Jackson Square Park
Encyclopedia
Jackson Square Park is a .227 acre New York City Park located in the Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...

 Historic District just below the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 14th Street. Triangular in shape, it is bordered by Eight Avenue on the west, the commencement of Horatio Street on the south and the terminus of Greenwich Avenue on the east.

Historic British Colonial location

The city's first war memorial was erected In 1762 among farmland at the northern terminus of Greenwich Avenue (known then as Monument Lane) at what is now the general vicinity of Jackson Square Park. It was an obelisk honoring British Major General James Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...

 who died in the Battle of Quebec. By 1773 the monument no longer appeared on local survey maps, though why it was dismantled is unknown.

One of the city's oldest parks

The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation reports that the triangular park first showed up on plans for the city in 1811 as it moved to a grid system. It was formally acquired by the City of New York in 1826.

The Department reports that a "Jackson Hall" was on the site of 2 Horatio Street
2 Horatio Street
2 Horatio Street is a landmarked residential building located in the Greenwich Village Historic District on the west side of lower Manhattan in New York City.It faces north onto Horatio Street and Jackson Square Park...

 facing the park in the mid-nineteenth century. No written reference to the name "Jackson Square" has been found before 1872. And while it is uncertain exactly when it became known as "Jackson Square," it is believed to have been named for US President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

.

In 1887 Parks superintendent Samuel Parsons
Samuel Parsons
Samuel H. Parsons Jr. . Parsons was a well-known American landscape architect remembered primarily for his "Beaux-Arts" designs in New York City, the development of Central Park, San Diego’s Balboa Park, and for serving as a founding member to the American Society of Landscape Architects...

, Jr. and consulting architect Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux , was an architect and landscape designer. He is best remembered as the co-designer , of New York's Central Park....

collaborated on a new design for Jackson Square as part of a city-wide effort. in 1892 Parsons is quoted as saying the park was known for "“a great bouquet of brilliant flowers and leaves.”

However, a 1934 Max Ulrich photo from the NYC Dept of Parks Photo Historical Archive shows a rather barren park with a single entrance on Greenwich Avenue (as opposed to the three entrances on each of the three bordering streets today). Reflecting none of the brilliance referenced by Parsons.

Back to a vibrant park today

A capital project was completed by the City of New York in 1990 which included restoring the iron fencing and the addition of a new, three-tiered, cast-iron water fountain in a 19th century ornate style.
An alliance of residents and local businesses known the Jackson Square Alliance, is active in keeping the park maintained.

External links

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