Quick trivia question

I%26#39;m finally getting around to writing up a report for our family journal on our NYC trip a few months ago so of course some things I can%26#39;t remember too clearly. What%26#39;s the name of the square near Macy%26#39;s where Broadway %26amp; Avenue of America%26#39;s meet. There%26#39;s a statue there. I%26#39;m thinking Herold Square. Am I right or way off?

Thanks, Jen

Quick trivia question

Herald Square.

(That was easy!)

Quick trivia question

It may be a quick trivia question, but here is a long trivia answer...

As Broadway cuts diagonally across the grid, it leaves a number of little hourglass-shaped open areas that are called ';squares';. The tricky part is that each triangular half of the hourglass is considered a separate square, with its own name.

Bettina answer is right if you mean (as you probably do) the square north of 34th Street that is directly outside of Macy%26#39;s. The statue there is ';Minerva and the bellringers';, a large clock taken from the former New York Herald building.

On the other hand, if you mean the trangular ';square'; to the south of 34th Street, where the statue of Horace Greeley sits, then that is ';Greeley Square';.

It should be noted, though, that commonly people refer to both together as ';Herald Square';, just as almost no one besides nit-picking smart alecks like me ever calls the northern portion of Times Square by its proper name of Duffy Square.

GWB, you%26#39;re the best! Actually, I do refer to Duffy Square by its correct name, but only when talking to New Yorkers.

But why are they called squares, when only Union Square could be considered the right shape? I mean, what would be so terrible to have Herald Triangle, Times Triangle, etc.?

Bettina,

I think the answer is actually quite simple: Squares (Town Squares, Public Squares) were pretty much considered to be any open area in the heart of a town that was used for public gatherings and typically surrounded by shops. The fact that in most small towns, these areas were typically square in shape contribute to the commonplace name, even when the area isn%26#39;t really a square at all.

The fact there are so many %26#39;squares%26#39; in Manhattan shows just how the whole island is considered a ';center of town.';

And when each of those little open spaces were dedicated to someone - or dominated by some thing - like Father Duffy or the Herald Angels or Greely or the old Times Building, then it was named for that major landmark.

Here is some reference info on %26#39;squares%26#39;.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_square

and

http://www.answers.com/topic/town-square

Back in the 70%26#39;s there was a humorous song that suggested that since the old Times building was rename the Allied Chemical Building, ';Times Square'; should have been renamed ';Allied Chemical Square';. After all, before the Times moved there it was known as ';Longacre Square';. (That building is now called 1 Times Square, BTW...)

If that tradition had continued and the Square was renamed each time something else dominated it, today it could be called ';Media Square'; with all the media outlets in the area.

:)

鈥ikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square#Major_build鈥?/a>

I said in jest - ';How the whole island is considered a center...'; and forgot the smiley. In reality, I believe if you were to correlate all the different ';squares'; they would end up being somewhat central to each of the neighborhoods/';towns'; that existed on Manhattan Island at one time or another...

:)

I will also note that some of the oldest ';squares'; were also not square at all. Hanover Squre, for example, is largely triangular, as was Franklin Square. (Franklin Square? Yep; right where that big red arch is on the Brooklyn Bridge at Pearl Street -- THAT is why there are no narrow stone arches there.) Chatham Square is also not square.

One of the more interesting squares is little Worth Square, which is on the west side of Fifth Avenue across from the more noticeable Madison Square. That monument in the center to General Worth (the same man after whom Frot Worth TX is named) is no mere monument; it is actually his tomb: the general is indeed buried right inside of his namesake square in the middle of the street.

I will also note that what most people think is Sheridan Square is not Sheridan Square at all. General Sheridan%26#39;s statue is in, and the Sheridan Square subway station adjoins, Christopher Park; what is properly called Sheridan Square is around the corner.

Thanks for all that, it makes sense. But I%26#39;d still rather call them triangles, it%26#39;s the geometrist in me.

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