Bryant Park

Bryant Park is recognizable for the expansive, manicured lawn at its center, bordered by rows of London plane trees and the grand stone facade of the New York Public Library. While it now serves as a busy midtown gathering place, the nine point six acre site has held a variety of roles since Governor Thomas Dongan designated it public property in sixteen eighty-six. It has functioned as a potter's field for the city's poor, a campground for Union troops during the Civil War, and the site of a massive reservoir that supplied fresh water to the city for decades.