"THE PARK" is the title given by New Yorkers to the enclosure containing
the City Hall and County Buildings. It originally embraced an area of
eleven acres, but within the past year and a half the lower end has been
ceded to the General Government by the city, and upon this portion the
Federal authorities are erecting a magnificent edifice to be used as a
City Post Office. This building covers the extreme southern end of the
old Park, and the northern portion is occupied by the City Hall, the new
County Court-House and the Department of Finance of the city and county.
In the days of the Dutch in New Amsterdam, the site of the Park, which
was far outside the village limits, was set apart as a common, and was
known as the "Vlachte," or "Flat," and subsequently as the "Second
Plains," "Commons," and "Fields." It was the common grazing ground of
the Knickerbocker cows, and was by universal consent made public
property--the first ever owned by the city. It is believed that previous
to this it was the site of the village of the Manhattan Indians, a belief
which is strengthened by the frequent finding of Indian relics in digging
up the soil on this spot. It was connected with the Dutch village by a
road which ran through a beautiful valley now known as Maiden lane.
[Picture: THE CITY HALL PARK]
Every morning the village cowherd, who was a most important personage,
would walk the streets of New Amsterdam and sound his horn at each
burgher's door. The cows were immediately turned out to him, and when he
had collected his herd he would drive them by the pretty valley road to
the commons, and there by his vigilance prevent them from straying into
the unsettled part beyond. At a later period the mighty Dutch warriors
whose prowess the immortal Deiderich Knickerbocker has celebrated, made
the commons their training ground, and here was also marshalled the force
which wrested the city from the Dutch. Under the English it became a
place of popular resort, and was used for public celebrations, the town
having reached the lower limit of the commons. Here were celebrated his
Majesty's birth-day, the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, and other
loyal holidays, and here were held the tumultuous assemblies, the
meetings of the Liberty Boys, and other demonstrations which preceded the
Revolution.
In 1736 the first building, a Poor-House, was erected on the site of the
present City Hall. In 1747 a powder-house was erected by the city within
the limit of the commons, near the site of the present City Hall. The
gallows stood on the site of the new Post-office, and in 1756 was removed
to the vicinity of the present Five Points. In 1757 the new jail, more
recently known as the Hall of Records, was erected. In the same year,
the old French war being in progress, wooden barracks were erected along
the Chambers street front of the Park.
In 1757 a part of the site of the City Hall was laid out as a burying
ground for the inmates of the Alms-House. In 1764 a whipping-post,
stocks, cage, and pillory were erected in front of the new jail. In 1755
a Bridewell was built on that portion lying between the City Hall and
Broadway. After the Revolution, in 1785, the Park was first enclosed in
its present form, by a post-and-rail fence, and a few years later this
was replaced by wooden palings, and Broadway along the Park began to be
noted as a fashionable place of residence. In 1816, the wooden fence
gave way to an iron railing, which was set with due ceremonies by the
city authorities. In 1795 a new Alms-House was built along the Chambers
street front, but in 1812, Bellevue Hospital having been finished, the
paupers were transferred thither, and the old building was refitted as a
Museum. In 1802 the corner-stone of the present City Hall was laid. The
building was finished in 1810. Some years later the old buildings were
removed or converted into offices for the city and county officials.
In 1870, the southern portion having been ceded to the Federal Government
for the erection of a new Post-office thereon, the Park was laid out on a
new plan, and handsomely adorned with walks, shrubbery, fountains, etc.
It is now an ornament to the city.