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We’ve wanted to bring Inside Downtown to Washington Square for some time, and have been patiently waiting as more places have been rehabbed in the area. Now is the time, with new residences, work spaces and retail that have opened within the past two years.
The centerpiece is Washington Square Park. The land was donated in 1818 by early settler and real estate mogul Elisha Johnson. He hoped the county courthouse would locate here, and named “Court Street” in anticipation of having the center of the city adjacent to his lands. But Nathaniel Rochester got the courthouse on his side of the river. Now you know why we have a Court Street with no courthouse.
The landscaping of the current park was designed by the famed Olmsted firm of landscape architects. You’ve probably driven by it many times; this is your chance to take a closer look at a park named after our 1st president, with a statue featuring our 16th president, and a monument in memory of our 32nd president. If that is not enough, you’ll be walking in the footsteps of the thousands who have gathered here for decades – from listening to Frederick Douglass in 1848 to commemorating the Civil War veterans in 1892 to current day protests and play days (dachshund parade, anyone?)....
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