studied a plan to add a fence around Washington Square Park in 1973. Four pedestrians were killed in a car crash at the park in 1992, prompting NYU to suggest closing

612-499: 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. Military parade grounds were public spaces specified by the city where volunteer militia companies responsible for the nation's defense would train. The streets surrounding

680-480: A result, it is considered to be Manhattan's oldest, outliving Peter Stuyvesant 's pear tree at the northeast corner of 13th Street and Third Avenue , and the great Tulip poplar at Shorakapkok in Manhattan's Inwood neighborhood. The earliest references to the elm as a "hanging tree" date from the late 19th century, long after the supposed hangings were said to have taken place. Recent extensive research into

748-543: A roadway in the park, Hayes and her followers rejected them all. Seeking to "best serve the needs of children and adults of this family community," Hayes in turn presented her own proposal: 1.75 acres (700 m) of roadway would be converted to parkland, a paved area would be created for emergency access only, and all other vehicles would be permanently banned from the park. This plan received widespread support, including that of then-Congressman John Lindsay , as well as Washington Square Park West resident Eleanor Roosevelt. After

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816-516: Is an English Elm located at the northwest corner in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village , Manhattan, New York City. It stood at 135 feet (41 m) tall when measured c.  2000 , and has a diameter of 67 inches (1.7 m). In 1989, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation determined that this English Elm was 310 years old, although that was subsequently revised to "more than 300 years old". As

884-521: The Common Council of New York purchased the fields to the east of the Minetta (which were not yet within city limits) for a new potter's field , or public burial ground. It was used mainly for burying unknown or indigent people when they died. But when New York (which did not include this area yet) went through yellow fever epidemics in the early 19th century, most of those who died from yellow fever were also buried here, safely away from town, as

952-562: The La Alameda de Hércules , in Seville , a promenaded public mall, urban garden and park built in 1574, within the historic center of Seville. The Városliget ( City Park ) in the City of Pest , what is today Budapest, Hungary , was a city property when afforestation started in the middle of the 18th century, from the 1790s with the clear aim to create a public park. Between 1799 and 1805 it

1020-482: The New-York Historical Society . Following the end of World War II , folksingers had been congregating on warm Sunday afternoons at the fountain in the center of the park. Tension and conflicts began to develop between the bohemian element and the remaining working-class residents of the neighborhood. The city government began showing an increasing hostility to the use of public facilities by

1088-623: The Village of Yorkville Park in Toronto , which won an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Parks are sometimes made out of oddly shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood parks. Linked parks may form a greenbelt . There is a form of an urban park in the UK (officially called a "recreation ground", but commonly called a "rec" by

1156-734: The Centennial Parade of Washington's Inauguration. The temporary plaster and wood arch was so popular that in 1892, a permanent Tuckahoe marble arch, designed by the New York architect Stanford White , was erected, standing 77 feet (23 m) and modeled after the Arc de Triomphe , built in Paris in 1806. During the excavations for the eastern part of the arch, human remains, a coffin, and a gravestone dated to 1803 were uncovered 10 feet (3.0 m) below ground level. The first fountain next to

1224-661: The Folklore Center—who had been trying to get permits for the folksingers—and about 500 musicians and supporters gathered in the park and sang songs without a permit, then held a procession from the park through the arch at Fifth Avenue, and marched to the Judson Memorial Church on the other side of the park. At about the time the musicians and friends reached the church, the New York City Police Department Riot Squad

1292-682: The Park , Kids , Searching for Bobby Fischer , Fresh , Law & Order , The Astronaut's Wife , I Am Legend , August Rush , The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel , Gilmore Girls and The Amazing Race . Public park Depending on size, budget, and land features, which varies considerably among individual parks, common features include playgrounds , gardens , hiking, running, fitness trails or paths, bridle paths , sports fields and courts, public restrooms, boat ramps, performance venues, or BBQ and picnic facilities. Park advocates claim that having parks near urban residents, including within

1360-602: The UK, with around 2.6 billion visits to parks each year. Many parks are of cultural and historical interest, with 300 registered by Historic England as of national importance. Most public parks have been provided and run by local authorities over the past hundred and seventy years, but these authorities have no statutory duty to fund or maintain these public parks. In 2016 the Heritage Lottery Fund 's State of UK Public Parks reported that "92 per cent of park managers report their maintenance budgets have reduced in

1428-522: The United States and the world, though cow grazing did not end until the 1830s. Around the country, the predecessors to urban parks in the United States were generally rural cemeteries . The cemeteries were intended as civic institutions designed for public use. Before the widespread development of public parks, the rural cemetery provided a place for the general public to enjoy outdoor recreation amidst art and sculpture previously available only for

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1496-786: The United States are Central Park in New York, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Mission Bay Park in San Diego. In the early 1900s, according to Cranz, U.S. cities built neighborhood parks with swimming pools, playgrounds and civic buildings, with the intention of Americanizing the immigrant residents. In the 1950s, when money became available after World War II , new parks continued to focus on both outdoor and indoor recreation with services, such as sports leagues using their ball fields and gymnasia. These smaller parks were built in residential neighborhoods, and tried to serve all residents with programs for seniors, adults, teens and children. Green space

1564-636: The Washington Square Park Committee advocated eliminating the existing road, that is, closing the park to all automobile traffic – but at the same time, not widening the perimeter roads either. In short, they proposed closing off a roadbed without compensating for it." Hayes, former chairman of the Washington Square Park Committee and member of the Greenwich Village Community Planning Board, a local resident and mother of four sons, started

1632-564: The arch was completed in 1852 and replaced in 1872. In 1851, it was described as having "a very large circular basin, with a central jet and several side jets." A story on the completion of the fountain appeared in the first edition of the New-York Daily Times , which would eventually become the New York Times . The statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi was unveiled in 1888. In 1918, two statues of George Washington were added to

1700-557: The community, especially considering that the Parks Department orchestrated the naming without consulting the City Council. In December 2007, NYC Parks began construction on a project to redesign and refurbish Washington Square Park, which at the time was projected to cost $ 16 million. Changes to the park included moving the fountain off center to improve its visual alignment with the arch when viewed from above, replacing

1768-496: The confines of a serpentine carriageway, put in place the essential elements of his much-imitated design for Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead . The latter commenced in 1843 with the help of public finance and deployed the ideas which Paxton had pioneered at Princes Park on a more expansive scale. Frederick Law Olmsted visited Birkenhead Park in 1850 and praised its qualities. Indeed, Paxton is widely credited as having been one of

1836-453: The designed landscape as a setting for the suburban domicile (an idea pioneered by John Nash at Regent's Park in London) and re-fashioned it for the provincial town in a most original way. Nash's remodelling of St James's Park from 1827 and the sequence of processional routes he created to link The Mall with Regent's Park completely transformed the appearance of London's West End . With

1904-420: The eastern half of the park was reopened to the public, leaving only the park's southwest corner under construction. In mid-August 2012, the new granite benches heated up to 125 °F (52 °C) in the sun, seemingly vindicating community members who had charged that the renovations were primarily to discourage public use of the park. The entire renovation was completed in 2014 for $ 30.6 million. In July 2020,

1972-543: The environmental review of the renovation project were heard in 2007 by the New York County Supreme Court, then dismissed. Upon the completion of phase one of the park's renovation on May 22, 2009, the Coalition for a Better Washington Square Park, a private organization, began raising money to "hire off-duty cops and maintenance workers to patrol the park" by the summer of 2010. On June 2, 2011,

2040-499: The establishment of Princes Park in 1842, Joseph Paxton did something similar for the benefit of a provincial town, albeit one of international stature by virtue of its flourishing mercantile sector. Liverpool had a burgeoning presence in global maritime trade before 1800, and during the Victorian era its wealth rivalled that of London itself. The form and layout of Paxton's ornamental grounds, structured about an informal lake within

2108-779: The form of walking, running, horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing; or sedentary activity such as observing nature, bird watching, painting, photography, or picnicking. Limiting park or open space use to passive recreation over all or a portion of the park's area eliminates or reduces the burden of managing active recreation facilities and developed infrastructure. Many ski resorts combine active recreation facilities (ski lifts, gondolas, terrain parks, downhill runs, and lodges) with passive recreation facilities (cross-country ski trails). Many smaller neighborhood parks are receiving increased attention and valuation as significant community assets and places of refuge in heavily populated urban areas. Neighborhood groups around

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2176-607: The fountain or fountain plaza area, pending further review of the plans by the local community board, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission , and the Art Commission, stating that NYC Parks had intentionally misrepresented the project in a scheme to secure its approval. The ruling was reversed on appeal. Another lawsuit challenging the art commission's approval of the plan was dismissed. Two more lawsuits questioning

2244-580: The insurrectionist forces in Italy's struggle for unification; and Alexander Lyman Holley , a talented engineer who helped start the American steel industry after the invention of the Bessemer process for mass-producing steel. The New York City Police Department operates security cameras in the park. The area has a low crime rate in the "safest big city in the United States." The land was once divided by

2312-580: The land to the Dutch West India Company and pay annual land fees. Their children would be born as slaves, rather than free. The area became the core of an early African American community in New York, then called the Land of the Blacks and later "Little Africa". Among those who owned parcels in what is now Washington Square Park was Paulo D'Angola. It remained farmland until April 1797, when

2380-525: The large amount of open space and natural habitat in the former pleasure grounds, they now serve as important wildlife refuges, and often provide the only opportunity for urban residents to hike or picnic in a semi-wild area. However, city managers or politicians can target these parks as sources of free land for other uses. Partly for this reason, some of these large parks have "friends of X park" advisory boards that help protect and maintain their semi-wild nature. There are around estimated 27,000 public parks in

2448-429: The location of the gallows. One said it had been put up at a spot where the fountain was prior to 2007 park redesign. Others placed the gallows closer to where the arch is now. However, the cemetery was closed in 1825. To this day, the remains of more than 20,000 bodies rest under Washington Square. Excavations have found tombstones under the park dating as far back as 1799. In 1826, Alderman Abraham Valentine "introduced

2516-567: The need to provide substantial space to congregate, typically involves intensive management, maintenance, and high costs. Passive recreation, also called "low-intensity recreation" is that which emphasizes the open-space aspect of a park and allows for the preservation of natural habitat. It usually involves a low level of development, such as rustic picnic areas, benches, and trails. Passive recreation typically requires little management and can be provided at very low costs. Some open space managers provide nothing other than trails for physical activity in

2584-416: The new ruling that was to come in on May 8, 2013, would involve entertainers. This could mean that performers could be fined $ 250 for the first offense and up to $ 1,000 for further violations. The 2010 rule on which the 2013 ruling was based stated that artists could not sell within 50 feet of a monument or five feet from any bench or fence. Some holiday traditions in the park date back to 1924. Each December,

2652-416: The north side. Robert Moses became the parks commissioner in 1934. He embarked on a crusade to fully redesign the park, and local activists began an opposing fight that lasted three decades. In 1934, Robert Moses had the fountain renovated to also serve as a wading pool. In 1952, Moses finalized plans to extend 5th Avenue through the park. He intended to eventually push it through the neighborhood south of

2720-463: The northwest lawn was reopened after a yearlong restoration which included new grass and sod for the over 39,000 square feet of green space. Funding for the $ 170,000 project was provided by Ray Dalio 's Dalio Philanthropies. Washington Square has long been a hub for politics and culture in New York City. The first neighborhood organization established in New York City was created in support of

2788-405: The park demanding women's suffrage in 1915. In 1888, Robert Louis Stevenson , visiting the U.S. to seek medical help for his battle with consumption , talked to Mark Twain in the park. In the years before and after World War I , the park was a center for many American artists, writers, and activists, including the photographer André Kertész , who photographed the square during winter. Later,

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2856-407: The park is bordered by Washington Square North (known as Waverly Place east and west of the park), Washington Square East (known as University Place north of the park), Washington Square South (known as West 4th Street east and west of the park), and Washington Square West (known as MacDougal Street north and south of the park). While the park contains many flower beds and trees, little of

2924-493: The park is home to an annual tree-lighting ceremony as well as a Christmas Eve sing-along with carolers and festive music. Also, the Washington Square Music Festival, which began in 1953, has brought chamber music concerts to park-goers every summer. In 1834, New York University decided to use prison labor to dress the stone for a new building, across from the park, as prison labor from Sing Sing

2992-591: The park is used for plantings due to the paving. The two prominent features are the Washington Square Arch and the Tisch Fountain. It includes children's play areas, trees and gardens, paths to stroll on, a chess and scrabble playing area, park benches, picnic tables, commemorative statuary and two dog runs. Those commemorated by statues and monuments include George Washington ; Italian patriot and soldier Giuseppe Garibaldi , commander of

3060-578: The park to commemorate the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , which had killed 146 workers the year before. Many of the women wore fitted tucked-front blouses like those manufactured by the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. This clothing style became the working woman's uniform and a symbol of female independence, reflecting the alliance of labor and suffrage movements. Over 25,000 people marched up Fifth Avenue from

3128-481: The park was a gathering area for the Beat generation , folk, and hippie movements in the 1950s and 1960s; in 1958, musician Buddy Holly , a nearby resident of Greenwich Village , spent time in the park both listening to people play and helping guitarists with musical chords. Singers Bob Dylan and Joan Baez lived in the neighbouring eponymous hotel and her lyrics in " Diamonds & Rust " state "Now you're smiling out

3196-404: The park was built was purchased by Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and philanthropist, in 1841 for £50,000. The creation of Princes Park showed great foresight and introduced a number of highly influential ideas. First and foremost was the provision of open space for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within an area that was being rapidly built up. Secondly it took the concept of

3264-463: The park's history by both an archaeologist and a historian has shown that the tree was on a private farm until the land was bought by the city and added to Washington Square in 1827. No public records exist of hangings from this tree. The only recorded execution in this area was of Rose Butler , in 1820, for arson. She was hanged from a gallows in the city's potter's field , on the eastern side of Minetta Creek , about 500 feet (150 meters) from

3332-476: The park, as part of an urban renewal project. Area residents, including Eleanor Roosevelt , opposed the plans. The urbanist Jane Jacobs became an activist and is credited with stopping the Moses plan and closing Washington Square Park to all auto traffic, but Jacobs, in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities , praised another local advocate in the fight against park traffic, Shirley Hayes: "Hayes and

3400-413: The park, with a tradition of celebrating nonconformity. 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. Many buildings have been built by New York University , while others have been converted from their former uses into academic and residential buildings. Located at the foot of Fifth Avenue ,

3468-511: The park. For over 100 years, the Washington Square Association has been helping to support and better the park and the surrounding neighborhood. The presence of street performers has been one of the defining characteristics of Washington Square Park. For many years, people visiting the park have mingled with the buskers, performers, musicians, and poets. Because of a change in policy on a 2010 rule that involved artists,

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3536-420: The past three years and 95 per cent expect their funding will continue to reduce". Parks can be divided into active and passive recreation areas. Active recreation is that which has an urban character and requires intensive development. It often involves cooperative or team activity, including playgrounds , ball fields, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and skateparks . Active recreation such as team sports, due to

3604-673: The perimeter fence with a taller fence, and flattening and shrinking the central plaza, the park's politically contested gathering space. The plan also called for felling dozens of mature trees and installing ornamental water plumes in the fountain. A spectrum of opponents had charged the mayor variously with privatizing the park and with social engineering park use, as part of a broader web of speculation schemes threatening nearby South Village and East Village communities and architecture. Five lawsuits were filed to challenge NYC Parks' renovation plans. In July 2006, New York County Supreme Court Justice Emily Jane Goodman enjoined any renovation work on

3672-457: The principal influences on Olmsted and Calvert's design for New York's Central Park of 1857. Another early public park, the Peel Park, Salford , England, opened on 22 August 1846. Boston Common was purchased for public use grazing cows and as a military parade ground and dump in 1634. It first started to get recreational elements in 1728, arguably making it the first municipal park in

3740-422: The public and, in 1947, began requiring permits before public performances could be given in any city park. In the spring of 1961, the new parks commissioner Newbold Morris refused a permit to the folksingers for their Sunday afternoon gatherings, because "the folksingers have been bringing too many undesirable [ beatnik ] elements into the park." On April 9, 1961, folk music pioneer Izzy Young , owner of

3808-450: The public.) and some EU states that have mostly recreation grounds for kids to play within a park, but may also have a duck pond, large grassy zones not meant exclusively for sports, many trees, and several bushy places. When it occurs as a separate facility on its own, without any parkland, at a street corner or by a shop, the play facility is called a playground . Hangman%27s Elm Hangman's Elm , or simply "The Hanging Tree",

3876-399: The section of University Place along the eastern side of the park. The proposal was highly controversial among local residents. NYC Parks first considered renovating the park in 2004, though the proposal was controversial. In 2005, the iconic fountain in the center of the park was officially named the Tisch Fountain following a $ 2.5 million donation. This change was met with some backlash from

3944-426: The square became one of the city's most desirable residential areas in the 1830s. The protected row of Greek Revival style houses on the north side of the park remains from that time. In 1849 and 1850, the parade ground was reworked into the first park on the site. More paths were added and a new fence was built around it. In 1871, it came under the control of the newly formed New York City Department of Parks , and it

4012-490: The wealthy. In The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1982), Professor Galen Cranz identifies four phases of park design in the U.S. In the late 19th century, city governments purchased large tracts of land on the outskirts of cities to form "pleasure grounds": semi-open, charmingly landscaped areas whose primary purpose was to allow city residents, especially

4080-475: The window of that crummy hotel over Washington Square." On September 27, 2007, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama held a rally at Washington Square; 20,000 people registered for the event, and the crowds overflowed past security gates set up as a cordon. The New York Times described the rally "as one of the largest campaign events of the year." Washington Square Park has appeared in many popular films and television shows, including Barefoot in

4148-488: The workers, to relax in nature. As time passed and the urban area grew around the parks, land in these parks was used for other purposes, such as zoos, golf courses and museums. These parks continue to draw visitors from around the region and are considered regional parks , because they require a higher level of management than smaller local parks. According to the Trust for Public Land , the three most visited municipal parks in

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4216-531: The world are joining together to support local parks that have suffered from urban decay and government neglect. A linear park is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park called a rail trail or greenway (i.e. the tracks removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Some examples of linear parks in North America include New York's High Line and

4284-714: Was cheaper than hiring local stonemasons. This, the stonecutters of the city said, was taking the bread out of their mouths. They held a rally in Washington Square Park, and then held the first labor march in the city. That turned into a riot, and the 27th New York regiment was called out to quell the stonecutters. The regiment camped in Washington Square for four days and nights until the excitement subsided. New York University continued their use of prison labor. On Labor Day September 2, 1912, approximately 20,000 workers (including 5,000 women) marched to

4352-434: Was modified in 1961. Part of the old loop was closed and replaced with turf, and a set of stanchions were installed around the remaining parts of the loop. In 1962, Manhattan borough president Edward R. Dudley announced plans to close off two vehicular roadways in Washington Square Park that were used by emergency vehicles, as well as the bus turnaround loop. This move would add 1.33 acres (0.54 ha) of parkland. As part of

4420-530: Was of secondary importance. As urban land prices climbed, new urban parks in the 1960s and after have been mainly pocket parks . One example of a pocket park is Chess Park in Glendale, California. The American Society of Landscape Architects gave this park a General Design Award of Honor in 2006. These small parks provide greenery, a place to sit outdoors, and often a playground for children. All four types of park continue to exist in urban areas. Because of

4488-496: Was redesigned again, with curving rather than straight secondary paths. 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. Freemasons from St. John's Lodge No. 1 lead a procession through the arch with the George Washington Inaugural Bible for

4556-547: Was rented out to the Batthyány family to carry out such a project but the city had eventually taken back control and in 1813 announced a design competition to finally finish the park; works started in 1816. An early purpose-built public park, although financed privately, was Princes Park in the Liverpool suburb of Toxteth . This was laid out to the designs of Joseph Paxton from 1842 and opened in 1843. The land on which

4624-415: Was sent into the park, attacked civilians with billy clubs , and arrested 10 people. The incident made the front pages of newspapers as far away as Washington, DC. The New York Mirror initially reported it as a "Beatnik Riot", but retracted the headline in the next edition, although tensions remained for a while. The bus-turnaround loop at the northern end of the park, surrounding Washington Square Arch,

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