Union Square Park

Union Square Park has long been a focal point for all kinds of social, environmental, political and labor rallies. Despite Union Square's history of social activism and center for demonstrations, it's name is not derived from it's connection to the labor movement nor from the Civil War. It is instead reflective of the fact that at this spot in the early 19th century was the meeting of two major thoroughfares in New York City, Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) and the Bowery Road (now Fourth Avenue). It also served as the confluence of several trolley lines.

Union Square Park officially opened to the public in 1839. In 1928 it was completely demolished to accommodate a new underground concourse for the subway. In 1997 the United States Department of the Interior designated Union Square Park as a National Historic Landmark because of its significance in American labor history including it's honor as the site of the first Labor Day parade.

Union Square is noted for its eclectic array of statues ranging from George Washington, unveiled in 1856 to the more recent Mahatma Gandhi, in the southwest corner of the park, added in 1986.
Among the other statues are the Marquis de Lafayette dedicated at the Centennial, July 4, 1876 and Abraham Lincoln unveiled in 1868.

The popular Union Square Greenmarket, in operation since 1976, is on the north side of the park and offers a variety of fresh food and plants brought in by local farmers. The park is bordered by 17th Street at it's north end and 14th Street at it's south and sits between Union Square West and Park Avenue South (Union Square East).