| Peretz Square | |
|---|---|
 Houston St on left; 1st St on right | |
 | |
| Location | whereHouston Street,First Avenue, andFirst Street meet,Lower Manhattan, New York City |
| Coordinates | 40°43′22.5″N73°59′16.5″W / 40.722917°N 73.987917°W /40.722917; -73.987917 |
Peretz Square is a public park inLower Manhattan,New York City, which marks the spot whereHouston Street,First Avenue, andFirst Street meet. Peretz Square marks the spot where the smaller grid of theLower East Side meets the grand regularity of theCommissioners' Plan street grid of 1811.
The surrounding neighborhood was largely populated by Jewish immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and was named after the PolishYiddish language author and playwrightIsaac Leib Peretz (1852-1915). The square was dedicated on November 23, 1952.[1] Peretz played a major role in the early development of both Yiddish and Hebrew literature, and was particularly beloved for his simultaneous appreciation of both traditional Judaism and socialist doctrine.[2]
