PARK AND CEMETERY. 
81 
The open space in front of this fort was once called 
the parade, but it was used at various times for different 
purposes. At one time it was a cattle market. At an- 
other time a fair was held there. Later, as has already 
been stated, it was used as a bowling green. In 1770 the 
famous statue of George III. was erected there, and in 
1771 an iron fence was put about the square, which was 
then four-sided, and not oval, as at present. The statue 
itself was destroyed by the Americans in 1776, but its 
base remained in the square until 1818, when it was 
finally removed. The slab at the top of the pedestal is 
now in the possession of the New York Historical So- 
ciety, and is one of its many curiosities. 
Where Battery Park now is there was years ago 
water. A ledge of rocks ran along the lower edge of the 
island, and on the shore facing these rocks there was 
erected in the early days a line of works called the Bat- 
tery, which extended from Whitehall street in the direc- 
tion of Rector street. The land was not filled in for 
many years beyond this line of works, which existed for 
a long time, and it was not until long after the begin- 
ning of this century that what is now Battery Park was 
extended out into the bay to the present bulkhead line. 
The so-called Battery was not put to any practical 
use during the revolution for the simple reason that the 
Americans had no means of attacking New York from 
the water side. 
What is now Castle Garden was built in 1806 by the 
government,, and called Fort Clinton. In 1823 it was 
turned over to the city of New York, and was used after 
that as a place of amusement until it became a station 
for the landing of emigrants. It has recently been 
turned into an aquarium. 
As the land was extended beyond the old water line, 
and after the laying out of State street, in the last cen- 
tury, this part of New York became a favorite resort for 
the people by reason of its proximity to the water and 
the fine views t© be obtained looking down the bay and 
up the East and North rivers. In 1794 a man by the 
name of Corre was licensed to sell small drinks in Bat- 
tery Park, something which has been considered of suffi- 
cient importance to be referred to in almost every book 
in which the Battery is described. Near to his stand 
there was a tower surmounted by a flagstaff, long called 
the churn by reason of its fancied resemblance to a churn. 
City Hall Park is a part of the old city commons, 
which stretched from where the postoffice now is to the 
present site of the Tombs, and from Broadway to the 
Boston post road, now Park row. These lands were 
ceded to the city of New York by the Dongan charter, 
in 1686, and the grant was confirmed by the Mont- 
gomery charter, in 1730. Gradually what is now the 
City Hall Park was carved out of the lands by the lay- 
ing out of Broadway along its westerly side, the cutting 
through of Chambers street and the building up of the 
houses north of Chambers street. Somewhere north of 
Chambers street a line of palisades was run across the 
island in 1747. In 1757 what was then called the new 
jail was built. It is now occupied by the register’s of- 
fice. The building has been much changed, but out- 
wardly still resembles the old structure sufficiently for it 
to be identified when compared with old pictures. 
On the site of the present city hall there was erected 
in the last century an almshouse. The present city hall 
was built in the early part of this century, and the cor- 
poration of the city met there for the first time on July 
4, 1811. On November 1, 1765, after the arrival of the 
famous stamps from England, there was great excite- 
ment in New York city. 
In 1766 the stamp act was repealed, and the people 
of New York took part — for the last time— in a great 
celebration in honor of the king’s birthday. Among 
other things a liberty pole was erected, the destruction 
of which, in 1767, by the English soldiers brought about 
a series of tumultuous scenes, which lasted until the 
revolution The pole was cut down four times between 
1767 and 1770, and that which was erected in 1770 stood 
until 1776. The last pole was erected upon land not far 
from Warren street, which had been purchased by the 
Sons of Liberty, and on this pole was a vane with the 
word “Liberty.” A flag with the inscription “Liberty 
and Prosperity” was flown from the pole by the Sons of 
Liberty. 
The Declaration of Independence was read on the 
commons in July, 1776, but this was one of the last acts 
done by the Americans on the commons until the sur- 
render of New York at the close of the war. A great 
many American prisoners were confined in the new jail, 
with much suffering and no little unnecessary cruelty. 
In 1821 an iron railing was put up about the park. At 
the southern end there was a gate with posts on the top, 
which were some old Turkish cannon balls said to have 
been brought from the east by a Grecian pilot. The 
lower triangle of the park was used during the rebellion 
for sheds where the soldiers were supplied with food. 
After the war it was ceded to the United States govern 
ment, and the ugly postoffice was there erected. 
Central Park was laid out pursuant to an act of the 
legislature, passed in July, 1853. Prior to the passage 
of this act an effort had been made to establish a park 
in what was known as St. John’s wood, a thickly 
wooded piece of land lying between Sixty-fifth and Sev- 
enty-fifth streets and Third avenue and the East river. 
An act had been passed in 1851 authorizing the laying 
of a park here, but hardly had the act been passed when 
violent opposition was raised to the plan and a statute, 
which has been referred to, was enacted, creating the 
Central Park commission, consisting of eleven men, 
the names of many of whom were well known in New 
York city. Charles H. Russell, John F. Butterworth, 
Waldo Hutchins, Andrew PL Green, Wm. K. Strong 
and Robert J. Dillon were included in the commission. 
The commissioners immediately entered upon their du- 
ties and called for plans for the laying out of the new 
park. Thirty-three plans were submitted, of which that 
drawn by Olmsted and Vaux were so far superior to the 
others that it was immediately selected and work on the 
park was commenced. 
The above facts are taken from an article in the 
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, compiled from addresses on the 
City’s Parks by Gherardi Davis, delivered before the 
New York Historical Society. 
