Manhattan Square Park is an important extant work by pioneering Modern landscape architect and Presidential Medal of Arts winner Lawrence Halprin.

As Ken Smith noted in his essay for Preserving Modern Landscape Architecture II, “The first misconception, one rooted in today’s new urbanism, is that Halprin’s design work represented a radical break from the American park tradition. On the contrary, Halprin played a pivotal mid-century role in revitalizing and transforming the American tradition of parks established by Frederick Law Olmsted.” Halprin, like Olmsted, thought parks should provide relief from city life. In order to create both spatial and visual breaks from the city, Halprin followed Olmsted’s innovation of grade separation to divide vehicle and pedestrian traffic. For Manhattan Square Park, Halprin also made a conscious effort to contextualize the design within the city center. For instance, the design’s 45° alignment refers to the dominant orientation of the area’s no longer extant historic street pattern. 

In spite of material deterioration, changing tastes and appreciation, and lack of park programming, the park retains its strong spatial composition as most of its original elements survive, including the amphitheater plaza, the space frame, berm garden, promenade, and park drive. Although closed, the restaurant building, tunnel, and fountain remain intact and recent project work has brought renewed attention and activity to the park.

back | next