Bowling Green

New York City's oldest park.

Bowling Green is New York City's oldest public park. According to tradition, this spot served as the council ground for Native American tribes and was the site of the legendary sale of Manhattan to Peter Minuit in 1626. The Dutch called the area "the Plain" and used it for several purposes. It was the beginning of Heere Staat (High Street, now Broadway)-a trade route which extended north through Manhattan and the Bronx. It was also the site of a parade ground, meeting place, and cattle market. In 1686 the site became public property, when the City Charter put all "waste, vacant, un-patented and unappropriated lands" under municipal domain. In 1770 a statue of King George III of Great Britain was erected approximately where the fountain in the park stands today. On July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to Washington's troops at the current site of City Hall, local Sons of Liberty rushed down Broadway to Bowling Green, where they toppled the statue. On Evacuation Day in 1783 the British troops finally left the city, followed by a procession by General Washington that ended here. By the late 18th century, Bowling Green marked the center of New York's most fashionable residential area, surrounded by rows of Federal-style townhouses. The park was rebuilt in 1939 in preparation for visitors to the World's Fair. A 1976-77 capital renovation restored Bowling Green to its 18th-century appearance and added the park's central fountain. Since 1989, the statue of Charging Bull has been on display at the park's north end.

Statue of King George III

On July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to Washington's troops at the current site of City Hall, local Sons of Liberty rushed down Broadway to Bowling Green, where they toppled the statue of King George III. It was melted into two tons of metal and turned into 42,088 musket balls for George Washington's Continental army.