Washington Square Park. Eww.

So, I was listening to this podcast Mary turned me onto called Bowery Boys which is about New York City History. This episode was about Washington Square Park. Since I recently visited and LOVED this park, I was delighted to listen to it. They talked of the chess players the pastoral beauty, the dog parks, the food carts and the entertainers.

They also mentioned some other interesting things:

1) The arch, which was modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in France was built to honor George Washington 100 years after his presidency. During the first half of the 20th cart and then cars and buses used to drive through it and a developer, named William Moses wanted to extend 5th avenue through the park, tearing up some of the buildings. Eventually a spunky activist named Jane Jacobs said, “Oh no you don’t,” and and another named Shirley Hayes suggested the nutty idea to do the opposite and turn the streets back into park land. Oh, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who lived near the park was in support of the protesters.

2) The oldest Tree in Manhattan is in Washington Square Park and it is called Hangman’s Elm. Although no one was actually hung on that tree, it has a spooky rep. There was a gallows in the park for public hangings nearby, so, ya know, I get it.

3) Washington Square Park was a location for many protests including those for Women’s suffrage. Oh. Yeah.

4) The park desperately needs renovations, but no one can ever decide what to do or  how to do it, so it is a pretty controversial place with lots of people with multiple passionate ideas weighing in. Renovating the park is another thing that is protested…at the park.

AAAAND this:

5) The land where Washington Square Park lies used to be marshland back when the Dutch settled here, and, since it was “out of the way,” it was where they buried their dead who had no family, weren’t identified or were unsavory in some way. Also, at one time it was a German graveyard. And get this: 20,000 bodies are still buried there!!! They built the park right on top of the bodies. Some caskets from Revolutionary days were excavated when they built the arch. I further researched this and discovered that in 2008 city workers taking soil samples found a vault full of bones. Gross, and also kinda awesome! (https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/bones-evoke-washington-square-parks-past/)

Here are my photos from my visit. I am not sure what to make of this place now that I know what I do. At least I didn’t find any bone fragments…it happens regularly supposedly. Eww. 

PEOPLE! YOU ARE WALKING AND SITTING ON THE BONES OF THOSE LONG DEAD! ENJOY YOUR HOT DOGS!