Park Avenue South Malls
.275 acre
These malls, located in the middle of Park Avenue South, are the beautifully planted green spaces that give traffic-snarled Park Avenue its name. The avenue has undergone many changes over time, culminating in the creation of malls that inject a glimpse of nature into the relentless urban landscape.
The entire street was once known as Fourth Avenue. It followed the path of railroad tracks first built by the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1831. Between 32nd and 42nd Streets the railroad ran through a trench, as the trains were unable to manage the incline of the avenue. This trench eventually became the Park Avenue tunnel, which leads directly from 32nd Street to Grand Central Station.
While other parts of the East Side were developing as affluent areas, Fourth Avenue was an undesirable address due to the noise, soot, and smoke from the passing trains. Its improvement began on August 19, 1851, when the Board of Aldermen (predecessor of the City Council) laid out park spaces 40 feet wide in the middle of the avenue, between 34th and 38th Streets. Then, in 1854 the City restricted steam trains to the portion north of 42nd Street, vastly improving the area to the south and determining the future location of Grand Central Terminal. In 1862, additional greenspaces were designated between 38th and 50th Streets.
Although the name “Park Avenue” was first used for part of Fourth Avenue around 1860, it was not until 1888 that a section of the street was officially renamed. The new name, while describing the improvements made to the street, was largely a marketing move. Several avenues were renamed during this period in an effort to increase their prominence, and distinguish upper Manhattan from lower Manhattan; for example, part of Eleventh Avenue became “West End Avenue” in 1880, and the north end of Tenth Avenue became “Amsterdam Avenue” in 1890.
The major improvement that truly transformed the image and reputation of Park Avenue came with the construction of the new Grand Central Terminal. The railroad tracks were entirely capped and covered by 1914, leaving space for a continuous series of broad malls north of the station. These originally measured 56 feet wide before they were cut down to 20 in 1923 to accommodate traffic.
Meanwhile, this section was still called Fourth Avenue and had not yet been planted. The portion of the avenue between 17th and 32nd Streets was officially renamed Park Avenue South in 1959, but malls with planting boxes were not added until 1962. Manhattan Borough President Edward R. Dudley recognized the importance of greenspace, dismissing arguments that the malls would increase traffic congestion. The improvements were additionally sponsored by over 50 local businesses, which matched the City’s commitment, providing $75,000 for plantings.
Over time, the planting boxes began to break as the result of car accidents and weather exposure. There was also a need for new plantings. Kathleen Goforth, a local public relations consultant, used her skills to raise support for the renovation of the malls. In 1997, she gained the advocacy of Council Member Antonio Pagan, who provided $450,000 to reconstruct the malls. The planting boxes were reinforced with a system of metal caps and foam cushioning that helps protect the boxes from car collisions.
Looking to the gardens of Versailles for inspiration, a uniform planting design was chosen to create continuity along the malls. This included planting 120 European hornbeams (Carpinus betulus), 120 Japanese yews (Podocarpus macrophyllus), 360 English yews (Taxus baccata,), 10,482 English ivy plants (Hedera helix), and 15,000 seasonal flowers.
Thursday, Dec 27, 2001