{"nrhp_refnum":"97001678","name":"Union Square","other_names":["Union Square Park"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Bounded by E 14th & E 17th Sts. and Union Square East & Union Square West","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.735607028500056,"lon":-73.99053330618442,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-12-09","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1997-09-09","areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Union Square is a public park and surrounding streets in lower mid-town Manhattan, New York City, between East 14th and East 17th Streets. It was laid out as Union Place in 1815, and the park opened in 1839.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the square is nationally significant in American labor history. It was the destination of the first Labor Day parade on September 5, 1882, and the focus of the following twelve years of effort that led to national legislation recognizing a day for labor. The square has also long hosted parades, mass meetings and labor demonstrations.","narrative":"Union Square is a public park in lower mid-town Manhattan, bounded by East 14th and East 17th Streets. Named for its position at the junction of Broadway and the Bowery Road, it was laid out as Union Place in 1815 and opened as a park in 1839. It later became a public space with a pavilion at its north end. The nomination treats the park and its surrounding streets as one contributing site because of their link to the first Labor Day parade, held on September 5, 1882, by the Central Labor Union. That march ended at the square, and the following twelve years of effort led to national legislation for a labor holiday. The park also holds notable commemorative sculpture, including statues of Washington, Lincoln and Lafayette and the James Fountain, dating from 1856 to 1881. A 1930s redesign raised the ground level and moved several statues. City restoration work took place from 1987 to 1993.","period_of_significance":"1882-1894","architect_builder":"Sculptors: Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, Henry Kirke Brown, Hunt Diedrich, Karl Adolf Donndorf, John Quincy Adams Ward","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"The park was restored and rehabilitated by the city between 1987 and 1993. It is described as well maintained and heavily used, with a greenmarket held in the north plaza on Wednesdays and Saturdays.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.729011-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/97001678_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001678/b8beb6cf61-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001678/b8beb6cf61-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jan Ainali","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_square_August_2009.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jan Ainali</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_square_August_2009.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315974","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Square,_Manhattan","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110007"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/union-square-97001678/"}