Cooper Square, flanked by the el and streetcars

No sleek boutique hotels stand out in this vintage postcard view of Cooper Square at the turn of the last century.

Instead, there’s an elevated train on the Third Avenue side, streetcars and horse-drawn carriages on Fourth Avenue, and a little pedestrian activity on the sidewalk.

The yellow building on the right, at 61 Cooper Square, is the former Metropolitan Savings Bank, built in 1867. It’s still there—still sporting some of the coolest Victorian windows and roof in the neighborhood.

Is that a horse fountain at the bottom right?

The Peters of Second Avenue’s Peter’s Field

There’s a city park between First and Second Avenue and East 20th and 21st Streets that isn’t remarkable in any way—except for its curious name of Peter’s Field.

So who was Peter? Petrus Stuyvesant (right), the Dutch director-general of New Netherlands who ruled the city until 1664.

The park name is a play on the name of Stuyvesant’s sprawling farm, or Bouwerie, which once encompassed this location: Petersfield.

Of course, Stuyvesant graces a ton of other landmarks in the area: Stuyvesant Town, Stuyvesant High School (the original building), and Stuyvesant Square.

Peter’s Field also commemorates another famous Peter who lived in the neighborhood: Peter Cooper. He’s the Kips Bay glue manufacturer, founder of Cooper Union in 1859, and namesake of Peter Cooper Village.

Ah, but the little park pays homage to more Peters. Cast concrete plaques put up in the 1990s on the Second Avenue side honor Peter Rabbit, Peter Pan, Peter Piper, Peter Parker, and other fictional characters who share Stuyvesant and Cooper’s name.

Looking north from Cooper Square in 1912

That’s the date on the postmark. But judging by the fact that there are no cars on the road yet—only horses, wagons, and elevated tracks—I’d say this postcard image was taken earlier.