Civic Center in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Collect Pond Before The City
Photographed by Larry Gertner, April 6, 2015
1. Collect Pond Before The City Marker
If you were standing here in the early 1600s, you would have seen a sparkling expanse of water spreading out over five acres. There was a pond here sixty feet deep, fed by a subterranean springs and ringed by wooded hills, that drained through marshy outlets to the Hudson and East Rivers. People from Lenape tribes camped by the ponds southern shores.
Dutch settlers called the pond Versch Water of simply the kolch (meaning pond). English colonial successors used both names, translating the first as the Fresh Water” and anglicizing the later as the Collect.
As the city grew and rapidly displaced nature, the fresh Collect Pond became degraded and was later buried beneath the metropolis.
Erected by NYC Parks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Parks & Recreational Areas.
Location. 40° 42.979′ N, 74° 0.123′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in Civic Center. It 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.
Regionally, this marker is in New York City. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker
this page online
Other markers no longer nearby. The Tombs A Mausoleum for the Living (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing); Collect Pond Park (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing); Abraham De Peyster Statue (was about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been permanently removed).
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
Re-creation of the Collect Pond area as encountered by Henry Hudson in 1609. The smoke from fires indicates temporary Lenape encampments.
Photographed by Larry Gertner, April 6, 2015
4. Inset
Collect Pond and surrounding landscape overlaid with the street grid.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 5, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 768 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 5, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
