American Kids by Kenny Chesney came out in June of ‘14. A nice feel-good song with a flair of nostalgia and dreaming big. It could be described as very catchy and relatable, which is why it peaked at #23 on US Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on US Country Airplay in the summer of ‘14. Didn’t really gain much traction worldwide, but that kind of makes sense due to the song’s title.
Very sad what happened to MTV but shoutout to Nipper from RCA.
Sorry for coming to you this evening with the Notes. I went out with the lads last night and had to show the new Nashville native some spots in Hoboken. Oh yeah, it’s also Chargers Fan Insider’s birthday too, so happy birthday, I guess. Holy hell I can’t do the Sunday hangovers like I used to when we were American Kids.
Sorry @RollingStone I got a bit carried away there…
Union Square Park, New York, NY
Union Square Park was originally farmland owned by a fella named Elias Brevoort. There seem to be a bunch of Elias Brevoorts throughout the history of NYC, but this one owned about 40 acres of the area. He sold 22 acres of his farm to John Smith - no not the one from Pocahontas - in 1762. Once this John Smith passed away, the farm was then passed in 1788 to Henery Spingler, who was a butcher and shoe-keeper of New York. This is the Springler guy who the building on Union Square West between 14th & 15th Streets is named after. He also used to own a Spingler House which was the hotel you see below. I won’t dive any further into the Spingler guy, but thank you for the future content, Henry! (Source: Stephen Jenkins’ The Greatest Street in the World)
In between the time the Brevoort owned the land and New York City declared it a public space, Union Square Park also served as a mass burial ground for poor New Yorkers. That said they likely don’t have any more bodies beneath it on a count of all the subway lines today. Before it was even called Union Square Park, it was named Union Place in 1807 because it was located at the “union” of Bloomingdale (Broadway today) and Bowery Road (4th Ave today). Due to the way that the roads were angled when they were built, the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 decided to form a square at the union. Somebody must’ve screwed up the perfectly grided roads, imagine being that guy at the water cooler who messed up New York City’s grid. Sheesh.
In 1831, a guy named Samuel Ruggles didn’t like the name Union Place so he suggested that the City be named Union Square, and the common ground became enlargened as it extended up to 17th Street. Ruggles got his way, as it was renamed Union Square and he was able to build sidewalks with curbs. He had that kind of dough because he was one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce. As the city’s population started to move upward, the area around Union Square became an exclusive suburb for the city’s wealthiest citizens. I guess they didn’t care it was a potter field. The park officially opened in 1839 and they even added a fountain in 1842. (Source: NYC Gov Parks)
A committee of concerned citizens was interested in erecting a monument for the father of the country, so in 1856, Henry Kirke Brown sculpted the statue of George Washington. Although it might be around the 4th of July, I think George Washington might already have way too many things to write about him for today’s Notes. Brown studied a bit in Italy before working on the bronze. The sculpture is supposed to depict Evacuation Day, November 25, 1783, when Washington reclaimed the City from the British. His outstretched hand is symbolism a gesture of victory. It was unveiled on July 4th, 1856. It is the oldest statue in the City’s Parks collection. Union Square Park today has statues of Independence (Charles F. Murphy Memorial), Flagstaff (1926, sculpted by Anthony de Francisci), Marquis de Lafayette (1873, by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi), James Fountain (1881, by Karl Adolph Donndorf), and Mohandas Gandhi (1986, by Kantilal B. Patel). Henry Kinke Brown also created the Abraham Lincoln statue that is also in Union Square Park.
Speaking of President Lincoln, Union Square took on its name because it hosted several Union rallies. Several pro-Union rallies were celebrated at Union Square after Union victories in the Civil War. New Yorkers would also meet at Union Square after some losses in the Civil War as well, namely one rally that took place on April 20, 1861, the week after the Confederate troops captured Fort Sumter. According to the New York Times, “On the morning of April 20, over 100,000 men, including millionaire merchants, brokers, tradesmen, mechanics, artisans, and laborers, poured into Union Square. Native New Yorkers, Irishmen, Germans, and eastern Europeans made up the bulk of the crowd, as African Americans were unwelcome at such public events. Women and children, who were relegated to the windows, balconies, and rooftops above, waved flags and cheered.” This would be known as the Great Sumter Rally and it was one of the largest public meetings Americans at the time had ever witnessed. The Great Sumter Rally led to the creation of the Union Defense Committee (UDC). Led by New York City businessmen, the UDC funded regimental units to defend Washington, D.C. They even placed an American flag on George Washington’s outstretched hand - pretty badass.
After the Civil War, Union Square became less of a neighborhood suburban spot for the wealthy and much more commercial. The likes of Tiffany & Co. built their then headquarters right by Union Square in 1870. Not only were jewelry shops interested in moving to the area, but the Rialto Theatre was also built. Rialto Theatre would go on to become New York City’s first commercial theater district. They named it after some spot in Venice and served its purpose as the city’s main theater from the 1860s to 1908 when it became a movie theatre which stuck around until 1998.
On September 5th, 1882, Union Square Park also hosted a parade that would lead to the origins of Labor Day. At least 10,000 marched from City Hall up to Union Square in an effort to protest for workers’ rights during the Industrial Revolution. Robert Price of Lonaconing, Maryland said to Richard Griffiths, the General Worthy Foreman of the Knights of Labor, "This is Labor Day in earnest, Uncle Dick." On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the legislation which made Labor Day a national holiday. (Source: NYC GOV) This is the 4th of July weekend, so I won’t go any further on Labor Day, just thought it was Noteworthy of Union Square.
Last but not least, from 1928 to 1929, Union Square was completely demolished to accommodate the new underground concourse for the subways. The City made some improvements when they built it back up, including straightening out some of the sidewalks and curbs that Samuel Ruggles made. Union Square Park saw some rough times in the 20th Century as it was threatened with general misuse, deterioration, and the presence of drugs in the 1970s but has since overgone another dramatic transformation thanks in large part to Mayor Edward Koch’s 1985 major renovations. The City once again fixed up Samuel Ruggles' sidewalks and curbs to make them even more accessible, planted the central lawn, and installed new lighting. In 1997, the United States Department of the Interior designated Union Square Park as a National Historic Landmark because of its significance in American labor history. (Source: NYC GOV)
Some pretty cool history for a former potter’s field I was Stumblin’ Along drinking pints…