Dante Park
Dante Park is a public park in Manhattan, New York City, located in the Upper West Side neighborhood in front of Lincoln Center near Central Park.[1]
Dante Park | |
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Location | Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City |
Coordinates | 40°46′19″N 73°58′57″W |
Area | 0.14 acres (0.057 ha) |
Created | 1921 |
Operated by | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
Dante Park was established in 1921 by Italian-Americans in honor of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) on a triangular plot of land opposite Lincoln Center, bounded by Broadway, Columbus Avenue, and West 64th Street. Carlo Barsotti, the editor of the Italian-American newspaper Il Progresso Italo-Americano, originally wanted to erect a much more substantial statue of Dante to be placed in Times Square around 1912, but because of fundraising difficulties opted for a smaller statue completed by Ettore Ximenes to be erected at Broadway and West 64th Street in 1921, the 600th anniversary of Dante's death.[2][1] Dante Park underwent renovations in the early 1990s funded by the neighboring Radisson Empire Hotel, with the sculpture also repaired.[1]
A Dante Alighieri statue of the same casting as Dante Park is featured at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C.[2]
See also
References
- Bill Morgan. Literary Landmarks of New York (Universe: New York, 2002), p. 128.
- "Dante Park". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- Thomas Dossena, Tiziano (2011). "That statue of Dante in the heart of Manhattan". Bridge Puglia USA. Retrieved August 8, 2016.