Columbus Circle, New York - Antique Images

Columbus Circle

Antique Images

Columbus Circle rotary is an intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South (West 59th Street), and Central Park West, at the southwest corner of Central Park.

In 1869, it was referred as an open circular place, a turnabout for horse-drawn vehicles, by the Commissioners of the Board of Central Park (see an illustration from 1873). About 1875, it was known as The Circle (see map below).

The Columbus Monument was dedicated on October 12, 1892, the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus, in the Antilles. The Monument was design by Sicilian sculptor Gaetano Russo and donated to the City of New York by the Italian-American community. The surrounding fountains were dedicated on Columbus Day, October 12, 1965.

In 1943, the immigration services moved from Ellis Island to Columbus Circle.

Columbus Circle, vintage postcard published by Manhattan Postcard, based in Photograph by Irving Underhill, 1931. The West 59th Street is on the right and the Merchants' Gate entrance to Central Park is on the left.

Another view of Columbus Circle by Manhattan Postcard about the 1920s.

Statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus Circle, 59th Street and Broadway, undated photograph by Frank M. Ingalls, circa 1901-1930. Source: New-York Historical Society.

Vintage postcard by Arthur Strauss Inc. published in 1904 or before. Title: Boulevard Columbus Monument Central Park W.