New York's Union Square: How Global Forces Shape a Local Landscape

Global forces converge on New York’s Union Square. Immigration, war, and the city’s increasing role in the global economy influenced debates over its creation and development, decisions that found physical expression, and what has occurred in the space as markedly as local politics and specific land use decisions have influenced the space. Union Square was designated a public space in Manhattan’s 1811 grid plan, and erased from the map in 1815, when the city’s strapped-for-cash and shortsighted Common Council lobbied against it. With the War of 1812 producing uncertainty about the city’s future prosperity, the Council could not justify purchasing large amounts of private property in remote parts of the city. By the 1830s, increasing trade, changing economic relations among the city’s residents, and a steep rise in immigration motivated a group of citizens to successfully petition the Common Council to resurrect Union Square. In the early- to mid-twentieth century, Union Square became a major American battlefield in the global war between capitalists and anti-capitalists. With its department stores, pubs, and theaters, it was a center of capital exchange in Manhattan. Simultaneously, it was the location of the American Communist Party headquarters and the primary gathering place for socialists and anarchists. The tension between business interests and so-called radical groups played out daily. Public culture and spatial decisions could be directly linked to Cold War tensions. These are just two examples in Union Square's rich history.  The story of Union Square is about more than just the destiny of a few acres in New York City; it’s about the relationship between urban denizens and the world in which they lived.