Frederick Douglass Circle is atraffic circle located at the northwest corner ofCentral Park at the intersection ofEighth Avenue (Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Central Park West) and110th Street (Cathedral Parkway and Central Park North) in theNew York City borough ofManhattan. The traffic circle is named for the American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman, and reformerFrederick Douglass.
Frederick Douglass Circle connects the New York City neighborhoods ofHarlem with theUpper West Side. Harlem, a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center, is to the north and east of the intersection. Cathedral Parkway climbs westward from here intoMorningside Heights, which includesColumbia University, theManhattan School of Music, and theCathedral of St. John the Divine.[1]
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Although a ceremony was held to name the circle after Frederick Douglass on September 17, 1950, the pedestrian plaza in the center of the intersection was not completed until June 2, 2010.[2] In 1993, local residents and the Central Park Conservancy began developing plans to redesign the circle and make it symmetrical withDuke Ellington Circle at the northeast corner of Central Park.[3][4] Construction on the pedestrian plaza began in 2004 and was to be completed in one year. However, due to numerous construction delays, the plaza was not completed until June 2, 2010.[5]
The traffic circle features a complex colored paving pattern that alludes to traditional black quilt designs. Harlem-based artist Algernon Miller designed the paving. Additional features, including wrought-iron symbolic and decorative elements, a water wall, and inscribed historical details and quotations representing the life of Frederick Douglass and the slaves’ passage to freedom. A central bronze sculpture, depicting a standing Frederick Douglass, has been crafted by Hungarian-born artistGabriel Koren.[6][7]
TheB and C trains of theNew York City Subway stop atCathedral Parkway – 110th Street under Frederick Douglass Circle, while theM3,M4, andM10bus lines stop at the circle. In addition, theM7 andM116 buses and the2 and 3 trains at110th Street–Malcolm X Plaza stop near Frederick Douglass Circle.[8][9] Until 1940, this was also the site of the "Suicide Curve" of theIRT Ninth Avenue Line.
40°48′02″N73°57′29″W / 40.800583°N 73.958167°W /40.800583; -73.958167
