Grand Army Plaza (Manhattan)
Coordinates: 40°45′52″N 73°58′24″W / 40.76444°N 73.97333°W
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W T Sherman, northern side of plaza
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Pomona, atop the Pulitzer memorial fountain
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Looking west down Central Park South from the vicinity of Grand Army Plaza.
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The Plaza Hotel, seen from corner of 5th Ave and 59th St
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Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, New York lies at the intersection of Central Park South and 5th Avenue in front of the Plaza Hotel. Two city blocks in length, it sits half above Central Park South (that section of 59th Street forming the southern border of Central Park) and half below.
The idea for such a plaza was first proposed by sculptor Karl Bitter in 1898. It was designed by Beaux-Arts architecture firm Carrère and Hastings and completed in 1916. The New York City Board of Aldermen named it Grand Army Plaza in 1923 [1] after the Grand Army of the Potomac. [2]
The plaza's northern half, carved out of the very south easternmost corner of Central Park, has a golden equestrian statue of William Tecumseh Sherman designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Sherman sits astride behind "Victory", her one hand holding a palm frond and the other pointing the way forward. Temporary sculpture exhibits are often mounted on this side of the plaza.
The southern features the Bitter-designed "Pulitzer Fountain of Abundance" contributed by publisher Joseph Pulitzer. It is topped with a bronze statue of the Roman goddess Pomona also designed by Bitter.
The plaza underwent a $3.7 million renovation in 1990.[3][4][5][6][7] The world-famous Plaza Hotel sits on its southwest corner.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Landmark Preservation Commission (23 July 1974). "LP-0860". NYC Landmark Designation Reports. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "Grand Army Plaza". centralparknyc.org. Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ Kenneth T. Jackson: The Encyclopedia of New York City: The New York Historical Society; Yale University Press; 1995. P. 497-498.
- ^ LOUIE, ELAINE (1 March 1990). "Currents; Grand Army Plaza's Rather Grand History". New York Times. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- ^ GOLDBERGER, PAUL (28 June 1990). "Review/Architecture; A Restored Grand Army Plaza, With a New Coat for the General". New York Times. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- ^ "Grand Army Plaza, Redressed". New York Times. 2 July 1990. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- ^ Morgan, Ann Lee (2007). The Oxford dictionary of American art and artists. Oxford reference online. Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-19-512878-9.
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