Square sights in USA
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Union Square
Louis Vuitton is more top-of-mind than the Emancipation Proclamation, but Union Square – bordered by department stores and mall chains – was named after pro–Union Civil War rallies held here 150 years ago. A misguided renovation paved the place and installed benches narrow enough to keep junkies from nodding off, turning this once-lovely park into a fancy prison exercise yard. Redeeming features include Emporio Rulli, the half-price theater-ticket booth and the stellar people-watching.
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Astor Place
This square is named after the Astor family, who built an early New York fortune on beaver pelts (check out the tiles in the wall of the Astor Place subway platform) and lived on Colonnade Row, just south of the square; four of the original nine marble-faced, Greek Revival residences on Lafayette St still exist. The large, brownstone Cooper Union, the public college founded in 1859 by glue millionaire Peter Cooper, dominates the square – now more than ever – as the school now has its first new academic building in over 50 years, a striking, twisting, nine-story sculpture of glazed glass wrapped in perforated stainless steel (and LEED-certified, too) by architect Thom…
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Washington Square Park
What was once a potter’s field and a square for public executions is now the unofficial town square of the Village, and plays host to lounging NYU students, fire-eating street performers, curious canines and their owners, and legions of speed-chess pros. Encased in perfectly manicured brownstones and gorgeous twists of modern architecture (all owned by NYU) Washington Square Park is one of the most beautiful garden spaces in the city – especially as you are welcomed by the iconic Stanford White Arch on the north side of the green.The arch, colloquially known as the Washington Square Arch, dominates the park with its 72ft of beaming white Dover marble. Originally designed…
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Union Square
Union Sq is like the Noah’s Ark of New York, rescuing at least two of every kind from the curling seas of concrete. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a more eclectic cross-section of locals gathered in one public place. Here, amid the tapestry of stone steps and fenced-in foliage it’s not uncommon to find denizens of every ilk: suited businessfolk gulping fresh air during their lunch breaks, dreadlocked loiterers tapping beats on their tabla, skateboarding punks flipping tricks on the southeastern stairs, rowdy college kids guzzling student-priced eats, and throngs of protesting masses chanting fervently for various causes. Opened in 1831, Union Sq quickly became…
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Abingdon Square
This historic dot on the landscape (just a quarter-acre) is a lovely little patch of green, home to grassy knolls, beds of perennial flowers and winding bluestone paths, as well as a popular Saturday greenmarket. It’s a great place to enjoy a midday picnic or rest after an afternoon of wandering the winding West Village streets. After getting horizontal, look up at the southern end of the park and you’ll see the Abingdon Doughboy, a bronze statue dedicated to servicemen from the neighborhood who gave their lives in WWI (when soldiers were commonly known as ‘doughboys’).
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Herald Square
This crowded convergence of Broadway, Sixth Ave and 34th St is best known as the home of the gigantic Macy's department store, where you can still ride some of the original wooden elevators. And, as part of the city’s ‘traffic-free Times Square’ plan, you can also (try to) relax in a lawn chair outside the store, slap-bang in the middle of Broadway.
The square gets its name from a long-defunct newspaper, the New York Herald (1835–1924), and the small, leafy park here bustles during business hours thanks to a much-needed facelift. Skip the indoor malls south of Macy’s on Sixth Ave, packed with dull, suburban chain stores – the exception being Daffy’s, which offers…
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John Harvard Mall
North of City Sq, a shady, brick plaza leads up Town Hill. Back in the days of the earliest settlements, a fort crowned Town Hill, which you can read about on the bronze plaques along the mall.
Before the local minister – one John Harvard – died of consumption, he donated half his £800 estate and all 300 of his books to a young Cambridge college, which saw fit to name its school after him.
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City Hall Plaza
City Hall Plaza is a cold 56-acre concrete plaza surrounded by government office buildings. Occupying the site of the former Scollay Square, the urban focal point was supposed to be a model of innovation and modernization when it was built in the 1960s. But it has been much maligned in recent years, topping at least one list of the world’s ugliest buildings.
Designed by IM Pei (who also designed the Kennedy Library), City Hall Plaza is home to the fortress-like Boston City Hall and the twin towers of the John F Kennedy Federal Building. The plaza’s high points are the gracefully curved brick Sears Crescent, one of the few buildings that remains from the Scollay…
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United Nations Plaza
This vast brick-paved triangle commemorates the signing of the UN charter in San Francisco. It offers a clear view of City Hall, sundry Scientologists drumming up converts and the odd drug deal in progress. Thankfully, the wonderful Heart of the City Farmers Market provides a fresher perspective on the Tenderloin.
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Blue River Plaza
A beautifully landscaped riverside plaza with ample seating looking out onto the numbered peaks. There is sculpture, an old 19th century wagon, a small toddler sandbox and a murmuring stretch of the Blue River; the Breckinridge Welcome Center and bike path are just off the plaza. It's a fine place to sip coffee in the sun.
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St Armand's Circle
Conceived and initially developed by John Ringling in the 1920s, St Armand's Circle is essentially an upscale outdoor shopping mall surrounded by posh residences. Yet even more than downtown, this traffic circle is Sarasota's social center; it's where everyone strolls in the early evening, window shopping and buying souvenir T-shirts while enjoying a Kilwin's waffle cone. Numerous restaurants, from diners to fine dining, serve all day. The circle is also an unavoidable traffic chokepoint; mid-morning and late-afternoon beach commutes are worst.
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Plaza de la Constitution
In the heart of downtown, this grassy square, a former marketplace for food (and slaves), has a gazebo, some cannon and a Civil War memorial, as well as the remains of the town well.
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Sonoma Plaza Square
Downtown Sonoma was once the capital of a rogue nation. Today's plaza – the state's largest town square – looks stately with chic boutiques, historical buildings and stone visitor cen-ter, but it gets lively during summer evenings and farmers markets.
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Mallory Square
Take all those energies, subcultures and oddities of Keys life – the hippies, the rednecks, the foreigners and, of course, the tourists – and focus them into one torchlit, family-friendly (but playfully edgy), sunset-enriched street party. The child of all these raucous forces is Mallory Sq, one of the greatest shows on Earth. It all begins as the sun starts to set, a sign for the madness that it's OK to break out. Watch a dog walk a tightrope, a man swallow fire, British acrobats tumble and sass each other. Have a beer. And a conch fritter. And wait for the sun to dip behind the ocean and for the carnival to really get going.
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