Mapping 200 Years of Washington Square Park

On January 16, 1826, a resolution was introduced to the Common Council (predecessor to today’s City Council) that would re-appropriate an old potter’s field into the Washington Military Parade Ground. This was a pivotal step in transforming the landscape into today’s Washington Square Park, which it officially became in 1827. Washington Square Park has been the geographic and symbolic heart of Greenwich Village ever since.

A neighborhood anchor defined by creativity and community life, Washington Square Park has been used by writers, artists, activists, students, visitors and longtime residents alike for more than two centuries. As such, this prominent public park is also integral to the Greenwich Village Historic District, established in 1969.

Village Preservation has published a robust virtual map on the historic district, which explores numerous topics, including the many layers of history that Washington Square Park has witnessed. Here are just a few highlights on Washington Square Park from several of the map’s tours:

Street Name Origins

A logical place to start, the Street Name Origins tour explains how this former potter’s field came to be named after George Washington on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. As mentioned above, its conversion to a public park had begun on January 16, 1826, when the land was proposed to be dedicated as parade grounds.

Most Charming Spots

Undeniably one of the neighborhood’s Most Charming Spots, the Washington Arch is at once among New York’s most formal pieces of outdoor sculpture and its most enduring symbol of Village iconoclasm and informality.

Created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington in Lower Manhattan, the original wood arch was such a hit with New Yorkers that there was an almost immediate push to make a permanent version. The Tuckahoe marble arch we see today was designed by Stanford White in 1892, modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, with the two statues of Washington (“At War” and “At Peace”) added in 1918.

Despite its commemorative intentions, the Arch has long been associated with protest and acts of public organizing. Adding to its bohemian credentials, in 1917 Greenwich Village rebels John Sloane, Gertrude Dick, and Marcel Duchamp, among others, famously broke into the arch, climbed to the top, released lighted lanterns, and declared Greenwich Village the “Independent Republic of Washington Square.”

Immigration Landmarks

Another public work of art located within the park, and with ties to the Immigration History of the neighborhood, a bronze-and-granite monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, “the Father of Modern Italy” was dedicated in 1888. The statue and pedestal were commissioned and paid for by Italian immigrants from the area, who began the campaign to erect the monument almost immediately after Garibaldi’s passing in 1880.

Considered one of the greatest military minds of the 19th century, Garibaldi led many of the successful campaigns that resulted in the unification of Italy in 1870. Garibaldi was a Republican and progressive social thinker in many respects; after Italian unification, he served in the parliament, where he also founded the League of Democracy and advocated for universal suffrage, the emancipation of women, and limits on the power and influence of the church.

From the late 19th through the early 20th centuries, Greenwich Village had, along with nearby Little Italy and East Harlem, the largest Italian immigrant community in New York.

Movie, TV Show, and Play Locations

Washington Square Park has captured the imaginations of many writers, artists, and filmmakers over the years, and it has been used as a filming location for a variety of movies and TV shows.

One example is the film Barefoot in the Park, which was released on May 25, 1967. Village real estate plays a leading role in the plot of the movie, and the film features, among other Village locations, both the awning of the Hotel Earle Bar & Restaurant (just off the park at the corner of Waverly Place and MacDougal Street) and Washington Square Park itself. There are also several scenes filmed on lower Fifth Avenue, on the blocks just above the park.

Music Venues

Washington Square Park has of course also been the real-life location for many performances throughout its history. As a popular counter-culture gathering place, creatives from all walks of life are often seen around the fountain and lawns with their instruments to this day.

The park especially flourished as a music venue during the folk revival era of the 1950s and ‘60s. The likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seger, and countless others played their music in Washington Square Park — but not without moments of conflict. In 1961 the Washington Square Association, along with then-Parks Commissioner Newbold Morris, asserted that the park should remain tranquil and quiet. Police obeyed orders to remove the “roving troubadours and their followers” from the park. Izzy Young, owner of the Folklore Center on MacDougal Street, arranged a protest to push back against this control. The ban eventually lifted and the park has since remained a place of open-air creative expression.

This doesn’t even come close to covering all of the stories about Washington Square Park to be found within our Greenwich Village Historic District: Virtual Map + Tours, let alone throughout our many other resources, which we encourage you to explore!

For historic images of Washington Square Park from our Historic Image Archive, click here.
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