Union Square, Manhattan
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Union Square is a historic intersection and surrounding neighborhood in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York City, located where
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century. Its name denotes that "here was the union of the two principal thoroughfares of the island". The current Union Square Park is bounded by 14th Street on the south, 17th Street on the north, and Union Square West and
Union Square East Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
to the west and east respectively. 17th Street links together Broadway and
Park Avenue South Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Ave ...
on the north end of the park, while Union Square East connects Park Avenue South to Fourth Avenue and the continuation of Broadway on the park's south side. The park is maintained by the
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
. Adjacent neighborhoods are the
Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Green ...
to the north,
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
to the west,
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 southwest, East Village to the southeast, and Gramercy Park to the east. Many buildings of
The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
are near the square, as are several dormitories of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
. The eastern side of the square is dominated by the four
Zeckendorf Towers The Zeckendorf Towers, sometimes also called One Irving Place and One Union Square East, is a , 29-story, four-towered condominium complex on the eastern side of Union Square, Manhattan, in New York City. Completed in 1987, the building is loca ...
, and the south side by the full-square-block mixed-use One Union Square South, which contains a wall sculpture and digital clock titled ''
Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...
''. Union Square Park also contains an assortment of art, including statues of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
,
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
,
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, and
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. Union Square is part of Manhattan Community District 5 and its primary ZIP Code is 10003. It is patrolled by the 13th Precinct of the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
. 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 ...
's 14th Street–Union Square station, served by the , is located under Union Square.


History


Development

The area around present-day Union Square was initially farmland. The western part of the site was owned by Elias Brevoort, who later sold his land to John Smith in 1762; by 1788 it had been sold again to Henry Spingler (or Springler). On the eastern part of the land were farms owned by John Watts and
Cornelius Williams Cornelius Williams (September 16, 1819March 27, 1891) was an Americans, American farmer, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Kenosha County in the 33rd Wiscon ...
. The northwestern corner of the park site contained of land owned by the Manhattan Bank, which supposedly was a "refuge" for businesses during New York City's
yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
epidemics. When John Randel was surveying the island in preparation for the
Commissioners' Plan of 1811 The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march uptown ...
, the Bloomingdale Road (now
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
) angled away from 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. "B ...
at an acute angle. Because it would have been difficult to develop buildings upon this angle, the Commissioners decided to form a square at the union. In 1815, by act of the state legislature, this former
potter's field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pu ...
became a public commons for the city, at first named Union Place. Union Place originally was supposed to extend from 10th to 17th Streets. Several city officials objected that Union Place was too large and requested that it be "discontinued", and in 1814, the
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
acted to downsize the area by making 14th Street the southern boundary. In 1831, at a time when the city was quickly expanding and the surrounding area was still sparsely developed,
Samuel Ruggles Samuel Bulkley Ruggles (April 11, 1799 – August 28, 1881) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1838, and a Canal Commissioner from 1839 to 1842 and in 1858. As a large landhol ...
, one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce and the developer of Gramercy Park to the northeast, convinced the city to rename the area as "Union Square". In doing so, Ruggles also got the city to enlarge the commons to 17th Street on the north and extend the axis of University Place to form the square's west side, thus turning the common from a triangular to a rectangular area. By 1832, the area had been renamed Union Square. Ruggles obtained a fifty-year lease on most of the surrounding lots from 15th to 19th Streets, where he built sidewalks and curbs. In 1834, he convinced the Board of Aldermen to enclose and grade the square, then sold most of his leases and in 1839 built a four-story house facing the east side of the Square. The park at Union Square was completed and opened in July 1839. A fountain was built in the center of Union Square to receive water from the
Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842. The great aqueducts, which were among the first in the United States, carried water by gravity fro ...
, completed in October 1842. In 1845, as the square finally began to fill with affluent houses, $116,000 was spent in paving the surrounding streets and planting the square, in part owing to the continued encouragement of Ruggles. The sole survivors of this early phase, though they have been much adapted and rebuilt, are a series of three- and four-story brick rowhouses, 862–866 Broadway, at the turn where Broadway exits the square at 17th Street. The Everett House on the corner of 17th Street and Fourth Avenue (built 1848, demolished 1908) was for decades one of the city's most fashionable hotels. In the early years of the park a fence surrounded the square's central oval planted with radiating walks lined with trees. In 1872,
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
and
Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...
were called in to replant the park, as an open glade with clumps of trees. At first the square, the last public space that functioned as the entrance to New York City, was largely residential: the
Union League Club The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...
first occupied a house loaned for the purpose by Henry G. Marquand at the corner of 17th Street and Broadway. After the Civil War the neighborhood became largely commercial, and the square began to lose social cachet at the turn of the twentieth century, with many of the old mansions being demolished. Tiffany & Co., which had moved to the square from Broadway and Broome Street in 1870, left its premises on 15th Street to move uptown to 37th Street in 1905; the silversmiths
Gorham Company The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture. History Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, 1831 by Jabez Gorham, a master crafts ...
moved up from 19th Street in 1906. The last of the neighborhood's free-standing private mansions, Peter Goelet's at the northeast corner of 19th Street, made way for a commercial building in 1897.


The Rialto

The Rialto, New York City's first commercial theater district, was located in and around Union Square beginning in the 1870s. It was named after
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
's
Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Ria ...
, a commercial district. The first facility to open within the Union Square Rialto was the Academy of Music, which opened at Irving Place in 1854. The theater district gradually relocated northward, into less expensive and undeveloped uptown neighborhoods, and eventually into the current
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres. Places *Theater District, Manhattan, New York City *Boston Theater District *Buffalo Theater District *Cleveland Theater ...
. Before the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, theatres in New York City were primarily located along Broadway and 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. "B ...
up to 14th Street, with those on Broadway appealing more to the middle and upper classes and the Bowery theatres attracting immigrant audiences, clerks and the working class. After the war, the development of the Ladies' Mile shopping district along Fifth and Sixth Avenues above 14th Street had the effect of pulling the playhouses uptown, so that a "Rialto" theatrical strip came about on Broadway between 14th and 23rd Streets, between Union Square and
Madison Square Madison Square is a town square, public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. The square ...
. At the same time, a transition from stock companies, in which a resident acting company was based around a star or impresario, to a "combination" system, in which productions were put together on a one-time basis to mount a specific play, expanded the amount of outside support needed to service the theatrical industry. Thus, suppliers of props, costumes, wigs, scenery, and other theatrical necessities grew up around the new theatres. The new system also needed an organized way to engage actors for these one-off productions, so talent brokers and theatrical agents sprang up, as did theatrical boardinghouses, stage photographers, publicity agencies, theatrical printers and play publishers. Along with the hotels and restaurants which serviced the theatregoers and shoppers of the area, the Union Square Rialto was, by the end of the century, a thriving theatrical neighborhood, which would soon nonetheless migrate uptown to what became known as "
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
" as the Rialto became subsumed into the more vice-oriented Tenderloin entertainment district.Burrows & Wallace, pp. 946–948.


Office and wholesale district

By the first decade of the 20th century, Union Square had grown into a major transportation hub with several
elevated An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the Track (rail transport), tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast i ...
and surface railroad lines running nearby, and 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 ...
's 14th Street–Union Square station having opened in 1904. With the northward relocation of the theater district, Union Square also became a major wholesaling district with several loft buildings, as well as numerous office buildings. The office structures included the Everett Building, erected at the northwest corner of Park Avenue South and 17th Street in 1908; the Germania Life Insurance Company Building, erected at the northeast corner of the same intersection in 1910–1911; and the
Consolidated Edison Building The Consolidated Edison Building (also known as the Consolidated Gas Building and 4 Irving Place) is a neoclassical skyscraper in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 26-story building was designed by the architectural ...
, constructed three blocks south at 14th Street between 1910 and 1914. During this era, many of the older homes on Union Square were converted into
tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
s for immigrants and industrial workers. Numerous artists relocated into the attics of the remaining mansions along 14th Street, where they had their studios. The 1939
WPA Guide The American Guide Series includes books and pamphlets published from 1937 to 1941 under the auspices of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP), a Depression-era program that was part of the larger Works Progress Administration in the United States. ...
to New York City said that by the 1920s, "south side of Fourteenth Street became virtually an ex-tension of
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 ...
." Further, real estate values around Union Square had declined by the 1920s, with "burlesque houses, shooting galleries, and shoddy businesses" lining the square. Throughout the decade, most buildings on the eastern part of the square were purchased by department stores
S. Klein S. Klein On The Square, or simply S. Klein, was a popular-priced department store chain based in New York City. The flagship stores (a main building and a women's fashion building) were located along Union Square East in Manhattan; this lo ...
and
Ohrbach's Ohrbach's was a moderate-priced department store with a merchandising focus primarily on clothing and accessories. From its modest start in 1923 until the chain's demise in 1987, Ohrbach's expanded dramatically after World War II, and opened numer ...
. Real estate activity resumed in the late 1920s, and according to a 1928 piece in ''The New York Times'', “several smaller operations are planned or are under way in the neighborhood".


Late 20th and early 21st centuries

Union Square was named a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1997, primarily to honor it as the site of the first Labor Day parade. Following the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001, Union Square became a primary public gathering point for mourners. People created spontaneous candle and photograph memorials in the park and vigils were held to honor the victims. At the time, non-emergency vehicles were temporarily banned and pedestrian travel was restricted 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 ...
below 14th Street. The Square's tradition as a meeting place in times of upheaval was also a factor in its being used as a vigil gathering site.


North end renovation

In March 2008, an eighteen-month renovation began on the northern end of the park. Proponents of the plan described it as the completion of a renovation of Union Square Park that began in the mid-1980s that would improve the park by increasing the amount and quality of playground space, improving the quality and function of the public plaza, rehabilitating the badly deteriorating bandshell structure, improving the working conditions for park employees, and maintaining the "eyes on the street" presence of a restaurant at the heart of the park. Protests and political action in response to the original renovation plans resulted in a reduction in the degree to which the pavilion was to be renovated, a reduction in the total amount of space that the restaurant would occupy, and an increase in the amount of dedicated play space, but stiff opposition remains to the idea that any commercial uses might occupy the pavilion. Despite the fact that the overall amount of play space in the park would be increased as a result of the renovation, those critical of the plan claimed that the bandshell pavilion itself ought to be converted to play space. The status of the historic pavilion building was later brought before the State Supreme Court. In early 2009, a judge dismissed the lawsuit against the renovation, paving the way for a seasonal restaurant in the pavilion. One element of contention not related to the restaurant concession is the inclusion of a single line of street trees, spaced apart, along the north side of the plaza. The inclusion of trees was made possible without reducing the usable gathering space of the plaza by the simultaneous decision to remove a painted median strip, that had separated eastbound and westbound traffic along 17th Street, thus increasing the northern limits of the plaza by several feet. The "temporary" metal rails, welded together to make a continuous fence along the north side of the site, were removed as part of the renovation of the plaza. A double line of trees along 17th Street had been planted years earlier, and a corresponding plaque had been installed, as a monument to victims of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
. During the renovation the
Union Square Greenmarket Union Square is a historic intersection and surrounding neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century. Its name denotes ...
was temporarily relocated to the west side of the park, returning to the north end by April 2009.


Surrounding buildings

There are several notable buildings surrounding Union Square. Clockwise from southwest, they are: * Lincoln Building at Union Square West and 14th Street, a city landmark that is also listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
(NRHP) *
Spingler Building The Spingler Building (also Springler Building or 5 Union Square West) is an eight-story Romanesque Revival architecture, Romanesque building at 5–9 University Place (Manhattan), Union Square West, between 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th and ...
(also Springler Building) at 5–9 Union Square West * 15 Union Square West (former Tiffany & Co. Building) *
Bank of the Metropolis The Bank of the Metropolis was a bank in New York City that operated between 1871 and 1918. The bank was originally located at several addresses around Union Square in Manhattan before finally moving to 31 Union Square West, a 16-story Renaissa ...
at 31 Union Square West, a city landmark and a NRHP listing *
Decker Building The Decker Building (also the Union Building) is a commercial building located at 33 Union Square West in Manhattan, New York City. The structure was completed in 1892 for the Decker Brothers piano company, and designed by John H. Edelmann. Fro ...
at 33 Union Square West, a city landmark and a NRHP listing * Century Building (
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
) at 33 East 17th Street, on the north side of Union Square, a city landmark and a NRHP listing * Everett Building at 45 East 17th Street, on the north side of Union Square, a city landmark *
W New York Union Square The W New York Union Square is a 270-room, 21-story boutique hotel operated by W Hotels at the northeast corner of Park Avenue South and 17th Street, across from Union Square in Manhattan, New York. Originally known as the Germania Life Insuran ...
(former Germania Life Insurance Company Building) at 50 Union Square East/105 East 17th Street, a city landmark and a NRHP listing * 44 Union Square East (former
Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
Building), a city landmark *
Daryl Roth Theatre The Daryl Roth Theatre is an off-Broadway performance space at 101 East 15th Street, at the northeast corner of the intersection with Union Square East, near Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. The theater, opened in 1998, is housed in the ...
(former Union Square Savings Bank) at 20 Union Square East, a city landmark *
Zeckendorf Towers The Zeckendorf Towers, sometimes also called One Irving Place and One Union Square East, is a , 29-story, four-towered condominium complex on the eastern side of Union Square, Manhattan, in New York City. Completed in 1987, the building is loca ...
at 1 Union Square East, a condominium complex on the former site of the bargain-priced department store
S. Klein S. Klein On The Square, or simply S. Klein, was a popular-priced department store chain based in New York City. The flagship stores (a main building and a women's fashion building) were located along Union Square East in Manhattan; this lo ...
* One Union Square South (
Davis Brody Bond Davis Brody Bond is an American architectural firm headquartered in New York City, New York, with additional offices in Washington, DC and São Paulo, Brazil. The firm is named for Lewis Davis, Samuel Brody, and J. Max Bond Jr. and is le ...
, 1999), features a kinetic wall sculpture and digital clock expelling bursts of steam, titled ''
Metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...
''. In addition, the
Consolidated Edison Building The Consolidated Edison Building (also known as the Consolidated Gas Building and 4 Irving Place) is a neoclassical skyscraper in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 26-story building was designed by the architectural ...
is located one block east of the Zeckendorf Towers. The Century Association clubhouse is located on 15th Street between Irving Place and Union Square East.


Art and sculpture

Union Square is noted for its impressive equestrian statue of
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, modeled by
Henry Kirke Brown Henry Kirke Brown (February 24, 1814 in Leyden, Massachusetts – July 10, 1886 in Newburgh, New York) was an American sculptor. Life He began to paint portraits while still a boy, studied painting in Boston under Chester Harding, learned a lit ...
and unveiled in 1856. Located at the south end of the park, it was the first public sculpture erected in New York City since the equestrian statue of
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
in 1770, and the first American equestrian sculpture cast in bronze. The ''
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
'', at Union Square East and 16th Street, was modeled by
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi ( , ; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculptor and painter. He is best known for designing ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Early life and education Barthold ...
and dedicated in 1876, the 100th anniversary of U.S. independence. The statue of Abraham Lincoln, modeled by
Henry Kirke Brown Henry Kirke Brown (February 24, 1814 in Leyden, Massachusetts – July 10, 1886 in Newburgh, New York) was an American sculptor. Life He began to paint portraits while still a boy, studied painting in Boston under Chester Harding, learned a lit ...
(1870), is located near the north end of the park. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the southwest corner of the park was added in 1986. The ''
Union Square Drinking Fountain Union Square Drinking Fountain, also known as James Fountain, is an outdoor bronze sculpture and ornamental fountain by sculptor Adolf von Donndorf and architect J. Leonard Corning, located on the west side of Union Square Park in Manhattan, New ...
'' (1881) near Union Square West, also known as the James Fountain, is a
Temperance fountain A temperance fountain was a fountain that was set up, usually by a private benefactor, to encourage temperance, and to make abstinence from beer possible by the provision of clean, safe, and free water. Beer was the main alternative to water, an ...
with the figure of Charity who empties her jug of water, aided by a child. It was donated by
Daniel Willis James Daniel Willis James (April 15, 1832 – September 13, 1907) was the son of an American merchant who with his cousin, William Earl Dodge Jr., transformed Phelps, Dodge & Co. from a predominantly mercantile business into one of the largest copper p ...
and sculpted by
Adolf Donndorf Adolf von Donndorf (16 February 1835 – 20 December 1916) was a German sculptor. Life Adolf Donndorf was born in Weimar, the son of a cabinet-maker. Starting in 1853 he was a student of Ernst Rietschel in Dresden. After Rietschel's death in 186 ...
. The Charles F. Murphy Memorial Flagpole, also known as the Independence Flagstaff, was cast in 1926 and dedicated in 1930 to mark the 150th anniversary of U.S. independence. It is located in the center of the park.


Greenmarkets and businesses


Public markets

In 1976, the Council on the Environment of New York City (now GrowNYC) established the Greenmarket program, which provided regional small family farmers with opportunities to sell their fruits, vegetables and other farm products at open-air markets in the city. There were originally seven farmers at the first Greenmarket, and their selection sold out by noon. That summer, two more markets opened in New York City. Despite some backlash from local merchants and supermarkets who believed the Greenmarket was cutting into their profits, more markets opened in the city. Today, the Union Square Greenmarket – the best-known of the markets – is held year-round on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays between 8 am and 6 pm. The market is served by a number of regional farmers, as the average distance between farmers and the market is . During peak seasons, the Greenmarket serves more than 250,000 customers per week, who purchase more than one thousand varieties of fruits and vegetables can be found at the Greenmarket; and the variety of produce available is much broader than what is found in a conventional supermarket. Union Square is also known for the Union Square Holiday Market, which is held from November 23 through December 24. Temporary booths are filled with over 100 craftsmen, who sell items ranging from candles and perfume to knitted scarves and high-end jewelry.


Businesses

Union Square is a popular meeting place, given its central location in Manhattan and its many nearby subway routes. There are many bars and restaurants on the periphery of the square, and the surrounding streets have some of the city's most renowned (and expensive) restaurants. S. Klein's department store promoted itself in the mid-20th century as an "On the Square" alternative to higher prices uptown, and late in the century several big-box chain stores established a presence, including
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
in the Century Building,
Babies "R" Us An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
in the former United States Communist Party headquarters, and Staples in the
Spingler Building The Spingler Building (also Springler Building or 5 Union Square West) is an eight-story Romanesque Revival architecture, Romanesque building at 5–9 University Place (Manhattan), Union Square West, between 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th and ...
. The
W New York Union Square The W New York Union Square is a 270-room, 21-story boutique hotel operated by W Hotels at the northeast corner of Park Avenue South and 17th Street, across from Union Square in Manhattan, New York. Originally known as the Germania Life Insuran ...
, part of the
W Hotels W Hotels is an American upscale lifestyle hotel chain owned by Marriott International that is marketed towards a younger age group. History W Hotels was launched in 1998 with W New York, a conversion of the former Doral Inn hotel on Lexingto ...
chain, is located at the park's northeast corner, in the former Guardian Life building. Additionally, the Hyatt Union Square New York hotel is located at the park's southeast corner, in a former post office.


Cultural impact


Social and political activism

The park has historically been the start or the end point for many political demonstrations. Although the park was known for its labor union rallies and for the large 1861 gathering in support of Union troops, it was actually named for its location at the "union" of Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) and
Eastern Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of post roads, mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post ...
(now extinct) decades before these gatherings. On April 20th, 1861, soon after the fall of Fort Sumter,
Major Robert Anderson Robert Anderson (June 14, 1805 – October 26, 1871) was a United States Army officer during the American Civil War. He was the Union commander in the first battle of the American Civil War at Fort Sumter in April 1861 when the Confederates bomb ...
, who was the commander of Fort Sumter brought the
Fort Sumter Flag The Fort Sumter Flag is a historic United States flag with a distinctive, diamond-shaped pattern of 33 stars. When the main flagpole was felled by a shot during the bombardment of Fort Sumter by Confederate forces, Second Lieutenant Norman J. H ...
that flew at the fort to the park. The flag was flown from the George Washington statue, gathering patriotic rally of perhaps a quarter of a million people that is thought to have been the largest public gathering in North America up to that time. The flag was shortly removed after to be used as a patriotic fundraiser by being auctioned across the country repeatedly. In the summer of 1864 the north side of the square was the site of the Metropolitan Fair. Union Square has been a frequent gathering point for radicals of all stripes to make speeches or demonstrate. In 1865, the recently formed
Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...
Fenian Brotherhood The Fenian Brotherhood () was an Irish republican organisation founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). M ...
came out publicly and rented Dr. John Moffat's brownstone rowhouse at 32 East 17th Street, next to the Everett House hotel facing the north side of the square, for the capitol of the government-in-exile they declared. On September 5, 1882, in the first
Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
celebration, a crowd of at least 10,000 workers paraded up Broadway and filed past the reviewing stand at Union Square. On March 28, 1908, an anarchist set off a bomb in Union Square which only killed himself and another man. On August 21, 1893,
Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...
took the stage at Union Square to make her "Free Bread" speech to a crowd of overworked garment workers. She also addressed a crowd on May 20, 1916, on the need for free access to birth control which was banned by the
Comstock laws The Comstock laws were a set of federal acts passed by the United States Congress under the Grant administration along with related state laws.Dennett p.9 The "parent" act (Sect. 211) was passed on March 3, 1873, as the Act for the Suppression of ...
. Her visits to Union Square pulled hundreds of followers; some of these rallies resulted in her arrest. Union Square has been used as a platform to raise awareness about the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement. The Square's shopping district saw strikes in the S. Klein and Ohrbach department stores in 1934. White collar workers were among the worst paid in
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
era New York City, with union memberships being highly discouraged by store managers and often seen as fireable offenses. These strikes often involved acts of disobedience by the workers as many of them did not want to lose their jobs. This period saw Union Square as a gathering point for many of the cities socialist and communist groups. The centennial of Union Square was seen as a thinly veiled effort to displace those elements with its draping of the square with flags and police demonstrations of anti protester drills.


Street chess

'' The Villager'', a local newspaper, reported in 2013 that most of the street chess players at
Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...
—where
Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11 ...
had played—had moved their games to Union Square because the latter had more foot traffic. Street chess players play
fast chess Fast chess, also known as Speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than normal tournament time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz ...
with passers-by for three to five dollars a game, with time controls of five minutes on each side being the most common. Writer Lauren Snetiker at the
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Village Preservation (formerly the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, or GVSHP) is a non-profit organization which advocates for the preservation of architecture and culture in several neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan, New York. ...
also documents this migration of the historical Washington Square Park chess scene to Union Square, noting the "dozens of chess players hosit on crates and bring their own boards... as there are no permanent ones like there are in Washington Square Park".


Freestyle Hip-Hop

Union Square is the site of a regular hip-hop
freestyle rap Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...
cypher called Legendary Cyphers since 2012. The events draw residents from across the city and tourists and encourage participation in freestyle hip-hop. Notable local hip-hop artists such as
Joey Bada$$ Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pro ...
have attended in the past.


Union Square Partnership

The Union Square Partnership (USP), a business improvement district (BID) and a local development corporation (LDC), was formed in 1984 and became a model for other BIDs in New York City. As of 2006 it had a US$1.4 million budget. Jennifer E. Falk became its executive director in January 2007. The Union Square Partnership provides a free public Wi-Fi network in Union Square.


Education

The
Washington Irving Campus The Washington Irving Campus is a public school building located at 40 Irving Place between East 16th and 17th Streets in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Formerly the Washington Irving ...
at 40
Irving Place Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along its ...
between East 16th and 17th Streets, a block east of Union Square Park, was formerly the location of a comprehensive high school, but now houses Gramercy Arts High School, the High School for Language and Diplomacy, the International High School at Union Square, the Union Square Academy for Health Sciences and the Academy for Software Engineering. In 2012, Success Academy Charter Schools announced its plan to open an elementary school in the building in 2013, but this had not occurred as of mid-2015. Also in the Union Square neighborhood is the original building of Stuyvesant High School at 345 East 15th Street, now known as the "Old Stuyvesant Campus", and housing the Institute for Collaborative Education, the High School for Health Professions and Human Services, and P.S. 226.


Gallery

File:1910-unionsquare-newsboy.jpg, File:Union Square in 2006 blizzard.jpg, File:Union Square Subway 3760070985 d4b6a3d4fa2.jpg, File:Metronome in Union Square, New York City.JPG, File:Metronome November 2020.jpg, File:31-41 Union Square West.jpg, File:W New York Union Square.jpg, File:Union Square Savings Bank full jeh.JPG, File:Zeckendorf Towers over Union Square.jpg,


See also

*
East Side (Manhattan) The East Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan which abuts the East River and faces Brooklyn and Queens. Fifth Avenue, Central Park from 59th to 110th Streets, and Broadway below 8th Street separate it from the West Side. The maj ...
*
Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Green ...
* Gramercy Park *
Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...
* List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City *
Madison Square Madison Square is a town square, public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. The square ...
* USS ''Recruit'' (1917) *
Macdougal Street MacDougal Street is a one-way street in the Greenwich Village and SoHo neighborhoods of Manhattan, New York City. The street is bounded on the south by Prince Street and on the north by West 8th Street; its numbering begins in the south. Betw ...


References

Notes Bibliography *


External links


A History of Union Square
on the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation website
Union Square Partnership

Union Square Greenmarket

GrowNYC Greenmarket Farmer's Markets Official Site
{{Authority control 14th Street (Manhattan) 1882 establishments in New York (state) Broadway (Manhattan) Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan Neighborhoods in Manhattan Park Avenue Parks in Manhattan Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Road junctions in the United States Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Squares in Manhattan