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NoHo in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Vauxhall Gardens

Pleasure Palace Of Fireworks And Music

— Bowery to Broadway between 4th & Astor Place —

 
 
Vauxhall Gardens Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 17, 2016
1. Vauxhall Gardens Marker
2 Cooper Square
Inscription. In 1805, the land between Bowery, Broadway, 4th Street and Astor Place became the fashionable Vauxhall Garden. Established by Joseph Delacroix on land owned by John Jacob Astor, it featured gravel walks amount shrubs trees, flowers, and equestrian statue of George Washington and an open-air theatre for concerts, plays and hot-air balloon launches. According to one source, its dazzle of music, fireworks, lamp-lit arbors, ice cream and juleps made it “as gay a place of recreation as was to be found at the period of an evening anywhere in the civilized world.”

In 1826, Astor cut Lafayette Place through the garden’s middle, selling the lots to its west at great profit. In 1840 and 1841, P.T. Barnum leased the Vauxhall’s saloon, presenting variety acts. The Garden’s decline was hastened by the bloody 1849 Astor Place Riot, during which some of the bloody bodies were laid across the Vauxhall’s Saloon billiard tables. Vauxhall Garden closed in 1859, after over 50 years of existence at this spot.

-David Mulkins, Historian/Educator
 
Erected 2016 by Bowery Alliance of Neighbors.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: EntertainmentParks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1805.
 
Location. 40° 43.638′ 
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N, 73° 59.503′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in NoHo. Marker is on Bowery near East 4th Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2 Cooper Sq, New York NY 10003, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Hippest Place on Earth (within shouting distance of this marker); Manuel Plaza (within shouting distance of this marker); 27 Cooper Sq. (within shouting distance of this marker); New York’s “Little Germany” (within shouting distance of this marker); America’s First Freedom Rider (within shouting distance of this marker); Merchant’s House Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); Old Merchants House of New York (within shouting distance of this marker); Engine 33 and Ladder 9 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.
 
More about this marker. One of more than sixty entries in the “Windows on the Bowery” series.
 
Vauxhall Garden marker site image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 15, 2016
2. Vauxhall Garden marker site
2 Cooper Square
Inset image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 17, 2016
3. Inset
Vauxhall Garden & Theatre, 1835
Inset image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 17, 2016
4. Inset
German-born fur & real estate baron John Jacob Astor, c. 1825
Inset image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 17, 2016
5. Inset
P.T. Barnum & General Tom Thumb, 1850
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 13, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 221 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 13, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024