Worth Monument, Madison Square

Ceremonies of dedication of the Worth Monument on November 25, 1857. A. Weingärtner's lithography, N.Y. Source: New York Public Library.

This area at the junction of Fifth Avenue and Broadway became the Worth Square and has served as a memorial and burial site of General William Jenkins Worth (1794-1849). Madison Square Park, created in 1847, is shown in the background. The Worth Monument was designed by James Goodwin Batterson. It consists of a central, 51 foot-high obelisk of Quincy granite with decorative bands inscribed with battle sites significant in Worth’s career.

It is the second-oldest in New York City after the 1856 George Washington equestrian monument at the southern end of Union Square.

We can see in the background the vacant plot where the Jerome Mansion was erected on the corner of East 26th Street, from 1859 to 1865.