Chatham Square | |
|---|---|
 Kimlau Square, a park located in Chatham Square; on left is Oliver Street; on right is St. James Place; the statue isLin Zexu | |
| Nickname: Kimlau Square | |
  Chatham Square Location in New York City | |
| Coordinates:40°42′49″N73°59′53″W / 40.71361°N 73.99806°W /40.71361; -73.99806 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| City | New York City |
| Borough | Manhattan |
Chatham Square is a major intersection inChinatown,Manhattan,New York City. The square lies at the confluence of eight streets: theBowery,Doyers Street,East Broadway,St. James Place,Mott Street, Oliver Street,Worth Street andPark Row. The small park in the center of the square is known asKimlau Square[1] andLin Ze Xu Square.[2]
Chatham Square was named forWilliam Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham andPrime Minister ofGreat Britain before theAmerican Revolution. Pitt Street on theLower East Side is also named for him, andPark Row was onceChatham Street.[3][page needed]
Until about 1820, the square was an open air market for goods and livestock, mainlyhorses. By the mid-19th century, it became a center for tattoo parlors,flophouses andsaloons, as a seedy section of the oldFive Points neighborhood. In the 20th century, afterThe Great Depression andProhibition, the area was reformed.
In 2021, the New York state government granted the city $11.5 million to rebuild Kimlau Square, within Chatham Square.[4][5] Following the state grant, mayorEric Adams announced a $56 million renovation of Kimlau Square in 2024, which would entail rebuilding plazas and roadways.[5][6] The next year, the city government published renderings for a redesign of Chatham Square. Under the proposal, the three intersections would be combined into two. The plaza south of the Kimlau War Memorial would be demolished to accommodate the new intersections, and a new plaza would be built north of the memorial.[7][8]
The Kimlau War Memorial was erected by the American Legion, Lt. B.R. Kimlau Post 1291 in 1961 to honor United States service members ofChinese ancestry who have fought and died serving their country. The arch is named after 26-year-old 2nd Lt.Benjamin Ralph Kimlau, an aircraft commander in the380th Bombardment Group who was shot down on a mission overLos Negros Island on March 5, 1944 duringWorld War II.[9] The memorial was designed byPoy Gum Lee[10][11] and bears calligraphy by calligrapher and poetYu Youren (于右任).[12] TheNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the memorial as a landmark in June 2021.[11][12]
There also is a larger-than-lifesize bronze statue ofLin Zexu in the square, sculpted by Li Wei-Si.[2]
Chatham Square was a major station on both theSecond Avenue Elevated Line and theThird Avenue Elevated Line of theNew York City Subway. These lines respectively closed in 1942[13] and 1955,[14] in anticipation of beingreplaced by theSecond Avenue Subway, which was postponed repeatedly.[15] Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway on theUpper East Side opened in 2017.[15][16] A new station is proposed forChatham Square as part of Phase 4, though as of 2016, no timeline or funding has been allocated.[17]TheM9,M15,M15 SBS,M22 andM103 routes stop on nearby streets.[18]
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Notes
Media related toChatham Square at Wikimedia Commons