Gramercy Park itself is located between East 20th Street, called Gramercy Park South at the park, and East 21st Street (Gramercy Park North) and between Gramercy Park West and Gramercy Park East, two mid-block streets which lie between Park Avenue South and Third Avenue. Irving Place commences at the southern end of Gramercy Park, running to 14th Street, and Lexington Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of Manhattan, terminates at the northern end.
The neighborhood's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, First Avenue to the east, 23rd Street to the north, and Park Avenue South to the west. To the west is the Flatiron District, with Union Square to the southwest, to the south is the East Village, to the east are Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, and to the north are Rose Hill on the northwest and Kips Bay on the northeast.
The boundaries of the Historic District, set in 1966 and extended in 1988,
are irregular, lying within the neighborhood. A proposed extension to the district
would include more than 40 additional buildings on Gramercy Park East
and North, Lexington Avenue, Park Avenue South, East 22nd and East 19th Streets, and Irving Place.
The neighborhood around Gramercy Park, which is divided between New York City's Manhattan Community Board 5. and Manhattan Community Board 6, is generally perceived to be a quiet and safe area.
The area which is now Gramercy Park was once in the middle of a swamp. In 1831 Samuel B. Ruggles,
a developer and advocate of open space, proposed the idea for the park
due to the northward growth of Manhattan. He bought the property, which
was then a farm called "Gramercy Farm", from James Duane, a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant.
To develop the property, Ruggles spent $180,000 to landscape it,
draining the swamp and causing about a million horsecart loads of earth
to be moved.
He then laid out "Gramercy Square", deeding possession of the square to
the owners of the 60 parcels of land he had plotted to surround it, and
sought tax-exempt status for the park, which the Board of Alderman
granted in 1832. It was the second private square created in the city,
after Hudson Square, also known as St. John's Park, which was laid out by the parish of Trinity Church ,
Numbering of the lots began at #1 on the northwest corner, on Gramercy
Park West, and continued counter-clockwise: south down Gramercy Park
West, then west to east along Gramercy Park South (East 20th Street),
north up Gramercy Park East, and finally east to west along Gramercy
Park North (East 21st Street).
Gramercy Park was enclosed by a fence in 1833, but construction on the surrounding lots did not begin until the 1840s,] due to the Panic of 1837. Landscaping began in 1838 with the hiring of James Virtue, who planted privet inside the fence as a border; by 1839 pathways had been laid out and trees and shrub planted. Major planting also took place in 1844,
followed by additional landscaping by Brinley & Holbrook in 1916.
These plantings had the effect of softening the parks' prim formal
design.
Ruggles also brought about the creation by the state legislature of Lexington Avenue and Irving Place,
two new north-south roads laid out between Third and Fourth Avenues and
feeding into his development at the top and bottom of the park.
In 1863, in an unprecedented gesture, Gramercy Park was opened to Union soldiers involved in putting down the violent Draft Riots which broke out in New York, after conscription was introduced for the Civil War. Gramercy Park itself had been protected with howitzers by troops from the Eighth Regiment Artillery, while the 152nd New York Volunteers encamped in nearby Stuyvesant Square.
At #34 and #36 Gramercy Park (East) are two of New York's first apartment buildings, designed in 1883 and 1905. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, nineteenth century brownstones and carriage houses abound, though the 1920s brought the onset of tenant apartments and skyscrapers to the area.
In the center of the park is a statue of one of the area's most famous residents, Edwin Booth, which was dedicated on November 13, 1918. Booth was one of the great Shakespearean actors of 19th Century America, as well as the brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. The mansion at #16 Gramercy Park (South) was purchased by Booth and renovated by Stanford White at his request to be the home of the Players' Club, which Booth founded. He turned over the deed to the building on New Year's Eve 1888. Next door at #15 Gramercy Park (South) is the National Arts Club, established in 1884 in a Victorian Gothic mansion which was originally home to the New York Governor and 1876 Presidential Candidate, Samuel J. Tilden.
Tilden had steel doors and an escape tunnel to East 19th Street to
protect himself from the sometimes violent politics of the day.
In 1890 an attempt was made to run a cable car through the park to connect Irving Place to Lexington Avenue. The bill passed the New York State Legislature, but was vetoed by Governor David B. Hill.
Thirteen years later, in 1912, another proposal would have connected
Irving Place and Lexington Avenue, bisecting the park, but was defeated
through the efforts of the Gramercy Park Association.
In the late 19th century, numerous charitable institutions
influential in setting social policy were located on 23rd Street, and
some, such as the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, still remain in the area. Calvary Church
on Gramercy Park North has a food pantry that opens its doors once a
week for one hour, and the Brotherhood Synagogue on Gramercy Park South
served as an Underground Railroad station before the Civil War, when the building was a Quaker meeting house, established in 1859.
On September 20, 1966, a part of the Gramercy Park neighborhood was designated an historic district, the boundaries of which were extended on July 12, 1988. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. A proposed extension of the district would include nearby buildings such as the Manhattan Trade School for Girls, now the School of the Future, and the Children's Court and Family Court buildings, now part of Baruch College, all on East 22nd Street.
In 1983, Fantasy Fountain, a 4.5 ton bronze sculpture by Greg Wyatt was installed in the park.
One of the most significant steam explosions in New York City occurred near Gramercy Park in 1989, killing two Consolidated Edison workers and one bystander, and causing damage of several million dollars to area buildings.
Big Apple Chimney
“The Brownstone and Pre-War Specialists”
are Fully, Licensed, Insured and
Bonded, Chimney and Fireplace Contractors. Primarily Servicing Brooklyn and
Manhattan in New York, We also service the New York Metropolitan Area. Our
Chimney and Fireplace Experts Specialize in Chimneys and Fireplaces for Pre-War
Era Buildings including Brownstones, Townhouses and Carriage Houses.
Big
Apple Chimney’s Mechanics and Technicians have been in the
Chimney & Fireplace business over 20 years. We are a Better Business Bureau
(BBB) accredited business with an A rating since 2006.
Big
Apple Chimney offers Complete Chimney and Fireplace Services,
H.V.A.C, Masonry, Roofing and Complete Historical Restoration Services. We
employ Master Masons, Master Carpenters, Licensed Plumbers and Licensed
Electricians.
“We
will send the right people to do the job, correctly and to your complete
satisfaction”.
Call
Big Apple Chimney today at 212-785-9788
to speak to our Chimney and Fireplace Specialists and request a free estimate.
We service all residential and commercial customers. We are Family Owned and
Operated with locations in NYC and Brooklyn.
Please
call 212-785-9788 for 24 hour emergency service regarding your chimney
or fireplace. We correct all Violations, if your heat has been turned off due to bad conditions, such as a
blockage, a carbon monoxide leak, a draft, flue spillage, leaking soot or
water, etc. Our Emergency Service crew is guaranteed to restore your Boiler or
Hot Water Heater after a turn off. We are fully qualified to repair and restore
your heat in the case of a gas, oil or electric company shut-off! We can also
restore your heat and hot water if the Fire Dept., E.P.A. or any other city,
state or federal government agency has shut you down. We also provide a full
range of inspection services (including but not limited to infra-red camera
scanning, carbon monoxide detection), smoke and air flow testing services,
reports and affidavits required by NYC Building Code.
(Big
Apple Chimney combines their expert knowledge in NYC building code with
their unequaled experience in brownstone and pre-war buildings to provide their
clients with the best chimney and fireplace service in NYC.)
|
