The below article was originally published by Time Out New York on December 12, 2024. Written by Rossilynne Skena Culgan

A haven for students. Home to a beautiful fountain. A spot for artists and activists. Beloved hangout for skateboarders. Washington Square Park fits all of these well-known monikers and more. But it also fits some lesser-known descriptions that dig into its history and mysteries. 

Every day, 50,000 people visit this greenspace, making it one of the most popular parks in the city. But those park-goers likely don’t know the secrets beneath the surface. With help from Will Morrison, executive director of the Washington Square Park’s Conservancy, we dug into 10 of those lesser-known facts from the park’s earliest days through its official founding in 1827 and beyond.

1. The park was a gathering place for Indigenous communities 

From becoming a site for activists like Jane Jacobs to hosting an annual dog Halloween costume contest, the land has long served as a gathering place. In its earliest known history, the area was a mix of marshland and grassy fields used as a Lenape village called “Sapokanikan,” a satellite location away from their main gathering space near the Hudson River.

After that, when the Dutch took over, they allowed free African property owners to farm land on the western half of Washington Square Park. When the British arrived, they kicked off all of the people on the property, giving ownership to just two white people. It stayed that way until the land became the United States’. 

2. There’s a cemetery beneath your feet

Shortly after that, amid a yellow fever outbreak from 1798 to 1801, the land started being used as a potter’s field, where 20,000 people, including the unidentified and indigent, were buried in unmarked graves. 

When the park was renovated in the early 2000s, officials found 26 sets of remains, which were removed from the area and reinterred. One fully intact headstone was found, which is now mounted in the parkhouse for all to see. 

Time Out tip: Keep an eye out near the park office and bathroom to find a sign with a map depicting the areas of the park used as a potter’s field, as well as a remembrance plaque. 

3. The fountain dates back to the park’s role as a military parade ground 

Starting around 1805, the potter’s field became used as a military parade ground. The original fountain was installed during the park’s military days and it was a bit off center because to make way for carriage roads going through the park. The fountain was incorporated into the design when the space became an official park in 1827.

When the original fountain eventually needed repairs, park officials moved it to be on the north-south and east-west axis. If you look at old photos, you can see the fountain’s original location.  

4. The arch was meant to be temporary

The iconic arch came to the city in the late 1800s to celebrate the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration. A temporary, wooden arch was erected outside of the park near the mansion of businessman and philanthropist William Rhinelander Stewart.

New Yorkers loved the arch so much that they raised money to erect a permanent version of it for the park. The arch we know and love today was built with those privately raised funds.

5. The angels on the arch look strikingly human 

Once donors had enough money, they hired famed architect Stanford White to build the arch. He took the job personally, you might say. If you look closely at the angels atop the structure, you’ll notice their their human-like faces: they are modeled after the wives of Stanford White and William Rhinelander Stewart.

6. The arch was once taken over as part of a succession movement

Maintenance workers access all parts of the arch to meticulously care for each piece, but the actual structure is closed to the public—or it’s supposed to be. However, a ragtag band of artists took over the arch in 1917 in protest of America’s entry into World War I. 

They scaled the arch’s spiral staircase for a tea party event, during which they claimed the Republic of Washington Square Park. The self-proclaimed “Arch Conspirators” spread out blankets, hung Chinese lanterns, tied red balloons to the arch, shot off cap pistols and conversed until dawn before declaring a “free and independent Greenwich Village.”

The Arch Conspirators highlight the role that Washington Square Park played for the writers, actors, artists, and intellectuals who made up the ‘Bohemian’ Village.

The guest list included poet Gertrude Drick, painters John Sloan and Marcel Duchamp, and Provincetown Playhouse actors Russell Mann, Betty Turner, and Charles Ellis. Sloan created an etching of the evening’s events, and it’s now found in the collection of The Met.

“While we don’t often look fondly on those who break Park rules, the distance of over 100 years from the event helps us to take a more generous perspective,” the park’s conservancy says. “The actions of the Arch Conspirators highlight the role that Washington Square Park played for the writers, actors, artists, and intellectuals who made up the ‘Bohemian’ Village.” 

7. One of Manhattan’s oldest trees lives here 

One of the oldest trees in Manhattan has deep roots in Washington Square Park. This endangered English Elm—which measures 6 foot and 7 inches in diameter—is 350 years old.

8. The telegram’s inventor once did a cool demo here 

Samuel B. Morse, inventor of the telegram, gave his first public demonstration of the technology in Washington Square Park. On January 24, 1838, he ran a mile-long copper wire from his laboratory window down to the park, around a tree and back up through the window.

He successfully transmitted a cryptic message that read: Attention! The universe! By the kingdom’s right wheel. 

And no, we don’t know what that means either. 

9. There’s only one athletic court in the park 

Only one sport gets its own athletic court in the park, and it’s a surprising one. No, not softball or basketball or soccer. Instead, it’s pétanque, the French bocce-style sport. The on-site destination was one of the earliest pétanque courts in the city. 

Time Out tip: The Washington Square Park Conservancy hosts pétanque events during the summer. Find the courts by the small dog run.

10. The park might not run how you think

While the park operates in partnership with the New York City Parks Department, it’s the Washington Square Park Conservancy that funds many staff positions, runs programming, brings in gardening expertise, oversees maintenance work, helps fund public safety and operates other resources that keep the park running. The non-profit Conservancy also pays for things like adding trash cans and cleaning light poles. If you want to help keep the park running, you can donate to the Washington Square Park Conservancy here.