The area which is now Gramercy Park was once in the middle of a swamp, called by the Dutch settlers Krom Moerasje, meaning "little crooked swamp", through which ran the spring-fed stream Krom Mesje ("little crooked knife"), which had, over time, carved out a 40-foot deep gully on its way along what is now 21st Street to the East River at 18th Street. These original names became corrupted to "Crommessie", which itself was further corrupted to "Gramercy."
By 1831, when Samuel B. Ruggles bought the property from James Duane, a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, it was farmland, called "Gramercy Farm". To develop the property, Ruggles spent $180,000 to landscape it, draining the swamp and causing about a million horsecart loads of earth to be moved. He then laid out "Gramercy Square", deeding possession of the square to the owners of the 60 parcels of land he had plotted to surround it, and sought tax-exempt status for the park, which the Board of Alderman granted in 1832. The park was fenced in in 1833, but construction on the surrounding lots did not begin until the 1840s. Ruggles also brought about the creation by the state legislature of
In the center of the park is a statue of one of the area's most famous residents, Edwin Booth. Booth was one of the great Shakespearean actors of 19th Century
In 1966,
One of the most significant steam explosions in
LOCAL PARKS & ENTERTAINMENT
[ between East 20th and
Pool, and
[ between 1st and 2nd Avevue ]
Flatiron Building
[ between 11th and
The
Gramercy Park Hotel
Theodore Roosevelt ’s Birthplace
[ between Park and Broadway ]
RESTAURANTS
Abigael’s 1407 Broadway [ between 38th and
40/40 Club
SCHOOLS
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Friends Seminary
Jack & Jil Schol
P.S.
P.S. 40 Augustus St. Gaudens
P.S. JHS 47 - Schol for the Deaf
United Nations International
HIGH SCHOOLS
Baruch Colege High Schol
Mabel Dean Bacon Vocational High Schol
United Nations International
POLICE
13th Precinct
LOCAL HOSPITALS
[ Tel. 212.420.2900 ]
TRANSPORTATION
SUBWAY 4, 5, 6, L, N, R
BUS M1, M2, M9, M14, M15, M101,
M102, M103
LOCAL POST OFFICES
Muray Hil Post Office
Peter Stuyvesant Post Office
Avg. Price/SqFt.