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The Skeletons of Washington Square

October 12, 2021

It’s That Time of Year Again 20,000 Bodies are Buried Underneath this Park This time of year seems to rile up and unearth the dead bodies beneath Washington Square Park. It is believed up to … Read more…

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Washington Square Park Arch View of Twin Towers Before 9/11

September 11, 2021

20 Years Ago Today Everything changed after 9/11, a very sad day in New York City, 20 Years Ago Today. When you could see the Twin Towers directly through the middle of the Washington Square … Read more…

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Girl with Sketchpad at Washington Square Park Fountain, 1956

July 18, 2021

Girl with Sketchpad Fountain Steps Washington Square Park, 1956. Photo: Nat Norman Learn more about this time period at the park here: 1950s & 60s Washington Square Captured in New Exhibit, Folk City, at Museum … Read more…

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If You Always Wanted to Know Where Minetta Brook Flows Under Washington Square Park

June 19, 2021June 19, 2021

The New York City Parks Department prepared an Archaeological Assessment of Washington Square Park in 2005 prior to the park’s controversial redesign (2007-2014+). The affiliated map outlines where long-forgotten Minetta Creek flows (once flowed?) under … Read more…

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60 Years Ago This Month, The 1961 “Folk Riot” at Washington Square Park Occurred

April 28, 2021

A Pivotal Piece of the Park’s History 60 years ago this month, the Washington Square Park “Folk Riot”, a pivotal part of this Greenwich Village park’s history, occurred. That date, April 9, 1961, and what … Read more…

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104 Years Ago, Artists Took Over the Arch Declaring “Free & Independent Republic of Washington Square”

January 26, 2021January 25, 2021

Dubbed “Arch Conspirators,” John Sloan Memorialized the Takeover of the Arch in 1917 Much about Washington Square Park today remains informed by the artist-led Arch Conspirators’ takeover of the Arch in 1917 and the Folk … Read more…

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From the Archives: “Merry Mounds” Video Washington Square Park & Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2020

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…

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The Skeletons of Washington Square Park

November 2, 2020November 2, 2020

Well, it is All Souls’ Day, isn’t it? 20,000 Bodies are Buried Underneath the Park This time of year seems to rile up and unearth the dead bodies beneath Washington Square Park. It is believed … Read more…

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NYPD Still Guarding the Washington Square Arch

September 24, 2020September 24, 2020

In late June, the Arch at Washington Square Park was doused with red paint. This occurred after the NYPD attacked protesters the previous evening at the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives against police brutality … Read more…

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Pictured: 1912 Labor Day Demonstration at Washington Square Park

September 8, 2020September 7, 2020

Today is Labor Day in the United States. Labor Day did not just happen. Workers/people fought for this day of recognition via events such as this demonstration in Washington Square Park on Labor Day in … Read more…

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Beastie Boys in Washington Square Park, 1986

April 11, 2020
Beastie Boys, Washington Square Park, Arch, 1986

Ah, simpler times? Photo via History Lovers Club on Twitter

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12 Years of Washington Square Park Blog: A Snapshot in Photos

February 26, 2020

The original tagline of Washington Square Park Blog, which published its first post twelve years ago today, was: “the chronicles of a beloved park and a city government overcome by its own power.” This blog … Read more…

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103 Years Ago Today, Arch Conspirators Declare “Free & Independent Republic of Washington Square”

January 23, 2020

John Sloan Memorialized the Artists’ – Including himself, Marcel Duchamp and Gertrude Drick – Takeover of the Arch I believe that much about current Washington Square Park is informed by the Arch Conspirators’ takeover of … Read more…

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Washington Square Park Seen Through the Lens of the Storied Village Voice

September 18, 2019

The Village Voice, founded in 1955, sadly shuttered its print publication on September 21, 2017, only continuing its online version until late August 2018. However, on Twitter, there is still some entity promoting its content. … Read more…

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The Little Known History of When the Washington Square Park Fountain Became a Wading Pool

July 25, 2019
Washington Square Park as Pool 1935

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…

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Key Posts over the Years


Exitus Acta Probat: The Washington Square Arch

Phase I Opens! May 2009

NYC's Redesign Plans for Washington Square Park

Washington Square 6 A.M. Fall 2011

NBC News Reports on This Blog's Report of Trees Repeatedly Dying Around the Fountain

Actually, Mr. Vellonakis, the Washington Square Fountain is Already Aligned

The Shell Game: On NYU 2031 Expansion Plan

New Happenings On West 8th Street

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For my Activist Friends

Realize that little things lead to bigger things ... And there's a wonderful parable in the New Testament: The sower scatters seeds. Some seeds fall in the pathway and get stamped on, and they don't grow. Some fall on the rocks, and they don't grow. But some seeds fall on fallow ground, and they grow and multiply a thousandfold. Who knows where some good little thing that you've done may bring results years later that you never dreamed of. ~ Pete Seeger

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Series on misrepresentations and evasions by Parks Department & WSP Conservancy to push this private entity through: Private Conservancy Watch This organization does not run or manage the park.

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