Columbus Square
0.1 acre
The namesake of this park is Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the adventurer whose maritime skills and discoveries Americans and Europeans alike have celebrated for half a millennium. In 1473, Columbus embarked on his first maritime voyage from his home in Genoa, Italy, headed for the island of Khios in the Aegean Sea. Upon his return in 1476, he traveled in a convoy destined for England. Legend has it Columbus’s ship was attacked and sunk by pirates near the coast of Portugal. Columbus swam to shore and settled in Lisbon, where his brother Bartholomew worked as a cartographer.
Based on faulty maps and speculative prophecy, Columbus concluded that there was a quicker route to the markets of Asia than was known at the time. Instead of heading south and circumnavigating Africa to reach China and Japan, Columbus proposed to sail west. In the 1480s, Columbus presented the proposal to the King of Portugal, various people of title, and the King of Spain. In April 1492, Ferdinand V, King of Spain, and Queen Isabelle grudgingly agreed to sponsor Columbus’s proposed voyage. On August 3, 1492, the three modest ships that comprised Columbus’s party, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina, set sail. On October 12, they sighted land. Soon after, the ships landed on Guanahani, an island in the Bahamas. Columbus claimed the land in possession of Spain and renamed the island San Salvador. Believing he had reached the West Indies in Asia, Columbus named the natives “los Indios,” or Indians. The expedition returned to Spain triumphantly on March 15, 1493. After receiving a title of nobility, Christopher Columbus immediately prepared for a second, larger expedition. On November 3, 1493, a fleet of 17 ships anchored near present day Puerto Rico. Third and fourth voyages were made in 1498 and 1502. Columbus died in Spain on May 20, 1506, believing he had discovered a new route to Asia, not a new continent.
The statue of Columbus, which stands at the apex of the square, was sculpted by Angelo Racioppi, and donated by the New York City WPA (Works Progress Administration) Art Project. The statue, which was dedicated on October 12, 1941, provoked public bickering at the time between Queens Borough President George U. Harvey and Parks Commissioner Robert Moses (1888-1981). At a May 1941 meeting of the Board of Estimate in which plans for the statue were discussed, Harvey referred to Moses as an “appointed official who couldn’t be elected as dogcatcher.” Moses responded in a letter, “I have no thought of running against you for dogcatcher. The job is right up your alley.” Later, Moses wrote, “We don’t think the statue looks like anything we have read about Columbus, or that as a piece of symbolism it represents anything associated with Columbus. On the other hand, just as a piece of sculpture without any particular significance, it is not objectionable.” Harvey replied, “Anything Moses doesn’t design himself, he thinks is no good.” The seven-foot tall, bronze statue depicts a youthful Columbus standing at the helm of a ship.
The City of New York acquired the land that is now Columbus Square on July 19, 1910, in the Hoyt Avenue condemnation proceedings. The park lies at the intersection of Hoyt Avenue South, Astoria Avenue, 31st Street, 32nd Street, and the Triborough Bridge approach. On February 11, 1914, the land was conveyed to Parks by resolution of the Sinking Fund, a City program that held property in order to secure repayment of the city’s debt. On April 1, 1930, the Board of Alderman named this small park Columbus Square. Columbus Square features planting boxes, trees, benches, brick walkways, an entrance to the elevated subway line, a flagpole with a yardarm that flies the U.S., City of New York, and Parks flags, and the statue of its namesake, Christopher Columbus. On June 18, 1987, Parks renamed this small sitting park Columbus Triangle to be more geometrically accurate
Wednesday, Jan 03, 2001