Gramercy Park Totally Explained

Everything about Gramercy Park totally explained

Gramercy Park (sometimes misspelled as Grammercy) is a small, fenced-in private park in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, New York State. The park is one of only two remaining private parks in New York City with almost no access to the public, the other being Sunnyside Gardens, Queens.

Location

Gramercy Park is located between East 20th Street and East 21st Street and between Park Avenue South and Third Avenue (although it doesn't take up the entire block between these two avenues). Lexington Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of Manhattan, terminates at the northern end of Gramercy Park.

History

Gramercy Park was originally a swamp. Samuel B. Ruggles bought what was then farmland from James Duane in 1831. In 1966, the park was designated as a historic district. The name Gramercy is almost certainly a corruption of the Dutch krom mesje, or "little crooked knife," the name of a small brook that flowed along what is now 21st Street. The area was part of Gramercy Farm until 1831, when its owner, Samuel B. Ruggles, donated the property to the city on condition that no commercial enterprise be permitted on the facing streets or in the park proper. To this day, the park contains no amusements, swing sets, snack shops, or any other intrusions on its rusticity. It is the oldest private park in the United States.
The center of the park contains a statue of one of the area's most famous residents, Edwin Booth. Booth was one of the great Shakespearean actors of 19th century America, as well as the brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln. His mansion still stands at number 16, and is today the home of the Players' Club.

Exclusivity

Gramercy Park is held in common as one of the City's two privately owned parks (Sunnyside Gardens is the other) by the owners of the surrounding structures, as it has remained since December 31, 1831. Residents living in buildings that face the park may buy a key to the park, which is changed annually. One notable resident was the actor/producer Henry Herbert who owned number 16 Gramercy Park.
In addition, members of the Players Club and the National Arts Club as well as guests of the Gramercy Park Hotel have key access.
The park at one time opened to the public on Gramercy Day (which changed yearly, but was often the first Saturday in May). In 2007, the Trustees of Gramercy Park announced that it would no longer open the park on that day, though caroling in the park on Christmas Eve is expected to continue.

In popular culture

Because of the park's private nature, film companies are not usually allowed to shoot there. In the film Notting Hill, a famous actress (played by Julia Roberts) is shown starring in a film called Gramercy Park, which was also the name of the production company for Notting Hill. Goth Rock band Deadsy released a song entitled "The Key to Gramercy Park" on their 2002 album Commencement. Jazz fusion/ rock duo Steely Dan made mention of this park in the tune Janie Runaway, from their 2000 album Two Against Nature: Down in Tampa the future looked desperate and dark / Now you're the wonderwaif of Gramercy Park. Dutch jazz pianist Michiel Borstlap owns a record label called "Gramercy Park" and he also composed a tune with the same name.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Gramercy Park'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://gramercy_park.totallyexplained.com">Gramercy Park Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.