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| For a while there, Madison was the most famous square in New York. The Fifth Avenue Hotel, the first Madison Square Garden, and later, the Flatiron were among its famous sites. The first community Christmas Tree was lit here in 1912, and still is every year. It was considered the city's official tree before Rockefeller Center took that title. |
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I had walked by here many times, but I never noticed this little building until I read about it in a book called 'City Secrets' (Robert Kahn, ed., 2002). It's amazingly stylish for a functional municipal building. Beautiful materials, sleek modern lines. |
| Another 'City Secrets' discovery. General Worth, Mexican American war hero, and famously great dancer, is actually buried here. |
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Down the street, at 22 W. 24th St, is an abandoned townhouse that was rented at the turn of the last century by the architect Stanford White. His best known work is probably Washington Square Arch in Greenwich Village. Here was White's lavishly decorated love nest, which included a red velvet swing. White famously asked young women to "come up and see my etchings". White's affairs would eventually lead to his dramatic murder by a jealous husband. |
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