Peter Minuit Plaza is an

urban square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

serving the intermodal transportation hub at South Ferry, and lies at the intersection of

State Street State Street may refer to: Streets and locations *State Street (Chicago), Illinois * State Street (Portland, Maine) *State Street (Boston), Massachusetts *State Street (Ann Arbor), Michigan * State Street (Albany), New York *State Street (Manhatta ...

and

Whitehall Street Whitehall Street is a street in the South Ferry/Financial District neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, near the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The street begins at Bowling Green to the north, where it is a continuation of the ...

in the Financial District of

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 ...

. The plaza is a heavy pedestrian traffic area just north of the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal and includes two exits for the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

South Ferry/Whitehall Street station The South Ferry/Whitehall Street station is a New York City Subway station complex in the Financial District neighborhood of Manhattan, under Battery Park. The complex is shared by the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the BMT Broadway L ...

as well as the M15 SBS South Ferry Bus Loop at Peter Minuit Place, making this a busy intersection that is used by approximately 70,000 residents and visitors daily. The space was dedicated in 1953 (marking the 300th anniversary of the charter of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

) as a smaller triangular plaza at the Kapsee, a historic point at the original southern tip of Manhattan, as part of the Battery's re-landscaping, with the Jewish Tercentenary Monument added in 1955. The plaza had a major redevelopment and expansion in 2009 (marking the 400th anniversary of the visit of the '' Halve Maen'') with the addition of the New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion to the original triangle, as well the extension of the plaza toward the ferry terminal, with the installation of subway exits in the new space.

Early history

R P Bolton, indicating Native American Paths in Manhattan ,rendered 1922 (cropped)

Peter Minuit Plaza sits just south of

, at the approximate position of the original southern tip of the island before

Lower Manhattan expansion The expansion of the land area of Lower Manhattan in New York City by land reclamation has, over time, greatly altered Manhattan Island's shorelines on the Hudson and East rivers; as well as those of the Upper New York Bay. The extension of the ...

. State Street was formerly known as Copsey Street, with this extremity of land known as Copsie Point in historical English accounts, drawing from either the possible Lenape toponym of Kapsee as recounted by Egbert Benson (speculated as from "ahsënhake" meaning rocky ground, with a similar etymology to Hackensack), or from the Dutch Capsie Hoek (cape point). As such, it has become popularly associated with the early history of New Amsterdam, sometimes given as a possible location for the

purchase of Manhattan Island Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwee ...

by Peter Minuit in 1626. The Netherland Monument, installed nearby at the northeastern corner of Battery Park in 1952, depicts this purported exchange. The Copsey Rocks were the series of

islets An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

surrounding the Kapsee, which were eventually filled in to form most of the Battery. The southernmost point was also known to the Dutch as Schreyers Hook (after the site of the Schreierstoren in Amsterdam from which Hudson is said to have departed), though the construction of the Schreyers Hook Dock in New Amsterdam was on nearby Pearl Street.

Former proposals

The

South Ferry Plaza The South Ferry Plaza, also called A Lighthouse At The Tip Of The Island, was a supertall skyscraper proposed in 1987 to rise right next to the East River on Manhattan Island in New York City. The building would have sat on top of the South F ...

proposal of 1987 would have affected much of this area. A 1990s proposal for the re-purposing of the adjacent section of Battery Park for the expansion of the subway terminal led to opposition from the Battery Conservancy (who compared it to the Brooklyn–Battery Bridge), and the current 21st century development.

New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion

The Pavilion was designed by

Ben van Berkel Ben van Berkel (born 1957) is a Dutch architect; founder and principal architect of the architectural practice UNStudio. With his studio he designed, among others, the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, the Moebius House in the Netherlands, the Mercede ...

and

Caroline Bos Caroline Bos (born 1959, Rotterdam) is a Dutch architect. She is a co-founder of UNStudio, a large award-winning architecture firm in Amsterdam. Bos writes, lectures and teaches architecture at various schools. Her architectural drawings and mod ...

UNStudio UNStudio (formerly Van Berkel en Bos Architectenbureau) is a Dutch architectural practice specializing in architecture, urban development and "infrastructural" projects. The practice was founded in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos. The ini ...

, with the architect of record being

Handel Architects Handel Architects LLP is an architecture firm that was founded in New York City in 1994. Led by Partner Gary Handel, the firm has offices in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. The firm is composed of five partners: Gary Handel, Bl ...

of New York. It was a gift from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to New York City in honor of

NY400 NY400: Holland on the Hudson was the 2009 commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's 1609 expedition up the river bearing his name, that later provided the basis for the founding of New Netherland. The peak of activity in New York Ci ...

, the 400th Anniversary of

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 160 ...

’s arrival in

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

. The $2.4 million pavilion's groundbreaking took place on September 9, 2009, and it was officially opened to the public on May 12, 2011. The pinwheel-shaped pavilion is home to a café and also acts as an interactive

information center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

. The surrounding plaza is meant to be a space for both scheduled and spontaneous activities.

Site and design

Its location on the mouth of the Hudson River, where Henry Hudson found a desirable location for the new Dutch settlement, and on Peter Minuit Plaza, named after the Dutch merchant who negotiated the deal with the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

, makes the site historically appropriate. As the site was once part of Battery Park and on the southern tip of the island, the site is open to light and air without the feeling of oppression by the surrounding skyscrapers. The size of the triangular site is approximately 125’x145’x160’ (38.1m x 44,2m x 48.8m), and occupies the original space of Peter Minuit Plaza, before the 21st century extension. This location offers high pedestrian traffic due to the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal, just a few feet away from the Pavilion, as well as the South Ferry Subway station that become essential to the success of this public building. Contextually, the building looks very different from any of the surrounding structures. The Pavilion's form is based on a pinwheel plan spreading the building's program away from its center while truly mimicking a pinwheel with equally sweeping curvilinear forms. Programmatically, the center of the building houses more permanent and private functions and the tips are usually occupied by concession stands and the information booth which includes an interactive projection. Occasionally these spaces become home to temporary art installations and exhibits. The building's form divides the plaza into four public outdoor spaces for a various functions and events and breaks up the heavily trafficked area with its befitting dynamic shape. Besides the pre-existing Jewish Tercentenary Monument, the Plein area also includes the

Castello Plan The Castello Planofficially entitled ''Afbeeldinge van de Stadt Amsterdam in Nieuw Neederlandt'' (Dutch, "Picture of the City of Amsterdam in New Netherland")is an early city map of what is now the Financial District of Lower Manhattan from an o ...

Monument, a diorama-like rendering in bronze of the 1660 city map, by

Simon Verity Simon Verity (born 1945) is a British sculptor and master stonecarver. Much of his work has been garden sculpture. He has works in the private collections of King Charles III, Sir Elton John, and Lord Rothschild. Career Verity received his tra ...

and Martha Becker Finney, alongside nine quotes from the history book '' The Island at the Center of the World''. In addition to the New Amsterdam Plein project by UNStudio, "Zipper Bench" seating by WXY was installed at the same time, with a second installation of the same model at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park serving as a design exchange with Seoul. The overall design of the new Peter Minuit Plaza was by Gail Wittwer-Laird of NYC Parks. File:South Ferry td (2018-08-02) 09 - New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion.jpg,

Monument File:Peter Minuit Plaza (5722325579).jpg, Quotes from '' The Island at the Center of the World'' File:South Ferry td (2018-03-27) 25 - Peter Minuit Plaza.jpg, "Zipper Bench" seating File:South Ferry td (2018-03-27) 07 - New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion.jpg, NYC Parks signage

Construction

Materiality of the Pavilion was kept simple with the use of glass, wood and steel. The Pavilion's complex form is made up of wood ribs and a steel frame. The envelope is made up of

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

and

polyurea Polyurea is a type of elastomer that is derived from the reaction product of an isocyanate component and a synthetic resin blend component through step-growth polymerization. The isocyanate can be aromatic or aliphatic in nature. It can be monom ...

coating. With only a nine-month period to complete the project the Pavilion was prefabricated in Virginia and hauled to and pieced together on site to speed up the process. Glass allows views of the interior spaces providing glimpses of current installations and access to the Pavilion's concession stands and information booth. Another notable part of the design is the

LED lighting An LED lamp or LED light bulb is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps and can be significantly more efficient than mos ...

of the Pavilion. Every night at midnight the Pavilion exhibits an array of different colors as a tribute to Peter Minuit whose name translates to “midnight” form French. The building's design takes into account the need to passively ventilate the space. The form of the building and its location in open space makes it easy to take advantage of cross ventilation that is achieved through shading fins that allow hot air to escape while protecting against the rain and reducing the need for active heating and air conditioning systems (

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

). The building's structure utilizes a low maintenance steel that is fully concealed within the building's shell as are all of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. The Pavilion was pre-fabricated and hauled onto the site where it was pieced together along with its steel structure that was created through a file to factory process. Despite the attempt at sustainability of this structure the costs are considerable and some of the materials used are questionable. The carbon footprint of some of the materials such as polyuria (commonly used in the making of spandex) and

corian Corian is a brand of solid surface material created by DuPont. Its primary use is as a countertop and benchtop surface, though it has many other applications. It is composed of acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate (ATH), a material derive ...

(made up of

acrylic polymer An acrylate polymer (also known as acrylic or polyacrylate) is any of a group of polymers prepared from acrylate monomers. These plastics are noted for their transparency, resistance to breakage, and elasticity. Acrylate polymer is commonly used ...

and alumina trihydrate) used in the building's interior are questionable in regards to

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

References

Notes Sources for New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion *

Buro Happold Buro Happold (previously ''BuroHappold Engineering'') is a British professional services firm that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the environment ...

(May 18, 2011
"New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion Opens to Public in New York City" (press release)
Accessed: May 25, 2012 *Cilento, Karen (September 10, 2010
"New Amsterdam Pavilion Unstudio"
'' ArchDaily''. Accessed: May 25, 2012 *Cilento, Karen (May 16, 2011
"Update: New Amsterdam Pavilion Opens"
'' ArchDaily''. Accessed: May 25, 2012 *Frearson, Amy (May 13, 2011
"New Amsterdam Pavilion by UNStudio"
''

Dezeen ''Dezeen'' is an online architecture, interiors and design magazine based in London, with offices in Hoxton and also previously in New York City. History ''Dezeen'' was launched in London by Marcus Fairs at the end of November 2006. Its New Yo ...

'' Accessed: May 25, 2012 *Sulzberger, A. G. (September 9, 2009
"City Room: Pavilion Is Latest Dutch Gift to City"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Accessed: May 25, 2012.

External links

{{commons category
Peter Minuit Plaza
The Battery Conservancy Event venues in Manhattan 1953 establishments in New York City 2009 establishments in New York City Squares in Manhattan South Ferry (Manhattan) The Battery (Manhattan)