Grand Army Plaza (Manhattan)

Grand Army Plaza

The Plaza
William Tecumseh Sherman, northern side of plaza
Map of notable buildings and structures at Central Park. Pan and zoom the map and click on points for more details. This map: view talk edit
Former name(s)	Fifth Avenue Plaza, Central Park Plaza
Namesake	Grand Army of the Republic
Type	Square
Owner	Government of New York City
Maintained by	New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Area	0.62 acres (27,000 sq ft; 2,500 m2)
Location	Manhattan
Coordinates	40°45′52″N 73°58′24″W / 40.76444°N 73.97333°W / 40.76444; -73.97333
Major junctions	59th Street
North	60th Street
East	Fifth Avenue
South	58th Street
West	Grand Army Plaza West
Construction
Commissioned	1911
Construction start	1915
Inauguration	1916 (1916)
Other
Designer	Carrère and Hastings
Status
New York City Landmark
Designated	July 23, 1974[1]
Reference no.	0860[1]

Grand Army Plaza (formerly Fifth Avenue Plaza and Central Park Plaza) is a public square at the southeast corner of Central Park in Manhattan, New York City, near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South (59th Street). It consists of two rectangular plots on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 58th and 60th streets. The current design of Grand Army Plaza dates to a 1916 reconstruction by the architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings. The plaza is designated as a New York City scenic landmark.

The plaza is bisected by Central Park South (59th Street). The centerpiece of the plaza's northern half, carved out of the southeastern corner of Central Park, is the equestrian statue of William Tecumseh Sherman, sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The principal feature of the plaza's southern half is the Pulitzer Fountain, topped with a bronze statue of the Roman goddess Pomona sculpted by Karl Bitter. The area around Grand Army Plaza was largely residential in the late 19th century, with several hotels. Though the surrounding area was redeveloped into a commercial neighborhood in the 20th century, the plaza is still surrounded by hotels such as the Plaza Hotel and the Sherry-Netherland.

The northern half of Grand Army Plaza was planned in 1858 as one of four entrance plazas at Central Park's corners, and it was expanded south in 1868. Several proposals for the plaza in the 19th century were not executed. The idea for a unified treatment of the plaza was first proposed by Karl Bitter in 1898, and the Sherman statue was dedicated in the northern half of the plaza in 1903. After the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer died in 1911, the entire plaza was redesigned, and a memorial fountain was installed in 1916. The plaza was rededicated in 1924 in honor of the Grand Army of the Republic, although it was rarely known by its official name. Grand Army Plaza was refurbished in the 1930s when the Pulitzer Fountain was rebuilt, and the fountain was rebuilt again in 1971. The plaza received another major restoration in the 1980s, and the northern half was renovated in the 2010s.