| Vietnam Veterans Plaza | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
 | |
| For New York City veterans of the Vietnam War | |
| Established | May 4, 1985 (1985-05-04) |
| Location | 40°42′09″N 74°00′35″W / 40.7025°N 74.009722°W / 40.7025; -74.009722 |
| Designed by | Peter Wormser, William Fellows, and Joseph Ferrandino |
Vietnam Veterans Plaza is an American memorial plaza in Manhattan, New York. It honors New York City citizens who served during the 20th-century Vietnam War.
Located in the Financial DistrictinLower Manhattan, it lies on a trapezoidal parcel of land that was formerly a roadway named Coenties Slip. The slip road was used from the 17th century by Dutch sailors between journeys.[1][2][3] The slip was filled in 1835, and it then became Jeannette Park in 1884, dedicated to the ill-fated Jeannette of the Jeannette expedition.[4] Horticulturist Samuel Parsons was responsible for laying out the garden in 1886.
By the mid-20th century, city planner Robert Moses had rebuilt the park with "horseshoe pitches and tennis, paddleball, handball, and shuffleboard courts all arranged around a tear-shaped asphalt plaza with a flagpole".[5] As part of the construction of the neighboring 55 Water Street, Paul Friedberg was commissioned to redesign the land in 1971, to which he added the amphitheater fountain.[5] Initially, 55 Water Street's owners were responsible for maintaining the park, which was paved in brick similar to the Elevated Acre plaza next to the building.[6]
In 1982, plans were unveiled to redevelop Jeannette Park into a memorial for veterans of the Vietnam War.[6] The architects Peter Wormser and William Fellows and the writer Joseph Ferrandino won a competition to design it.[5] The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission raised private donations of $2.5 million ($1 million from Donald Trump, who served as co-chairman of the commission) to finance the memorial in 1983.[7][8] The park was officially renamed Vietnam Veterans Plaza on July 20, 1983.[9] The next year, it was announced that the plaza would contain a memorial wall, similar to that at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial but made of glass blocks.[10][11] It was dedicated on May 6, 1985, by then-mayor Edward I. Koch to honor the 1,741 citizens of the city who died during the Vietnam War and the 250,000 men and women who served between 1964 and 1975.[12]
Mayor Rudy Giuliani rededicated the plaza on November 9, 2001, following the September 11, 2001, attacks, as it underwent a $7 million restoration.[5][13] A new ceremonial entrance was added providing access from Water StreettoSouth Street and a black granite fountain placed at the center. The "Walk of Honor" contains 12 polished granite pylons with the names of all 1,741 people who died.[5]
In the future, the park may be the site of an entrance to a Second Avenue Subway station under Hanover Square.[4]
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New York City
