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__NOTOC__ Cooper Square is a junction of streets in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
located at the confluence of the neighborhoods of
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. ...
to the south, NoHo to the west and southwest,
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
to the west and northwest, the East Village to the north and east, and the
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...
to the southeast.


Description

Beginning at its southern end where the
Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. ...
crosses East 4th Street, the road then splits in two, both with Cooper Square addresses, until they cross Astor Place between East 8th Street and St. Marks Place and become Fourth Avenue (the western street) and
Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Squ ...
(the eastern street). Because Bowery, Third Avenue and both sides of Cooper Square are two-way streets, the intersection is complex, and difficult for pedestrians to navigate, especially considering that it is part of a city-approved through-truck route. The New York City Department of Transportation has announced plans to "normalize" traffic, increase the size of the park in the middle of the square, and create a new community park in the area.


History

When the square was initially opened as a public space in 1850, it was named "Stuyvesant Square", despite there already being a "
Stuyvesant Square Stuyvesant Square is the name of both a park and its surrounding neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. The park is located between 15th Street (Manhattan), 15th Street, 17th Street (Manhattan), 17th St ...
" about a half-mile north on Second Avenue. It was renamed for Peter Cooper, the 19th Century industrialist and philanthropist, after his death in 1883. In 1853, Cooper had broken ground for Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an institution founded on the belief that high-quality education should be available to all who qualified, including women – a radical notion at the time – without cost. It continued to provide every student with a full-tuition scholarship until 2014. Frederick A. Peterson's Cooper Union Foundation Building on the north end of the square, the oldest existing American building framed with steel beams, still stands where it was located when it opened in 1859, but the interior was extensively reconstructed in 1975 not only to modernize it, but also to fulfill one of Cooper's plans which was never realized at the time: the installation of a round elevator. The exterior of the building was restored in 1999 as well. Downtown of the Foundation Building is a small park, Cooper Triangle, which includes a monument dedicated to Peter Cooper. Across the street, at 41 Cooper Square, is the school's newest building, the New Academic Building, designed by Thom Mayne of Morphosis. ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
''s headquarters are on the western side of the square, as are classroom buildings of Grace Church School and Kaplan, Inc. The sleek, modern high-rise Cooper Square Hotel at 25 is one of the newest buildings on the square. The New York City Department of Transportation's "Reconstruction of Astor Place and Cooper Square" plan"Reconstruction of Astor Place and Cooper Square"
New York City Department of Transportation (January 6, 2011)
calls for some changes to be made to Cooper Square beginning in 2013. The western leg of the square will be a northbound bus-only lane, from a two-way multi-use roadway. The confusing intersection of the two legs at Fifth Street would become a simple "Village Plaza", with sidewalk extensions and a small
amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
on the western sidewalk. Finally, Cooper Triangle would be renovated, and expanded to make a new "Cooper Walk" leading up to Cooper Union. New trees would be planted up and down the square on both sides.


Gallery

File:Cooper Union by David Shankbone crop.jpg, The
Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique ...
's Foundation Building has anchored the north end of the square since 1859 File:Peter Cooper summer sunny jeh.jpg, The monument to Peter Cooper sits between the Foundation Building and the park at Cooper Triangle File:Metropolitan Savings Bank Building.jpg, ''#61:'' This building was built in 1867 as a bank, but has been a church since 1937. (
New York City Landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
, 1969) File:Cooper Union New Academic Building from north.jpg, ''#41:''
Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique ...
's New Academic Building, designed by Thom Mayne, opened in Summer 2009 File:Cooper Square Old & New.jpg, ''#35:'' The modest building on the left was owned in the early 19th century by a great-grandson of
Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Ne ...
. It was demolished for new construction. File:Cooper Square Hotel 25 Cooper Square ground.jpg, ''#25:'' The luxury
The Standard, East Village The Standard, East Village, formerly the Cooper Square Hotel, is a 21-story high-rise luxury hotel located at 25 Cooper Square in lower Manhattan, New York City. The tower was designed by Carlos Zapata Studio and structurally engineered by Les ...
hotel, an ultra-modern 21-story tower, opened in 2008 as the Cooper Square Hotel File:Village Voice 36 Cooper Square.jpg, ''#36:'' As of December 2012, houses the headquarters of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' and of digital firms including curbed.com and 9Threads.


See also

* Astor Place


References

Notes


External links


The Cooper Square CommitteeCooper Union's website
{{East Village, Manhattan Squares in Manhattan East Village, Manhattan Streets in Manhattan