WASHINGTON SQUARE is located between Fourth and Seventh streets, at the
lower end of Fifth avenue. The site was originally a Potter's Field, and
it is said that over one hundred thousand persons were buried here in
days gone by. The square contains a little over nine acres, and is
handsomely laid out, and adorned with a fountain, around which passes the
main carriage drive, flowers, shrubbery, etc. The trees are among the
finest in the city, and are kept with great care. An iron railing
formerly surrounded the grounds, but in 1870-71 this was removed, and
Fifth avenue was extended through the square to Laurens street. This
street was widened and called South Fifth avenue, thus practically
extending the avenue to West Broadway at Canal street. The square is
surrounded by handsome residences. On the east side are the University
of New York and a Lutheran Church.
TOMPKINS SQUARE is one of the largest in the city, and is laid off
without ornament, being designed for a drill ground for the police and
military. It occupies the area formed by avenues A and B, and Seventh
and Tenth streets.
UNION SQUARE, lying between Broadway and Fourth avenue, and Fourteenth
and Seventeenth streets, was originally a portion of the estate of Elias
Brevoort. In 1762 he sold twenty acres lying west of the "Bowery Road"
to John Smith, whose executors sold it to Henry Spingler for the sum of
950 pounds, or about $4750. The original farm-house is believed to have
stood within the limits of the present Union Square. About the year 1807
Broadway was laid off to the vicinity of Twenty-second street, and in
1815 Union Square was made a "public place," and in 1832 it was laid off
as it now exists. The square is regular in shape, and the central
portion is laid off as a park, and ornamented with shrubbery, flowers,
walks, and a fountain. It is one of the prettiest parks in the city, and
covers an area of several acres. It is oval in form, and is without an
enclosure.
[Picture: THE WASHINGTON STATUE IN UNION SQUARE.]
Near the fountain is a thriving colony of English sparrows, imported and
cared for by the city for the purpose of protecting the trees from the
ravages of worms, etc. The birds have a regular village of quaint little
houses built for them in the trees. They frequent all the parks of the
city, but seem to regard this one as their headquarters. Some of the
houses are quite extensive and are labelled with curious little signs,
such as the following: "Sparrows' Chinese Pagoda," "Sparrows' Doctor
Shop," "Sparrows' Restaurant," "Sparrows' Station House," etc. At the
southeast angle of the square stands Hablot K. Browne's equestrian statue
of Washington, a fine work in bronze, and at the southwest angle is his
statue of Lincoln, of the same metal. The houses surrounding the square
are large and handsome. They were once the most elegant residences in
New York, but are now, with a few exceptions, used for business. Several
hotels, the principal of which are the Everett and Spingler Houses, front
on the Square. On the south side, east of Broadway, is the Union Square
Theatre, and on the west side, at the corner of Fifteenth street,
Tiffany's magnificent iron building. In a few years the square will
doubtless be entirely surrounded with similar structures. It is here
that the monster mass meetings are held.
STUYVESANT SQUARE lies to the east of Union Square, and is bisected by
the line of the Second avenue. Its upper and lower boundaries are
Fifteenth and Seventeenth streets. It consists of two beautiful parks of
equal size, surrounded by a handsome iron railing, and filled with choice
flowers and shrubbery. In the centre of each is a fountain. These parks
are the property of St. George's Church (Episcopal), which stands on the
west side of the square at the corner, and were given to the corporation
of that church by the late Peter G. Stuyvesant, Esq.
GRAMMERCY PARK lies midway between the Fourth and Third avenues, and
separates Lexington avenue on the north from Irving Place, really a part
of the same avenue, on the south. Its northern and southern boundaries
are Twentieth and Twenty-first streets. It is tastefully laid out, is
enclosed with an iron fence, and is kept locked against the public, as it
is the private property of the persons living around it. On the east
side the entire block is taken up by the Grammercy Park Hotel--a
first-class boarding house--the other three sides are occupied by the
residences of some of the wealthiest capitalists in America. Here dwell
Peter Cooper, Moses Taylor, Cyrus W. Field, James Harper (of Harper &
Bros.), and others equally well known in the financial world.
MADISON SQUARE comprises about ten acres, and lies at the junction of
Broadway and the Fifth avenue. The latter street bounds it on the west,
Madison avenue on the east, Twenty-third street on the south, and
Twenty-sixth street on the north. It is nearly square in form, and is
beautifully laid off. It has no fence, and this adds to the appearance
of space which the neighboring open area gives to it. The Fifth Avenue
Hotel, the Hoffman, Albemarle, and Worth Houses face it on the west, the
Hotel Brunswick is on the north side, and the Union League Club House and
a handsome Presbyterian Church are on the east side along the line of
Madison avenue. The land now included in Madison Square was owned by the
city from a very early period, and was used as a Potter's Field. In 1806
it was ceded to the United States for the erection of an Arsenal, for
which purpose it was occupied for several years. In 1824 the "Society
for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents" obtained possession of the
Arsenal grounds, on which they erected a House of Refuge, which was
opened January 1st, 1825. This establishment consisted of two large
stone buildings, and the grounds were enclosed with a stone wall
seventeen feet high. In 1838 the House of Refuge was destroyed by fire,
and a few years later Madison Square was laid out. It is now one of the
most fashionable localities in the city, and the favorite promenade of
the up-town people, who are drawn here in great numbers by the summer
afternoon concerts of the Central Park Band.
RESERVOIR SQUARE occupies the site of the old Crystal Palace, and lies
between Sixth avenue and the Croton Reservoir on Fifth avenue, and
Fortieth and Forty-second streets. It has recently undergone great
changes. It is a very pretty park, and is much frequented by the nurses
and children of the adjacent neighborhoods.