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Grand Army Plaza and Fifth Avenue

New YorkAttractionhistoric destination
Grand Army Plaza and Fifth Avenue
Photo: photo source

A small formal plaza where Fifth Avenue meets Central Park, with the gilded Sherman monument, the Pulitzer Fountain and The Plaza hotel.

Guide's tip. Stand by the Pulitzer Fountain and look across to the gilded statue of General Sherman, then to the white facade of The Plaza hotel. This is where Fifth Avenue's shops end and Central Park begins. Walk 0.28 miles into the park to the Pond and Gapstow Bridge.

On a walking tour. Stop 8 of 9 on the walking tour New York, Midtown from the Empire State to Central Park, every stop on a map in walking order.

about 20 min for a visit

The story

Grand Army Plaza sits where Fifth Avenue meets the southeast corner of Central Park, a small formal square named for the Union armies of the Civil War. On its northern half, Augustus Saint-Gaudens' gilded statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman rides behind the figure of Victory. On its southern half, the Pulitzer Fountain, paid for by the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, is crowned by Pomona, the Roman goddess of abundance.

Across the plaza stands The Plaza hotel, opened in 1907 and designed by Henry Hardenbergh, whose white facade has played itself in many films. Behind you, Fifth Avenue's great shopping blocks run south; ahead, the park begins.

Stand by the fountain for a minute and watch the city change pace. Horse carriages, cyclists and walkers all funnel through here into the park, and the noise of the avenue drops away within a few steps of the trees.

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Nearby in New York