Verdi Square
Encyclopedia
Verdi Square is a small triangle of land enclosed by a railing, located on Manhattan
's Upper West Side
, between 72nd Street
and 73rd Street on the south and north, and Broadway
and Amsterdam Avenue
on the west and east. On the south the square fronts West 72nd Street; across the street to the south lies Sherman Square
. On the north it is enclosed by the Florentine Renaissance palazzo of the Central Savings Bank, now Apple Bank for Savings (illustration, left); the trapezoidal structure, with a vast vaulted Roman banking hall 65 feet high, was designed by York and Sawyer
and built in 1926–28.
In the center of Verdi Square stands the handsome Giuseppe Verdi Monument
to opera composer Giuseppe Verdi
, erected in 1906. A statue of him by Pasquale Civiletti (1858–1952) stands at the top of it and statues of four of his most famous characters (Falstaff
, Leonora of La forza del destino
, Aida
and Otello) are on the base below him. In the landscaping devised by Lynden Miller in 2004, flowers around the statue bloom in the spring and summer months.
The 72nd Street IRT subway station ( trains) lies under the square.
In the 1960s and 1970s Verdi Square and Sherman Square were known by local drug users and dealers as "needle park" as depicted in The Panic in Needle Park
(1971).
A new second entrance headhouse to 72nd Street, completed in 2002, has increased the pedestrian area to the west, taking in a former lane of Broadway traffic.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
, between 72nd Street
72nd Street (Manhattan)
72nd Street is one of the major bi-directional crosstown streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Where the west end of 72nd Street curves into the south end of Riverside Drive, the memorial to Eleanor Roosevelt stands in Riverside Park. At this end of the street is the landmarked...
and 73rd Street on the south and north, and Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
and Amsterdam Avenue
Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It carries uptown traffic as far as West 110th Street, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine...
on the west and east. On the south the square fronts West 72nd Street; across the street to the south lies Sherman Square
Sherman Square
Sherman Square is a diminutive public space bounded by Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue and West 70th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City...
. On the north it is enclosed by the Florentine Renaissance palazzo of the Central Savings Bank, now Apple Bank for Savings (illustration, left); the trapezoidal structure, with a vast vaulted Roman banking hall 65 feet high, was designed by York and Sawyer
York and Sawyer
The architectural firm of York and Sawyer produced many outstanding structures, exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York and Philip Sawyer had both trained in the office of McKim, Mead, and White...
and built in 1926–28.
In the center of Verdi Square stands the handsome Giuseppe Verdi Monument
Giuseppe Verdi Monument
The Giuseppe Verdi Monument is a sculpture in honor of composer Giuseppe Verdi located in Verdi Square Park in New York City.The monument was dedicated on Columbus Day, October 12, 1906 by the Verdi Monument Committee chaired by Carlo Barsotti , an Italian-American who hoped to inspire young...
to opera composer Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, erected in 1906. A statue of him by Pasquale Civiletti (1858–1952) stands at the top of it and statues of four of his most famous characters (Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Leonora of La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
, Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
and Otello) are on the base below him. In the landscaping devised by Lynden Miller in 2004, flowers around the statue bloom in the spring and summer months.
In the 1960s and 1970s Verdi Square and Sherman Square were known by local drug users and dealers as "needle park" as depicted in The Panic in Needle Park
The Panic in Needle Park
The Panic in Needle Park is a 1971 American film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino in his second film appearance. The screenplay was written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, adapted from the book by James Mills....
(1971).
A new second entrance headhouse to 72nd Street, completed in 2002, has increased the pedestrian area to the west, taking in a former lane of Broadway traffic.