James J Walker Park

Hudson St, St Luke's Pl, Clarkson St, 7 Av

Manhattan, 10014

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

James J. Walker (1881-1946) was a New York politician whose style and exploits made his name synonymous with the Jazz Age. Born on June 19, 1881, Walker attended St. Joseph’s Parochial School, St. Francis Xavier, and New York Law School. Instead of preparing for the bar on completion of his law classes in 1905, Walker tried his hand at song-writing. His biggest hit —"Will You Love Me in December as You Do in May?"—sold well, but his entertainment career soon came to an end. Billed as the "Young Man’s Candidate," Walker was elected Assemblyman to Manhattan’s Fifth District in 1910. The young politician both passed the bar and married Janet Allen in 1912.