Often, tourists walk into Bryant Park expecting more than what they saw. They'd say," So this is it? I thought it was bigger." Or, " I don't know why it is so famous." Well, notoriety and fame both figure in the park's history.
In the last few years, Bryant Park has been the venue for social events like free movie showings in the late Summer afternoons. With offices across the park, HBO showcases their new talent via stand-up comedy hours. Morning performances and interviews by Good Morning America are held at the William Cullen Bryant Memorial. They draw the biggest crowds. Authors do book readings at the open-air reading room on the North side. There are designated spaces for killer-games like chess, backgammon, ping pong, and bocce. For children, a merry-go-round on the South end. Yoga and Tai Chi practitioners use the park all the time in massive demonstrations. The sloth-like motion of Tai Chi mesmerizes the crowd without fail. For the gastronomically inclined, the Bryant Park Grill offers full meals and a kiosk on the northwest corner serves coffee and pastries. Craft fairs arrive in the Fall with their quaint boutiques lining the walkways. And when Old Man Winter comes around, an ice skating rink takes over the green. Travel books list Bryant Park as one of the sites to see in New York.
The park also figures in the personal history of now famous actors and singers who slept in the park during the lowest times in their lives. Nick Ashford is one, and a small plaque marks the bench on which he slept. The noted scientist Nikola Tesla walked the park while formulating his inventions. Common knowledge has it that Tesla hung out at the Southwest corner. The park was used for drills during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and some of the most violent the Anti-Draft Riots occurred here.
Would you believe that as early as 1686 people have been coming to the park? Yes. But back then, it was only a public square. It might send chills down your spine to know that between 1823 and 1840, the area served as a Potter's Field. Thousands of people were buried in these grounds. The city re-interred the dead at Wards Island on the East River. Your "Final resting place" isn't necessarily your final resting place. Not in New York, at least.
It became a park officially in 1847 as Reservoir Park. A reservoir stood on the eastern end where the New York Public Library now stands. In fact, some of the reservoir's foundation still exists in the basement of the library. In the 1930s, the park went into disrepair and neglect. An elevated train track ran along Sixth Avenue which made the general area noisy and grimy. By the 1970s, Bryant Park had been taken over by drug dealers and other such vermin. Many crimes were committed on its grounds. Savvy New Yorkers stayed away, preferring to cross the street rather than walk along its perimeter. The restoration began in 1979 by The Bryant Park Restoration Corporation. And now, it is a lovely 10-acre oasis for angst-ridden midtowners. The main entrance is on Sixth Avenue. I make full use of the park since I work next door. In the Summer, just before 9am, the sun rises over the roof line of the New York Public Library and drenches the park in its soft light. With a hot cup of java, I sit in one of the Adirondack chairs by the fountain and contemplate the coming work day, like generations of New Yorkers have done before me.
(Photos by Ted Teodoro)
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