Washington Square Park
The potter’s field
Minetta Creek once ran through the ground. From 1797 to 1825 the city used it as a potter’s field, with estimates of 10,000 to 22,000 burials, most of them still under the park. It was also a place of public executions.
The arch
A temporary arch of wood and plaster went up in 1889 for the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration. The permanent arch of Tuckahoe marble by Stanford White followed in 1892 and was dedicated in 1895. It stands 77 feet (23 m) tall and is modelled on the Arc de Triomphe. White also designed Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square South, of 1893.
The Hangman’s Elm
In the north-west corner stands an English elm estimated at over 300 years old, among the oldest trees in Manhattan. The hanging stories attached to it are legend. It is the first stop on the ghost walk.
The road that was stopped
In the 1950s Robert Moses planned to run Fifth Avenue through the park. Shirley Hayes and her neighbours fought the plan; after a hearing in 1958 the park closed to traffic, completely by August 1959.
The folk singers of 1961
On 9 April 1961 the parks commissioner refused permits to folk singers, and the Sunday gathering ended in arrests, remembered as the “Beatnik Riot”. Bob Dylan and Joan Baez lived nearby. The history page places it in the folk years.
The park today
A renovation ran from December 2007 to 2014. The fountain was moved into line with the arch and named the Tisch Fountain in 2005. There are statues of Garibaldi and Alexander Lyman Holley, and chess tables in the south-west corner. NYU buildings ring three sides. Hours and rules are published by NYC Parks on nycgovparks.org.
On screen
The park and its arch appear in “When Harry Met Sally” (1989), “I Am Legend” (2007), “August Rush” (2007), “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) and the 2016 “Ghostbusters”. The film locations page lists more.
Which walks cross it
Four of the six: the history walk, the ghost walk, the food walk and the music walk. The history walk’s guides talk about the potter’s field and the musicians and protesters who gather now; Frieda (US) mentioned Claire’s stories about the Washington Square Hotel on its edge.
Around the edges of the square
Washington Mews runs behind Washington Square North, where Edward Hopper lived at number 3 from 1913 to 1967. Judson Memorial Church stands on Washington Square South. Henry James was born at 21 Washington Place in 1843, and the Brown Building stands at 23–29 Washington Place. Poe’s house at 85 West 3rd Street is gone, replaced by a facsimile facade on Furman Hall. The nearest station is West 4th Street–Washington Square, on seven lines.
The park in the walks’ stories
Each walk treats the square through its own lens. The ghost walk opens at the Hangman’s Elm; the history walk tells of the potter’s field and the musicians and protesters of today; the food walk crosses between tastings; the music walk reaches it from Cafe Wha? on the way to the West Village.
The chess tables are in the south-west corner and the elm in the north-west, so a walk along the west side of the park takes in both.
Frequently asked questions
What are Washington Square Park’s hours?
6 am to midnight, as NYC Parks publishes them. Entry is free.
Are there bodies buried under Washington Square Park?
Yes. It was a potter’s field from 1797 to 1825, with estimates of 10,000 to 22,000 burials, most still beneath it. See the history page.
Which walks go through Washington Square Park?
The history, ghost, food and music walks. The history walks page compares the two general walks.