Gramercy Park (sometimes misspelled as Grammercy) is a small, fenced-in private park in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, New York State[1]. The park is one of only two remaining private parks in New York City with almost no access to the public, the other being Sunnyside Gardens, Queens.
Location
Gramercy Park is located between East 20th Street and East 21st Street and between Park Avenue South and Third Avenue (although it does not take up the entire block between these two avenues). Lexington Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of Manhattan, terminates at the northern end of Gramercy Park.
History
Gramercy Park was originally a swamp. Samuel B. Ruggles bought what was then farmland from James Duane in 1831.[2] Originally, in 1831, he gave 42 lots of property to the first Board of Trustees of the new park.[3] In 1966, the park was designated as a historic district. The name Gramercy is almost certainly a corruption of the Dutch krom mesje, or "little crooked knife," the name of a small brook that flowed along what is now 21st Street.[4] The area was part of Gramercy Farm until 1831, when its owner, Samuel B. Ruggles, donated the property to the city on condition that no commercial enterprise be permitted on the facing streets or in the park proper. To this day, the park contains no amusements, swing sets, snack shops, or any other intrusions on its rusticity. It is the oldest private park in the United States.
The center of the park contains a statue of one of the area's most famous residents, Edwin Booth. Booth was one of the great Shakespearean actors of 19th century America, as well as the brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. His mansion still stands at number 16, and is today the home of the Players' Club.
One of the most significant steam explosions in New York City occurred near Gramercy Park in 1989, killing two Consolidated Edison workers and one bystander, and causing damage of several million dollars in damage to area buildings.[5]
Exclusivity
Gramercy Park is held in common as one of the City's two privately owned parks (Sunnyside Gardens is the other) by the owners of the surrounding structures, as it has remained since December 31, 1831. Residents living in buildings that face the park may buy a key to the park, which is changed annually. One notable resident was the actor/producer Henry Herbert who owned number 16 Gramercy Park.
In addition, members of the Players Club and the National Arts Club as well as guests of the Gramercy Park Hotel[6] have key access.
The park at one time opened to the public on Gramercy Day (which changed yearly, but was often the first Saturday in May). In 2007, the Trustees of Gramercy Park announced that it would no longer open the park on that day, though caroling in the park on Christmas Eve is expected to continue.[7]
In 2001 a lawsuit against the park's administration was filed in the Federal Court. The suit involved minority schoolchildren who had allegedly been asked to leave the park. [8]
In popular culture
Because of the park's private nature, film companies are not usually allowed to shoot there. In the film Notting Hill, a famous actress (played by Julia Roberts) is shown starring in a film called Gramercy Park, which was also the name of the production company for Notting Hill. Goth Rock band Deadsy released a song entitled "The Key to Gramercy Park" on their 2002 album Commencement. Jazz fusion/ rock duo Steely Dan made mention of this park in the tune Janie Runaway, from their 2000 album Two Against Nature: Down in Tampa the future looked desperate and dark / Now you're the wonderwaif of Gramercy Park. Dutch jazz pianist Michiel Borstlap owns a record label called "Gramercy Park" and he also composed a tune with the same name.
The popular book "The Luxe" by Anna Godbersen has a character living in that neighborhood and so does a character in Jack Finney's "Time and Again'.
In movie "Soylent Green", set in New York in 2022, corrupt New York Governor Santini is escorting some children into a tent saying "This was once called Gramercy Park boys, now it's the only tree sanctuary in New York".
References
- ^ NY Magazine article from May 2004, retrieved July 3rd 2007
- ^ Kugel, Seth. "The Ultimate Neighborhood Park", The New York Times, July 23, 2006. Accessed July 30, 2007. "When the lawyer Samuel B. Ruggles bought the land that is now Gramercy Park in 1831, it was part of an uptown farm. Ruggles envisioned a London-style community with its central square to be owned by the neighbors. It quickly became a fashionable place to live."
- ^ Cf. 1921 New York Times editorial on the 90th anniversary of the dedication of Gramercy Park.
- ^ Gramercy Park profile, New York (magazine). Accessed September 30, 2007. "Originally called Crommessie (from Krom Mesje, Dutch for "crooked little knife"), Gramercy Park has been known as both a fashionable enclave and a haven for artists... The statue in the middle of the park depicts Edwin Booth (brother of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes), who was one of the foremost Shakespearean actors of his day. Booth's home at 16 Gramercy Park South—which boasted additions by another area resident, Stanford White—was eventually turned into The Players private theater club..."
- ^ Pitt, David E. "2 Dead and 19 Hurt in Blast Of a Submerged Steam Pipe", The New York Times, August 20, 1989. Accessed September 30, 2007. "A 24-inch underground steam pipe exploded with a thunderous roar in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan yesterday evening, killing two people and injuring 19 others, the police said."
- ^ Gramercy Park Hotel Features List Retrieved on July 3rd, 2007
- ^ Gramercy Park no longer open first Saturday in May, NewYorkOlogy article, May 2, 2007.
- ^ Federal Lawsuit Charges Racial Exclusion at Gated Gramercy Park, New York Times article, January 18, 2001.
Further reading
- "Gramercy Park", The New York Times, Editorial, Sunday, July 3, 1921, p.22. On Gramercy Park's 90th anniversary and some history.
- "Samuel B. Ruggles, Founder Of Gramercy Park", Antiques Digest, reprinted. Originally published 1921.
- Gramercy Park: An Illustrated History of a New York Neighborhood by Stephen Garmey, 1984, ISBN 0-917439-00-7.
External links
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