It's officially open! Has it been a decade since the park at 110th Street started construction (actually, work began back in 2004)? Young families, people coming home from work and the skateboarders have already discovered the very well-designed circular park that is the new gateway to Harlem. Well done! The B,C train at 110th Street is the nearest station to this location. Check out the original plans as they were presented six years ago: LINK. Photos by Ulysses
I never thought this day would come!
ReplyDeleteThe circle looks nice and it is great to see it being used.
i like it a lot but it needs the fountain to be in operation to counter the huge rectangular slab that stands as the base. fountains always have a way of malfunctioning so let's hope they got the hydraulics right on this.
ReplyDeleteI was elated to step off the train this evening to see the park in full swing! It seemed like the whole neighborhood was out tonight, putting the park to good use!
ReplyDeleteLove Frederick's hair!
ReplyDeleteGood looking plaza!
Looks great in the photos and is being enjoyed by New Yorkers with the wonderful central park so close by must make it a real success. The metal fence is interesting, appears to be wagon wheels, does any one know the significance of the fence design? Also, I would like to see some more substantial bollards to protect park goers from the fast north flowing traffic.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see this finally unveiled. My wife noticed that FD is facing in towards Harlem - should he be facing out to welcome the rest of Manhattan to our wonderful village? What do you think went into the decision?
ReplyDeleteThe Harriet Tubman statue faces north also. It represents the direction to freedom!
ReplyDeleteI pass by every day on the 10 bus going to work, I was wondering when they were going to finally open it. Thanks for sharing the photos, I will pass that way to work on Monday, Can't wait to see the circle with my own eyes.
ReplyDeleteThe Harriet Tubman statue faces South. At the end of the day, who cares where the statues face, they beautify the neighborhood either way.
ReplyDelete@Anon 8:29 "Who cares?" Would it matter whether the American flag is flown upside down, or the Statue of Liberty faced NJ, or if the Empire State building were built along the East River instead of 5th Ave, or whether you decided to wear a beautiful dress inside out? Sure, the artistry of the circle certainly does beautify the area, but what makes art and architecture interesting is understanding and interpreting the context and motivation of the artist.
ReplyDeleteI love that the circle is open finally. What I'm not so happy about is that it has seemingly become an exclusive stunt bicycle/skaterboarder park overnight. At least that's the impression I got when I went there this Friday late afternoon.
ReplyDeleteLove the circle too!!! Too bad they couldn't wait until the real opening that was supposed to take place. But folks should call 311 to file a complaint about biking and skateboarding on the site. Otherwise they’ll ruin the circle or cause some kind of accident out onto traffic.
ReplyDeleteruin granite stones?? you are all haters, that is why americans are fat. When someone starts doing sports - skateboarding or biking - haters call 311 and police. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteI am going there tomorrow with my trials bike. If I get kicked out - I am leaving this freakin city.
They should have landscaped the circle and created separation between the street and the fountain and statue. This design is terrible. Little shade in the day, it just gets hot and bakes. Make it all concrete, and of course the skateboarders will come. And putting in a fountain that doesn't work, what a waste of FEDERAL taxpayer dollars. The reason the thing took so long to complete is it was a classic federal government porkbelly project, dependent on Rangel funneling a bit of money in every budget into it. Columbus Circle underwent a full renovation and landscaping in 1-2 years, all financed by the city and local developers (Trump). The thing will quickly turn into an empty wasteland, much like the Duke Ellington Circle on the other side of the park.
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