The history of Bowling Green, New York City

DAG Technologies’ NYC HQ is located at Bowling Green which has a fascinating history.

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Bowling Green Park circa 1890

Bowling Green is New York Cityâ€™s oldest 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)â€”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, unpatented and unappropriated lands” under municipal domain.

Bowling Green was first designated as a park in 1733, when it was offered for rent at the cost of one peppercorn per year. Lessees John Chambers, Peter Bayard, and Peter Jay were responsible for improving the site with grass, trees, and a wood fence “for the Beauty & Ornament of the Said Street as well as for the Recreation & delight of the Inhabitants of this City.” A gilded lead statue of King George III was erected here in 1770, and the iron fence was installed in 1771. On July 9, 1776, after the first public reading in New York State of the Declaration of Independence, the statue was toppled by angry citizens, dragged up Broadway, sent to Connecticut, melted down, and recast as ammunition. Portions are still held by the Museum of the City of New York and the New-York Historical Society.

By the late 18th century, Bowling Green marked the center of New Yorkâ€™s most fashionable residential area, surrounded by rows of Federal-style townhouses. In 1819 the Common Council voted that neighbors could plant and tend the area in return for the exclusive use of the park by their families. By mid-century, shipping offices inhabited the old townhouses, and the park was returned to more public use. Monuments installed in the park in the 19th century include two fountains (now gone) and a statue of New Yorkâ€™s first mayor, Abraham De Peyster by George Bissell, which was moved to nearby Hanover Square in 1976.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Bowling Green was disrupted by the construction of the IRT subway. The park was rebuilt as part of citywide improvements made in preparation for visitors to the 1939 Worldâ€™s Fair. Renovations to Bowling Green included removing the fountain basin, relocating the interior walkways, installing new benches, and providing new plantings. A 1976-77 capital renovation restored Bowling Green to its 18th-century appearance. Improvements included the redistribution of subway entrances, the installation of new lampposts and benches, and landscaping. Publisher and philanthropist George Delacorte donated the parkâ€™s central fountain, which was designed by M. Paul Friedberg and Partners. Since December 1989 the statue of Charging Bull has been on display at the north end of the park.

Bowling Green Fence was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1970.

Bowling Green Fence and Park National Historic Register #80002673 (1980)

more pictures below