Hiding between Shake Shack and Eataly just outside Madison Square Park is one of only two military grave sites in the city.
It contains the remains of William Jenkins Worth.
A celebrated general, Worth’s military career started with the War of 1812 and was cut short after the Mexican-American War, when he contracted cholera in San Antonio in 1849.
After his death, city leaders decided to honor him with a memorial in what was then an elite residential neighborhood.
While his body was temporarily interred in Green-Wood Cemetery, a 51-foot granite obelisk went up, listing names of crucial battle sites of his career.
A bronze relief of Worth on a horse fronts the obelisk, and military regalia decorate the cast-iron fence surrounding it.
It’s a grand monument—but it’s easy to miss as you cross that tricky intersection of 25th Street, Broadway, and Fifth Avenue (a pocket park called Worth Square).
It’s even easier to disregard the fact that Worth’s body lies under the obelisk. He was reburied here in 1857 during a processional involving 6,500 soldiers and a speech from Mayor Fernando Wood.
Where’s the other military gravesite in Manhattan? Grant’s Tomb, 100 blocks northwest. General Worth is also the namesake of Worth Street, and we have him to thank for Fort Worth, Texas, and Lake Worth, Florida.
Tags: 25th Street NYC, Eataly, General Worth Monument, Madison Square Park, New York street, Shake Shack, War Memorials Manhattan, William Jenkins Worth, Worth Square Manhattan
June 18, 2012 at 6:57 pm |
Little-known, except to people who live or work in the vicinity. Actually, a lot of people think it’s just a monument to Worth and not his actual burial site. And it always struck me as strange that there’s a pumping station for drinking water at the back of the monument.
June 18, 2012 at 8:00 pm |
The pumping station, yes, so bizarre! But what surprised me is that Worth is actually buried there. I’d walked through Worth Square maybe a thousand times before realizing this.
June 18, 2012 at 9:16 pm |
Pumping station aside, it was 12 or so years ago that the city finally restored the monument and railing after years of neglect and used the funds the Worth decendents had given to do so. This is not just the site of a long past historical footnote but the resting spot for a family member.
June 19, 2012 at 3:14 pm |
Worth Street was originally known as Anthony Street, one of arteries that formed Five Points. Part of the reason for the name change was that it was hoped it would improve the reputation of the area. Fat chance.
June 22, 2012 at 3:34 pm |
I did a painting a few years back in which the Worth monument appears and it was then that I found out the history. So interesting. http://sjfnewyork.blogspot.com/2010/11/walking-tour-of-triple-play.html
June 23, 2012 at 11:28 pm |
The photo you show is of Major Robert Anderson (1805-1871) of Fort Sumter fame. Worth had tousled hair and sideburns.
June 23, 2012 at 11:34 pm |
Thank you for letting me know, I fixed it. I think!
September 13, 2012 at 3:08 am |
[...] parade started at Washington Square Park, with horses and drivers marching up Fifth Avenue to Worth Square, just past 23rd [...]
June 16, 2013 at 2:24 pm |
I realize it’s not a designated military burial site but Trinity Church has so many resting there that are labeled heroes as well…