Civic Center in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Death of the Collect Pond
Photographed By Larry Gertner, April 6, 2015
1. Death of the Collect Pond Marker
By 1796, a city engineer deemed Collect Pond to be stagnant and foul. A plan emerged to cleanse the pond and reconstruct it as a ship harbor with a channel to the Hudson River, but that plan was rejected. Instead, in 1803, the city decided to bury the pond.
At first, the pond was filled with clean soil cut from the hills around it. But as the years passed, the spring-fed pond refused to disappear, so carters were paid to dump anything, including garbage, into the pond site.
By 1808, mud and rubbish formed a mound of several acres that loomed over the remaining water. An 1812 grand jury determined that the pond contained “great quantities of stagnant water…dead animals and filth of all kinds.”
Erected by NYC Parks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Man-Made Features • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1796.
Location. 40° 42.979′ N, 74° 0.122′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in Civic Center. Marker is on Lafayette Street near Leonard Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: New York NY 10013, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Collect Pond and the City (here, next to this marker); The Legendary Collect Pond
this page online
Photographed By Larry Gertner, April 8, 2015
2. Collect Pond Park
The markers are visible to the left. The park was rehabilitated 2012. The "Pond" had not been filled for the season.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, April 6, 2015
3. Inset
The pond’s precise burial date is unknown. Its final appearance on a city map was in 1808, designated not as a pond, but as the center of the city’s Sixth Ward.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, April 6, 2015
4. Inset
The only known contemporary depiction of the pond is a romanticized vision of the area, which had already been degraded by the expanding city.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 6, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 190 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 6, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
