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Herald Square
Broadway, Av Of Americas, bet. W 34 St and W 35 St
Manhattan
Directions: Google Maps | MTA Trip Planner
Acres: 0.21
This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.
Herald Square
This park was named for the newspaper that was once
published directly to its north. The City of New York acquired the
area in 1846 as part of the opening of Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway).
By the early 20th century, many printers and publishers had located
in the area. The New York Herald, founded by James Gordon Bennett
in 1835, was best known for its sensational coverage of scandal
and crime, and for its enormous circulation. Herald Square's centerpiece
monument to Bennett and his son houses a sculpture and clock that
formerly topped the Herald building. The bronze figures include
Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and invention, and two bell-ringing
blacksmiths. The clock and figures were installed on the monument
in 1940, and blacksmiths "Stuff and Guff" or "Gog and Magog" have
chimed the hours ever since.
