If you are looking for an oasis of green, calm and gorgeous flowers in the midst of the hustle and bustle of midtown Manhattan, well then just wander on over to Madison Square Park.
This large and well-groomed park is located between Fifth and Madison Avenues and East 23rd and 26th Streets, and is filled to the brim with activities and things to see. There are monuments, fountains, buildings of note, reflecting pools and even a ‘roadside’ food stand which was designed specifically to blend in to the park’s surroundings.
The space which Madison Square Park occupies was used as a public space as early as 1686. Almost 200 years later, in 1847, Madison Square Park, named for the country’s fourth president opened as a formal, dedicated public park. During the late 19th century this park was the fulcrum of one of New York’s most fashionable and affluent residential areas, including some of the city’s most elegant hotels.
Right now Madison Square Park is at the heart of a newly revitalized business district, surrounded by office buildings, hotels and residences. The newly renovated park has stimulated additional residential real estate development which in turn helps to bring in a new generation of youthful park users.
Some of the highlights of the park are:
• Flower Gardens
• Children’s Award-Winning Playground
• Free Wi-Fi through NYCwireless
• Jemmy’s Dog Run, named one of New York’s best dog runs by CBS News
• Shake Shack: high-quality food in an ivy-covered ‘green’ building
If you are staying as a guest at the Shimmie Horn’s Hotel Chandler at 12 East 31st Street, you won’t regret taking the short walk over to Madison Square Park and enjoying one of the places that make New York a special place to be.