Worth Square

Coordinates: 40°44′34″N 73°59′20″W / 40.74273°N 73.989°W / 40.74273; -73.989
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Worth Square
Park signage
Map
LocationManhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Coordinates40°44′34″N 73°59′20″W / 40.74273°N 73.989°W / 40.74273; -73.989
Area0.27 acres
Part of the park and the General William Jenkins Worth Monument in 2007

Worth Square, or General Worth Square, is a public square in Manhattan located at East 25th Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue directly west of Madison Square Park. The location was designated as a public park in 1847, and since 1857 the square has served as both a memorial to and the burial site of William Jenkins Worth.[1] The only other monument that doubles as a mausoleum is Grants Tomb in Harlem. The 0.27 acre square is one of the many Triangle/Plazas administered by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.[1]

History[edit]

Worth's monument, which was erected in 1857,[2] was one of the first to be erected in a city park since the statue of George III was removed from Bowling Green in 1776.[3] The city's second-oldest monument, it is the only one in the city except for Grant's Tomb that doubles as a mausoleum.[4]

In spring 2017, as part of a capital reconstruction of Worth Square, Broadway between 24th and 25th Street was converted to a "shared street" where through vehicles are banned and delivery vehicles are restricted to 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h). The capital project expands on a 2008 initiative where part of the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue was repurposed into a public plaza, simplifying that intersection.[5] As part of the 2017 project, Worth Square was expanded, converting the adjoining block of Broadway into a "shared street."[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Worth Square : NYC Parks".
  2. ^ "Celebrating the Repeal of the Stamp Act: New York Tributes to William Pitt and George III", The Nation’s First Monument and the Origins of the American Memorial Tradition, Routledge, pp. 51–90, 2017-07-05, doi:10.4324/9781315085746-3, ISBN 9781315085746, retrieved 2022-12-24
  3. ^ "Parks for a New Metropolis", New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed May 29, 2017. "General William Jenkins Worth (1794–1849), a New York State native, distinguished himself in the War of 1812, various Indian campaigns and the Mexican War. The monument raised over his grave near Madison Square was one of the first to be erected in a city park since the statue of George III was removed from Bowling Green in 1776."
  4. ^ Worth Square, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Accessed May 29, 2017. "The Worth Monument is the second oldest monument in New York – the oldest being the 1856 George Washington equestrian monument at the southern end of Union Square. It also remains one of only two New York monuments that also serves as a mausoleum. The other is Grant's Tomb in Harlem."
  5. ^ "Worth Square Project". Madison Square Park Conservancy. Retrieved 2017-05-14.
  6. ^ "Flatiron Shared Street CB 5 Transportation Committee" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. March 27, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.

External links[edit]