in and around the park, public space, NYC & more
The little known history of when the Washington Square Park fountain was turned into a sanctioned wading pool during the Robert Moses era was looked into recently by Untapped Cities. As part of an earlier … Read more…
Last week, Community Board 2 held a “public hearing” on the NYC Parks Department’s plans to rebury “human remains” dug up during the park’s redesign construction back into Washington Square Park. We covered what … Read more…
This Week – Why It Remains Important In the sixties, Sunday was the big day for “the folkies” to meet up and perform at Washington Square Park. At the time, applying for a permit was … Read more…
John Sloan Memorialized the 1917 Monumental Event in a Famous Etching Much about current Washington Square Park is informed by the self-dubbed Arch Conspirators’ takeover of the Arch in 1917 and the Folk Riot aka … Read more…
Remember those skeletons and bones they dug up in the park? The city has decided to acknowledge the bodies that lie beneath Washington Square Park and reinter “human remains” dug up during park construction over … Read more…
City Hall Protest in 1958 Organized by Jane Jacobs, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Mead & Other Notable Individuals to Curtail Robert Moses’s Roadway Plan, End Traffic New York University recently presented Narrative and Counternarrative: (Re) Defining … Read more…
Writer Henry James (1843-1916) used Washington Square as the name and setting for arguably his most well-known novel published in 1881. Washington Square also holds the claim of being one of his least favorite books … Read more…
Culture from other eras inform the park to this day, but is that spirit being increasingly sanitized? The New York Times T Magazine recently celebrated New York City “three extraordinary years” 1981-1983. In light of … Read more…
Why It Remains Important The Folk Riot at Washington Square Park – sometimes referred to as the Beatnik Riot – occurred on Sunday, April 9th, 1961 after the city’s Parks Department suppressed performance at the … Read more…
I was hoping we would have another snowy day to feature this wonderful photograph by André Kertész : Washington Square, Winter. Of the compelling image taken of Washington Square Park in 1954 – spot the … Read more…
Washington Square Park Blog turns 10 today! The first WSP Blog post: The magical park February 26, 2008 When I first got involved with what was going on at Washington Square Park, someone referred to … Read more…
Walking from the Eastern end of Washington Square Park towards the Arch in 2012, I noticed, for the first time, that there are Roman numerals at the top on the side of the monument. I … Read more…
What will this generation impart on this Greenwich Village public space? I believe that much about current Washington Square Park is informed by the Arch Conspirators’ takeover of the Arch in 1917 – and the … Read more…
A must watch! This holiday video set to Karen Carpenter’s “Sleigh Ride” highlights kids sledding and frolicking in the snow on the old Mounds at Washington Square Park in December 2008 before their remodeling. It … Read more…
The statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi in Washington Square Park was moved during the park’s controversial redesign (2007-2014+) from his long-standing location facing west looking towards the fountain to face south, where he is now. Garibaldi … Read more…