Frederick Douglass Circle
Encyclopedia
Frederick Douglass Circle is a traffic circle located at the Northwest corner of Central Park
at the foot of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and of Cathedral Parkway in the New York City borough of Manhattan
. The traffic circle is named for the American abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer Frederick Douglass
.
at the Northeast corner of Central Park. Construction on the pedestrian plaza began in 2004 and was to be completed in one year. However, due to numerous construction delays, the plaza was not completed until June 2, 2010.
The traffic circle features a complex colored paving pattern that alludes to traditional African American quilt designs. Harlem-based artist Algernon Miller designed the paving. Additional features, including wrought-iron symbolic and decorative elements, a water wall, and inscribed historical details and quotations representing the life of Frederick Douglass and the slaves’ passage to freedom. A central bronze sculpture, depicting a standing Frederick Douglass, has been crafted by Hungarian-born artist Gabriel Koren.
with the Upper West Side
. Harlem, which since the 1920s has been as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center is to the North and East of the intersection. Cathedral Parkway climbs westward from here into Morningside Heights, home of institutions such as Columbia University
, Barnard College
, the Manhattan School of Music
and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
.
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
at the foot of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and of Cathedral Parkway in the New York City borough of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The traffic circle is named for the American abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
.
Plaza
Although a ceremony was held to name the circle after Frederick Douglass on September 17, 1950, the pedestrian plaza in the center of the intersection was not completed until June 2, 2010. In 1993, local residents and the Central Park Conservancy began developing plans to redesign the circle and make it symmetrical with Duke Ellington CircleDuke Ellington Circle
Duke Ellington Circle is a traffic circle located at the Northeast corner of Central Park at the foot of Fifth Avenue and of 110th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The traffic circle is named for the legendary jazz musician Duke Ellington....
at the Northeast corner of Central Park. Construction on the pedestrian plaza began in 2004 and was to be completed in one year. However, due to numerous construction delays, the plaza was not completed until June 2, 2010.
The traffic circle features a complex colored paving pattern that alludes to traditional African American quilt designs. Harlem-based artist Algernon Miller designed the paving. Additional features, including wrought-iron symbolic and decorative elements, a water wall, and inscribed historical details and quotations representing the life of Frederick Douglass and the slaves’ passage to freedom. A central bronze sculpture, depicting a standing Frederick Douglass, has been crafted by Hungarian-born artist Gabriel Koren.
Neighborhoods
Frederick Douglass Circle connects the New York City neighborhoods of HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
with the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
. Harlem, which since the 1920s has been as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center is to the North and East of the intersection. Cathedral Parkway climbs westward from here into Morningside Heights, home of institutions such as Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
, the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
.