WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

Description

Essentials about Washington Square Park in brief

Located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, Washington Square Park is one of the best known and most popular of the more than 1,700 public parks in New York City. Especially when the weather is nice and on weekends, local residents and tourists gather here to sunbathe, chill out, play chess and splash around in the central fountain.

The history of Washington Square Park

Until the end of the 18th century, the area still served as a public burial ground. In 1823 it was declared a park. The streets around the park developed into a preferred residential area from the 1830s, which it remains today. Since the 1940s, the park has been a popular gathering place for folk musicians, peaking during the folk boom of the early 1960s, when Bob Dylan, for example, also played here. Today, you’re more likely to hear jazz in Washington Square Park. Many of Greenwich Village’s resident jazz artists perform here.

Washington Square Arch

At the entrance to the park from Fifth Avenue stands the Washington Square Arch, an impressive monument. Once a wooden triumphal arch, it was inaugurated to mark the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as the first president of the United States. The 23-meter-high arch was so well received that it was later covered by marble. The sculptures of Washington as general and president on the pillar were added only in the early 20th century. By the way, through the Arc de Triomphe you have a magnificent view of the top of the Empire State Building along Fifth Avenue.

Hangman’s Elm

In the northwest corner of the park is a very special tree, the so-called “Hangman’s Elm”. With a height of almost 34 meters and a diameter of 1.4 meters, the English Elm is not only a stately sight, but also the oldest tree in Manhattan. Its age has been determined to be about 330 years. The extent to which the name is justified and executions on the gallows actually took place here is still disputed among historians.