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Location and features
The park in popular culture Washington Square has long been a hub for politics and culture in New York City. In 1912 about 20,000 workers, a quarter of them women, marched to the park to commemorate the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which killed 146 workers the year before. Many of the women wore fitted tucked-front blouses like those manufactured by the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, a clothing style that 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 on the park demanding women's suffrage in 1915. In the years before and after World War I the park was a center for many American artists, writers, and activists, including Willa Cather, John Reed, Max Eastman, Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis, Marcel Duchamp, and Eugene O’Neill. Later the park was a gathering area for the beat, folk, and hippie movements in the 1950s and 1960s. Built-in chess tables on the southwest corner encourage outdoor playing along with throngs of watchers *(in his youth, Stanley Kubrick was a frequent player). These tables were featured in the 1994 film, Searching for Bobby Fischer. The Washington Square tables form the cornerstone of what is called Manhattan's "chess district," as the area around the park (Thompson Street, between West 3rd and Bleecker Streets) has a number of chess shops in addition to the playing location in the park. Also, the renowned Marshall Chess Club is nearby at 23 West 10th Street. Washington Square has served as the setting in a number of literary and musical works, including William S. Burroughs' "The Naked Lunch" and Joan Baez' 1975 song "Diamonds & Rust". Colonial era The property was once a marsh fed by Minetta Brook. It was located near a Native American village known as Sapokanikan or "Tobacco Field." In 1797, in the midst of a yellow fever epidemic, the Common Council purchased 90 lots for a new potter's field, or public burial ground. The field was also used for public executions, giving rise to the tale of the 350 year old Hangman’s Elm *which stands in the northwest corner of the park. The cemetery was eventually closed in 1823 and designated as a public park. To this day, the remains of more than 20,000 bodies rest under Washington Square. In 1871, the park was relandscaped by the newly-formed New York City Department of Parks. The square became one of the city's finest residential addresses in the mid- and late-19th century. Construction of the arch 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 at the northern entrance to the park. The plaster and wood arch was replaced in 1892 with a marble arch standing 77 feet (23 m) and designed by the New York architect Stanford White. The cemetery was officially changed to The Washington Military Parade Ground in 1826. Military parade grounds were public spaces specified by the City where voluntary militia companies responsible for the nation's defense would train. Throughout this period Washington Square was used for drilling and reviews led by appointed officers. Other defining characteristics of the park were added in this time. The fountain was completed in 1852, and the monument of Giuseppe Garibaldi was unveiled in 1888. Robert Moses, Jane Jacobs, and Shirley Hayes 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 1952 Moses finalized plans to build an expressway through the park. 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 Wahington Square Park to all auto traffic. This credit is a bit misguided, however, as Ms. Jacobs, in her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, noted the courage of another local advocate in the fight against park traffic, Shirley Hayes: "Hayes and 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." Shirley Hayes, former Chairperson of the Washington Square Park Committee and member of the Greenwich Village Community Planning Board, is a bit of an unsung hero outside of historic preservation circles. A local resident and mother of four sons, she started a public outcry for the park when large apartment buildings were raised on one of its borders. When Manhattan borough president Hulan Jack suggested an elevated pedestrian walkway over a four-lane road to run through Washington Square 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 a roadway in the park, Ms. Hayes and her followers rejected them all. Seeking to "best serve the needs of children and adults of this family community," Ms. Hayes in turn presented her own proposal: 1.75 acres 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 Congressman (and Mayor) John Lindsay as well as Washington Square Park West resident Eleanor Roosevelt. After 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: Washington Square Park was closed to traffic forever. A plaque commemorating her tireless crusade can be seen in the park today. Future redesign As of 2006, Greenwich Village is embroiled in a controversy over the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation's proposed redesign plan, which would cost roughly 16 million dollars. Controversial aspects of the proposed plan include the installation of a four-foot (1.2 m) perimeter fence, the relocation of the central fountain by about 22 feet, and the risk of disturbing the burial ground underneath the park during construction, but the alleged disenfranchisement of local community members in the planning and design process is of greatest concern to many. During 2005 and early 2006, three lawsuits were filed challenging various aspects of the Parks Department's renovation plans. In July 2006, New York County Supreme Court Justice Emily Jane Goodman enjoined any renovation work on the fountain or fountain plaza area, pending further review of the plans by the local community board, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Art Commission. The City is appealing the decision, and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court heard the case on October 31, 2006. In another lawsuit challenging the Art Commission's approval of the plan, the City prevailed on a motion to dismiss, but the appeals court will entertain an appellate argument in December 2006. Reference links | ||||||||||||
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