Although Washington Square Park, named after the United States’ first president, is a beautiful and relaxing escape for many people today, it started off as a six and a half acre common burial ground in 1787 and remained as such until 1826.  In 1827, The Seventh New York Militia expanded the field by nearly eight acres and turned it into a “drill field,” where  “the militia’s heavy artillery sometimes unearthed crushed coffins and skulls” (Moke).  Despite these conditions, wealthy and powerful families, also known as “Knickerbockers,” moved from diseased and crowded downtown Manhattan to the relatively unpopulated Washington Square Park area.  The Knickerbockers built extravagant mansions, also known as Greek Revival mansions around the square (NYCgovparks.org).  Today, the mansions on the south side are no longer standing, but the ones on the north side are still there.

The increasing popularity of the square and formation of the Department of PublicParks in 1870 led M.A. Kellogg, Engineer-in-Chief, and I.A. Pilat, Chief Landscape Gardener, to renovate and officially turn the field into a park (NYCgovparks.org).  The marble Washington Square Arch, which replaced a wooden arch, was built and completed in 1890-1892 to celebrate George Washington’s 100^th anniversary of his inauguration.  American architect Stanford White led the project, which was funded by wealthy residents who lived around the area.

New York, New York. Washington Square arch
Photo Taken by Edwin Rosskam
1941 Dec.

Washington Square Arch
Photo Taken by Michelle Guo
2012 April

Washington Square Park’s reputation shifted from being a park surrounded by and visited by wealthy individuals to a bohemian public park filled with artists, entertainers, and students during the Great Depression.  The park’s first art fair was held in 1932 to help struggling artists have a source of income in the sinking economy; artists brought their artwork to sell and entertainers showcased their talents to earn tips.  As nice as this sounds, artists were lucky if they walked away with more than a couple dollars.  Even well-known and successful novelists and poets were not immune to the damaging effects of the Great Depression on the arts.  Macy Halford, a writer for The New Yorker, posted an article about the talented, struggling artists in Washington Square Park during the Great Depression:

Maxwell Bodenheim, a best-selling novelist who lost everything in the crash of 1929, was forced to peddle poems for twenty-five cents apiece in Washington Square Park… he wrote in 1934: ‘There’s something wrong with this world all right, but I can’t put my finger on it… Something must be wrong when a fellow can’t get a decent wage, can’t tell when he’s going to be fired, can’t look forward to any promise of happiness.  Something is rotten somewhere.’

Depression in Washington Square Park
Sketch by Eugenia Hughes
1930s

The Raven Poetry Circle of Greenwich Village also relied on Washington Square Park for sales.  Francis Lambert McCrudden founded the group in May 1933 after he retired from his job as a telephone worker.   The majority of his poems dealt with “the value of hard work despite the ruined economy” (Boog).  According to The New York Historical Society, the park was an essential element to the groups’ success:

The group held yearly exhibitions off Washington Square Park, in which members’ poetry was tacked to a fence at Thompson Street and Washington Square South for public display and potential sale. Poems generally sold at prices ranging from a quarter up to a dollar, the latter for particularly fine work.

At the end of 1934, legendary architect and Parks Commissioner Robert Moses announced that he had plans to “dress Washington Square Park in some new clothes” (The Villager).   Although Moses stated his vision was to “renew and replenish the pride which was in Village hearts” for the “grand old open space,” Greenwich Village residents protested against the redesigning of the park.  In the March 14, 1935 issue of The Villager, Moses’ full landscape renovation plan was posted on the front page.  He wanted to wipe out all traces of the 1870 park design and instead create a ceremonial garden theme.  Some of the greatest changes included taking away the park’s fountain and replacing it with a pool that would align perfectly with the marble arch as seen from Fifth Avenue.   However, because the residents around the park objected to the new landscape plan and complained relentlessly, the 1870 park design remained untouched (The Villager).

Nearly three decades later, Washington Square Park was still a popular destination for musicians to showcase their talents, whether it was for much-needed tips, or just to entertain the public.  However, in 1961, newly appointed Parks Commissioner Newbold Morris announced that musicians would no longer be permitted to sing or play music in the park because he wanted to “protect the Washington Square grass” (Time).  At first, the musicians protested peacefully by marching around the park and carrying signs that said “We Want to Continue As We Have in the Past.” However, the protest turned violent when an 18-year-old zitherist played the intro chords to “We Shall Not Be Moved” and was arrested and forced into a police van.  The other musicians were outraged and a small fight broke out between the protestors and the police. According to policemen at the scene, one folk singer “banjoed a lawman on the ankle” and then ran to a nearby church to repent (Time). Parks Commissioner Morris attempted to negotiate with the folk singers by inviting them to play in the East River Park.  However, two days later, Morris announced that because Greenwich Village residents enjoyed the presence of folk singers in Washington Square Park, the musicians were allowed to stay.

In 1986, Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern closed Washington Square Park for three days to clean and repair the park in an attempt to “rid the park of drug dealers” (The New York Times).  Once the park reopened to the public, Parks Commissioner Stern announced some changes; the park would now be closed from midnight to 7:00AM everyday and visitors were no longer permitted to bring radios or glass containers inside the park.  Greenwich Village residents supported this renovation of Washington Square Park and the new regulations were implemented without any trouble.

In 2005, a renovation plan similar to Robert Moses’ 1934 renovation plan was proposed by the Parks Department.  According to an article published in The New York Times, the Parks Department wanted to move the fountain so that it would be aligned to the Washington Square Arch, flatten out the playground and asphalt, and install a four-foot-high granite and iron fence around the park that would lock at night.  Once again, Greenwich Village residents were in uproar about this new design; residents believed the monetary and environmental costs were too great and advocated that Washington Square Park “did not need a facelift” (Williams).  However, in 2007 the Manhattan Supreme Court approved the renovation plans (Sullivan).  Washington Square Park is still being renovated today.  Phase I of the renovation was completed around May 2011 and Phase II is currently taking place.  To follow up on the progress of the renovation at the park, check out this website:
http://ny.curbed.com/tags/washington-square-park-renovation

Today, Washington Square Park is still a bohemian and family-friendly hangout area located in Greenwich Village.  The park is open year-round and accessible by the A, B, C, D, E, F, or V train to West 4^th St/Washington Square (topsightseeing.com).  Its 9.74 acres are filled with students, artists, and families (NYCgovparks.org).  NYU buildings and dorms circle the perimeter of the park, so the park is often associated with the university.  The park still holds two art fairs annually—one in May and one in September.   According to the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit website, the fairs take place “every Memorial Day Weekend and the weekend that follows and every Labor Day weekend and the weekend that follows that” (wsoae.org).  This event is designed to give talented artists and artisans from around the world an opportunity to gather in New York City to showcase their art.

Washington Square Park is also frequently the home of a variety of other events.  Most recently, on April 7, 2012, New York City’s 7^th Annual Pillow Fight took place at the park.  Although I did not participate, I witnessed countless New Yorkers (mostly students) smack each other with pillows, which ended in a fun feathery mess.  This event proved to me that to this day, Washington Square Park has maintained its reputation as a laid back yet beautiful spot for people of all ages to relax, hang out, and have fun.  It is one of the few public areas in Manhattan where one can be a step away from both a beautiful garden and a busy, skyscraper-lined street filled with NYC taxis. 

**For some reason the photo captioning is not working for me on all the pictures, but all the unlabeled photos were taken by me**

Works Cited

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Brewer, Cassie, and Cathy Morgan Hajo. “Depression – Washington Square Park,
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