Columbus Park (Manhattan)

Public park in Manhattan, New York

"Paradise Park (Manhattan)" redirects here. For the former amusement park in Upper Manhattan, see Fort George Amusement Park.

Columbus Park

Xiangqi (Chinese chess) players and onlookers in the park in 2008

Location| Chinatown, Manhattan
Nearest city| New York City, United States
Coordinates| 40°42′53.5″N 73°59′59.5″W﻿ / ﻿40.714861°N 73.999861°W﻿ / 40.714861; -73.999861
Operated by| New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

Columbus Park formerly known as Mulberry Bend Park, Five Points Park and Paradise Park, is a public park in Chinatown, Manhattan, in New York City that was built in 1897.

American photojournalist Jacob Riis (best known for How The Other Half Lives) is generally credited with "transforming Mulberry Bend from a 'notorious slum' to a park" in order to improve tenement dwellers' quality of life in the neighborhood.[1]

## History

[edit]

### Prior slum

[edit]

Main article: Mulberry Bend

Baxter Street in Mulberry Bend c. 1890, now destroyed;[2] photographed by Riis

During the 19th century, Mulberry Bend (a curve of Mulberry Street) was the center of the Five Points neighborhood, the most dangerous ghetto area of immigrant New York.

Before the park's establishment, Mulberry Bend was an alley Riis considered the "foul core of New York’s slums."[3] The Bend is the site of Riis's 1888 photograph, Bandits' Roost, 59 1/2 Mulberry Street.[4][5]

Photographer and social activist Jacob A. Riis, "friend of the tenement house children,"[6] campaigned for the creation of the park.

### 1897 establishment

[edit]

In 1897, due in part to Riis's advocacy, Mulberry Bend was demolished, tearing down "several blocks" of what the American Park and Outdoor Art Association called "the worst tenement-houses in the world."[7]

William Dean,[8] captain of Manhattan's Sixth Precinct,[9] stated in 1897,

> The establishment of Mulberry Bend Park is one of the greatest blessings that could be bestowed on the people of this precinct, as it eradicated one of the worst blocks in the city, which was made the home of a horde of the most depraved and debased classes, male and female, of all nationalities. Since the eradication of this block, the whole neighborhood has taken a change, and decidedly for the better.[7]

The same year, Riis praised the park's positive effects on the impoverished children and the neighborhood crime rate:

> The troublesome boys had not moved away. They had found something better to do than smashing lamps and windows and getting themselves arrested. They had a place now to romp in. That was all they wanted...In healthy play, youthful energies find a safe outlet.[7][6][10]

### 20th century

[edit]

A postcard claims it was widened circa 1905.[11]

In 1911, Frederick Law Olmsted[12] and Calvert Vaux completed a redesign of the park, which was then renamed Columbus Park.[13][14][15]

From 1934 until 1971, a statue of Columbus by Emma Stebbins, better known for creating the bronze statue of the Angel of the Waters at the center of Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain, stood in the Park. [16]

### 21st century

[edit]

As of 2013, the park often serves as a gathering place for the local Chinese community, where "the neighborhood meets up here to play mahjong, perform traditional Chinese music... [and] practice tai chi in the early mornings."[17]

In 2019, a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen by Lu Chun-Hsiung and Michael Kang was permanently installed in the northern plaza of the park. The plaza was also renamed for the founder of the first Republic of China, who lived in Manhattan's Chinatown for a time.[18][19]

In October 2021, a large-scale crochet mural made of over 1,500 flowers was put up on the fences of Columbus Park by Chinatown Yarn Circle and Think!Chinatown.[20] The project and its flowers are "in tribute to AAPI community builders, embodying collaboration, triumph over struggle and inspiring future generations."[20]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Mulberry Bend Park, c. 1905

* Mulberry Bend Park c. 1912

* Anarchists Alexander Berkman and Marie Ganz rally for workers in Mulberry Bend Park during the Colorado Coalfield War, 1914

* Chinese Americans practicing tai chi in the park, 2005

* Statue of Chinese statesman Dr. Sun Yat-sen in Columbus Park, 2016

## See also

[edit]

* 1982 garment workers' strike
* Chinese Americans in New York City

## References

[edit]

1. ^ unav (c. 1900). "Mulberry Bend Park". Community Service Society Photographs. doi:10.7916/ckwz-x130. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
2. ^ "Museum of the City of New York - Baxter Street Alley in Mulberry Bend, now destroyed". collections.mcny.org. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
3. ^ Riis, Jacob August (1914). How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York, pp. 55-56. Charles Scribner's Sons.
4. ^ Bandits' Roost, 59 1/2 Mulberry Street, The Art Story
5. ^ Michael Burgan, Exposing Hidden Worlds: How Jacob Riis' Photos Became Tools for Social Reform, Compass Point Books, 2018, pp. 8-9
6. ^ a b Gardening. Gardening Company. 1899. p. 57.
7. ^ a b c Association, American Park and Outdoor Art (1897). Report of the American Park and Outdoor Art Association. The Association.
8. ^ Writ of Certiorari and Return. 1902.
9. ^ "6 Precinct - NYPD". www.nyc.gov. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
10. ^ Parks, New York (N Y. ) Committee on Small (1897). Report of Committee on Small Parks. Brown.
11. ^ "Museum of the City of New York - Mulberry Bend Park. New York". collections.mcny.org. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
12. ^ "Park designer Olmsted made a lasting mark on Midwest". The Columbus Dispatch. September 11, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
13. ^ Coneybeare, Matt (August 25, 2017). "Vintage Photograph Shows Lower East Side's Mulberry Bend Park Circa 1905". Viewing NYC. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
14. ^ "Mulberry Bend | CultureNow". themuseumwithoutwalls.org. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
15. ^ "Columbus Park". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
16. ^ "Columbus Park".
17. ^ Nelson, C. (April 19, 2013). "24-Hour Introduction to Chinatown". NewYork.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
18. ^ Maisel, Todd (November 12, 2019). "Chinatown park plaza renamed for Dr. Sun Yat-Sen with bronze statue". www.amny.com. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
19. ^ Pereira, Sydney (February 6, 2019). "Chinese Revolutionary Honored With LES Statue". Lower East Side-Chinatown, NY Patch. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
20. ^ a b Rahmanan, Anna (January 5, 2022). "This massive crochet mural in Chinatown is made of over 1,500 flowers". Time Out New York. Retrieved January 21, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Columbus Park (Manhattan) at Wikimedia Commons

* v
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Chinatown, Manhattan

Manhattan, New York City

Green spaces|

* Columbus Park
* Collect Pond Park
* Sara Delano Roosevelt Park

Education|

* Shuang Wen School
* Pace University High School

Religion|

* Church of the Transfiguration
* Eldridge Street Synagogue
* Mariner's Temple
* Sea and Land Church
* St. James Roman Catholic Church
* St. Joseph Church

Culture|

| Museums|

* Asian American Arts Centre
* Museum of Chinese in America

|

Community|

* Charles B. Wang Community Health Center
* Chinese Community Center
* Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association

Businesses|

* Chinatown Fair
* Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
* Hop Kee
* Jing Fong
* Nom Wah Tea Parlor
* Pearl River Mart
* Wo Hop
* Yu & Me Books

Other buildings|

* 51 Market Street
* 97 Bowery
* 254–260 Canal Street
* Alfred E. Smith House
* Bowery Savings Bank Building
* Confucius Plaza
* Edward Mooney House
* Stephen Van Rensselaer House

| Former|

* Atlantic Garden
* Bull's Head Tavern

|

Transportation|

| Subway stations|

* Canal Street
* Grand Street
* East Broadway

|

Streets|

* Allen Street
* Baxter Street
* Bowery
* Chatham Square
* Chrystie Street
* Division Street
* Doyers Street
* East Broadway
* Elizabeth Street
* Forsyth Street
* Henry Street
* Madison Street
* Mott Street
* Mulberry Bend
* Mulberry Street

Related topics|

* Five Points
* The Old Brewery
* The Tombs

See also: Manhattan Community Board 2, Manhattan Community Board 3

* v
* t
* e

Protected areas of New York City

Federal

| National Historic Sites|

* Lower East Side Tenement Museum
* Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

|

National monuments
and memorials|

* African Burial Ground
* Castle Clinton
* Federal Hall
* General Grant
* Governors Island
* Hamilton Grange
* Statue of Liberty
* Stonewall

National recreation areas|

* Gateway National Recreation Area - Jamaica Bay
* Floyd Bennett Field
* Fort Tilden
* Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
* Jacob Riis
* Gateway National Recreation Area - Staten Island
* Fort Wadsworth
* Great Kills
* Hoffman Island
* Miller Field
* Swinburne Island

State

| State Parks|

* Bayswater Point
* Clay Pit Ponds
* Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms
* Gantry Plaza
* Marsha P. Johnson
* Riverbank
* Roberto Clemente
* Shirley Chisholm

|

State recreation lands|

* Mount Loretto Unique Area
* Udalls Cove

City parks and preserves

| Manhattan|

* 79th Street Boat Basin
* Abe Lebewohl Park
* Abingdon Square
* Albert Capsouto
* Asphalt Green
* Asser Levy
* Battery
* Bella Abzug (Hudson)
* Bellevue South
* Bennett
* British Garden at Hanover Square
* Bowling Green
* Bryant
* Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk
* Carl Schurz
* Central
* Diana Ross Playground
* Great Lawn Rec Center
* Heckscher Playground
* North Meadow Rec Center
* Tarr Family Playground
* Chelsea
* City Hall
* Coleman Playground
* Collect
* Columbus
* Corlears Hook
* Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
* Damrosch
* Dante
* DeSalvio Playground
* DeWitt Clinton
* Drumgoole Plaza
* Duane
* East River Greenway
* East River Esplanade
* East River
* Pier 42
* Stuyvesant Cove
* Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza
* Father Demo Square
* Finn Square
* Foley Square
* Fort Tryon
* Fort Washington
* Gorman
* Governors Island
* Gramercy
* Greenacre
* Hamilton Fish
* Hanover Square
* Harlem River
* Hell's Kitchen
* Herald Square
* High Line
* Highbridge
* Fort George Seating Area
* Holcombe Rucker
* Hudson River
* Ilka Tanya Payán
* Imagination Playground
* Inwood Hill
* Isham
* J. Hood Wright
* Jackie Robinson
* Jackson Square
* John Jay
* Liberty
* Little Island
* Louis Cuvillier
* Madison Square
* Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
* MacArthur
* Marcus Garvey
* McKenna Square
* Millennium
* Mill Rock
* Mitchell Square
* Montefiore Square
* Morningside
* Murphy's Brother's Playground
* Muscota Marsh
* Open Road
* Paley
* Peretz Square
* Peter Cooper
* Peter Detmold
* Plaza Lafayette
* Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden
* Ralph Bunche
* Randalls Island
* Richard Tucker Square
* Riverside
* Robert Moses Playground
* Roosevelt Triangle
* Rucker
* Sakura
* Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground
* Sara Delano Roosevelt
* Septuagesimo Uno
* Seward
* Sheridan Square
* Sherman Square
* Spring Street
* St. John's
* St. Nicholas
* St. Vartan
* Straus
* Stuyvesant Square
* Swindler Cove
* Teardrop
* Theodore Roosevelt
* Thomas Jefferson
* Thomas Paine
* Tompkins Square
* Tribeca
* Trygve Lie
* Union Square
* Verdi Square
* Vesuvio Playground
* Vietnam Veterans Plaza
* Vincent F. Albano Jr.
* Wagner
* Wards Island
* Washington Market
* Washington Square
* West Side Community Garden
* William A. Harris Garden
* Winston Churchill Square
* Zuccotti

|

The Bronx|

| East Bronx|

* Bicentennial Veterans
* Castle Hill
* City Island Wetlands
* Ferry Point
* Givans Creek Woods
* Haffen
* Harding
* Hart Island
* Magenta Playground
* Pelham Bay
* Hunter Island
* Orchard Beach
* Rodman's Neck
* Pelham Parkway
* Pugsley Creek
* Richman
* Seton Falls
* Seton
* Soundview
* Starlight

|

West Bronx|

* Aqueduct Walk
* Bridge
* Bronx
* Bronx Skate Park
* Devoe
* Ewen
* Harris
* Henry Hudson
* Jerome
* Mosholu Parkway
* Poe
* Raoul Wallenberg Forest
* Riverdale
* Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront
* St. James
* University Woods
* Van Cortlandt
* Vidalia
* Vinmont Veteran
* Washington's Walk
* Williamsbridge Oval

South Bronx|

* Baretto Point
* Bill Rainey
* Carlos J. Lozada Playground
* Claremont
* Concrete Plant
* Crotona
* Estella Diggs
* Grant
* Hunts Point Riverside
* Joseph Rodman Drake
* Joyce Kilmer
* Julius Richman
* Macombs Dam
* Mill Pond
* Mullaly
* North and South Brother Islands
* Playground 52
* Printer's
* Richman
* St. Mary's
* Taqwa Community Farm
* Tremont

Brooklyn|

* Alben Square
* American Veterans Memorial Pier
* Amersfort
* Anthony Catanzaro Square
* Asser Levy
* Ascenzi Square
* Bath Beach
* Betsy Head
* Bensonhurst
* Bocchino-Dente Memorial Plaza
* Breukelen Ballfields
* Brooklyn Bridge
* Brooklyn Heights Promenade
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway
* Brower
* Bushwick
* Byrne
* Cadman Plaza
* Canarsie
* Carroll
* Calvert Vaux
* Chief Charles A. Joshua Plaza
* City Line
* Coffey
* Columbus
* Commodore Barry
* Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk
* Coney Island Creek
* Coney Island Cyclone
* Continental Army Plaza
* Cooper
* Domino
* Dyker Beach
* Eastern Parkway
* Fort Greene
* Four Sparrow Marsh
* Frank M. Charles
* Fresh Creek Nature Preserve
* Friends Field
* Fulton
* Golconda Skate Park
* Gravesend
* Green Central Knoll
* Herbert Von King
* Highland
* Irving Square
* JJ Byrne
* Jamaica Bay
* John J. Carty
* John Paul Jones
* Kaiser
* Kelly
* Leif Ericson
* Leon S. Kaiser Playground
* Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino
* Lincoln Terrace
* Linden
* Lindower
* Linton
* Macri Triangle
* Manhattan Beach
* Maria Hernandez
* Marine
* McCarren
* McGolrick
* McKinley
* Mt. Prospect
* Nellie Bly
* Ocean Parkway
* Owl's Head
* Paerdegat Basin
* Paerdegat
* Prospect
* Red Hook
* Robert E. Venable
* Russell D. Ramsey Triangle
* Saratoga
* Scarangella
* Seaside
* Seth Low
* Shore
* Spring Creek
* Steeplechase
* Sternberg
* St. Johns
* Sunset
* Tompkins
* Trinity
* Van Voorhees
* Walt Whitman
* Wingate
* WNYC Transmitter
* Zion Triangle

Queens|

* Admiral
* Alley Pond
* Andrews Grove
* Astoria
* Baisley Pond
* Bayside Fields
* Bayswater
* Beach Channel
* Big Bush
* Bowne
* Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Breininger
* Broad Channel American
* Broad Channel
* Broad Channel Wetlands
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brookville
* Bulova
* Captain Tilly
* Catholic War Veterans Triangle
* Chris Postiglione Triangle
* College Point Fields
* Crocheron
* Cunningham
* Det. Keith L. Williams
* Det. William T. Gunn
* Dr. Charles R. Drew
* Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Doughboy
* Douglaston
* Elmhurst
* Evergreen
* Far Rockaway Skate Park
* Feehan Triangle
* Flushing Fields
* Flushing Meadows-Corona
* Foch Sitting Area
* Forest
* Fort Tilden
* Fort Totten
* Francis Lewis
* Frank Golden
* Frank Principe
* Haggerty
* Harvey
* Highland
* Hillcrest Veterans Square
* Hinton
* Hoffman
* Hook Creek
* Hunter's Point
* Idlewild
* Jamaica Bay
* Joe Sabba
* John Golden
* Judge Moses Weinstein Playground
* Juniper Valley
* Kissena
* Kohlreiter Square
* Kopytko Triangle
* Libra Triangle
* Linden
* Linnaeus
* Little Bay
* LoCicero Triangle
* Louis Pasteur
* Lynch Triangle
* Mafera
* Macneil
* Marconi
* Marie Curie
* Montbellier
* O'Donohue
* One Room Schoolhouse
* Overlook
* Park of the Americas
* Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto
* Playground Seventy Five
* Ofc. Edward Byrne
* Powell's Cove
* Proctor-Hopson Circle
* Queens County Farm Museum
* Queensbridge
* Rachel Carson
* Railroad
* Ralph Demarco
* Remsen Cemetery
* Rochdale
* Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
* Rockaway Community
* Roy Wilkins
* Rufus King
* Seagirt Avenue Wetlands
* Socrates Sculpture
* Spring Creek
* Springfield
* St. Albans
* Travers
* Travis Triangle
* Triangle 54
* Tribute
* Tudor
* Turtle Playground
* Underbridge Dog Run
* Vleigh Playground
* Walter J. Wetzel Triangle
* Wayanda

Staten Island|

| North Shore
(Community District 1)|

* Allison Pond
* Austen House
* Buono Beach
* Barrett
* Clove Lakes
* Clove's Tail
* Corporal Thompson
* Eibs Pond
* Faber
* Forest Grove
* Fort Hill
* Gaeta
* Graniteville Quarry
* Graniteville Swamp
* Hero
* Ingram Woods
* Jones Woods
* Joseph Manna
* Lyons Pool Recreation Center
* Maple Woods
* Northerleigh
* Richmond Terrace Wetlands
* Sailors' Snug Harbor
* Shooters Island
* Silver Lake
* Sobel Court
* Tappen
* Tompkinsville
* Von Briesen
* Walker
* Westerleigh

|

Mid-Island
(Community District 2)|

* Blood Root Valley
* Bradys Pond
* Deere
* Father Macris
* FDR Boardwalk
* Gen. MacArthur
* High Rock
* Last Chance
* Midland Field
* Ocean Breeze
* Old Place Creek
* Prall's Island
* Saw Mill Creek Marsh
* Schmul
* South Beach Wetlands
* St. George
* Staten Island Industrial
* Westwood
* Willowbrook

Mid-Island & South Shore
(Community Districts 2 & 3)|

* Freshkills
* LaTourette
* Meredith Woods
* William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge

South Shore
(Community District 3)|

* Aesop
* Amundsen Circle
* Annadale
* Arbutus Woods
* Arden Woods
* Bayview Terrace
* Bloomingdale
* Blue Heron
* Blueberry
* Bunker Ponds
* Carlton
* Conference House
* Crescent Beach
* Fairview
* Great Kills
* Huguenot Ponds
* Hybrid Oak Woods
* Isle of Meadows
* King Fisher
* Kingdom Pond
* Lemon Creek
* Long Pond
* Olmstead-Beil House
* Reed's Basket Willow Swamp
* Seaside Wildlife Nature
* Siedenburg
* Tottenville Shore
* Wegener
* Wolfe's Pond

Other

| Nature centers|

* Alley Pond
* Belvedere Castle
* Blue Heron
* Crotona
* Dana Discovery Center
* Forest
* Fort Greene
* Fort Totten
* Greenbelt
* High Rock
* Inwood Hill
* Orchard Beach
* Prospect
* Salt Marsh
* Van Cortlandt

|

Zoos|

* Bronx
* Central Park
* Prospect Park
* Queens
* Staten Island

Botanical gardens|

* Brooklyn Botanic
* Conservatory
* New York Botanical
* Queens Botanical
* Staten Island Botanical
* New York Chinese Scholar's
* Wave Hill

Roosevelt Island|

* Lighthouse
* Southpoint

Other lists|

* World War I-related parks
* Vietnam War-related parks
* Hispanic and Latino-related parks

* Category
* Department of Parks and Recreation
* New York State
* Commons

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