Monday 10 November 2008

ABINGDON SQUARE PARK


Occupying approx 1/4 acre of land originally part of Sir Peter Warren's - a vice-admiral in the British Navy - 300 acre farm in the area known as Greenwich which extended along The Hudson River from what is now known as Christopher Street, north to about West 21st Street and bounded on the east by Minetta Brook and Bowery Lane (now Broadway). His eldest daughter Charlotte married Willoughby Bertie, the Fourth Earl of Abingdon, and a share of the Warren Estate was part of her dowry including what is now Abingdon Square Park. The City acquired this parcel for $3000 in 1831 and 5 years later enclosed it with a cast iron fence.

Parks Superintendent Samuel Parsons Jnr. and renowned Central Park Architect, Calvin Vaux collaborated around 1886 on the current design of the square.

In 1921, 20,000 spectators gathered in and around the small park to hear former and future Govenor Alfred E Smith present The Abingdon Square Memorial (also known as The Abingdon Doughboy) in memory of local men who fought in World War 1.

Today the park is a haven of tranquility from which to reflect on the transition from Greenwich Village to The Meatpacking District.

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