City Hall Park

The park received its present name from New York City Hall, which opened here later. Before it appeared, this was The Common at the northern edge of the city, where residents came for gatherings while British soldiers were housed in barracks and held drills. A line in the paving by New York City Hall marks the site of the former barracks, and the park itself remains from the ground shared by residents and the military.

On the western side of City Hall Park stands a flagpole with a gilded weather vane bearing the word “Liberty.” It was installed in nineteen twenty-one in memory of five wooden masts that had previously stood almost on this very spot. All five had to be put up one after another.

In seventeen sixty-six, the present-day park was called The Common. The city ended not far away. At the northern edge of the field stood the barracks of British regiments, and soldiers drilled here as well. Town residents used the same land for gatherings. Across the road, a tavern was open where the Sons of Liberty met—an association of residents who opposed taxes imposed by Parliament of Great Britain without the colonies’ consent.

One of their leaders was Isaac Sears. The son of an oyster merchant, he began as captain of a small vessel, then became a privateer—authorized by the Crown to capture enemy ships during the Seven Years’ War. What he earned allowed him to enter maritime trade. The Stamp Act required contracts, licenses, court documents, and newspapers to be drawn up on special paid-for paper. For Sears, the dispute was about the papers without which he could not conduct the business that brought him income.

When Parliament repealed the duty, Sears and his companions erected a pine ship’s mast on The Common. A plaque at the top bore the words: “George III, Pitt and Liberty.” George III was the British king, and William Pitt the Elder was a politician who opposed the Stamp Act. The authors of the inscription thanked them both. At that time, they had no intention of separating from the British Empire: they were celebrating the recognition of their rights within it.

The mast was erected in front of the barracks. In August seventeen sixty-six, the 28th Regiment of Foot arrived there. The soldiers considered the pole an insult and chopped it down at night. The next day, between two and three thousand residents gathered on the field. When they began preparing a replacement, sticks, stones, pistols, and soldiers’ bayonets came into play. Several people were injured. Two days later, the Sons of Liberty nevertheless raised a new mast.

The soldiers chopped it down as well, then the third one. The townspeople set the fourth pole deep in the ground, reinforced it with iron, and posted guards. The military tried to drill into its base and place gunpowder there. In January seventeen seventy, they succeeded in sawing through the mast; its pieces were stacked at the door of the tavern where its defenders met. This was followed by clashes in the neighboring streets and injuries on both sides. The regiment was soon sent from New York City to Florida.

The city council decided that another mast on public land would bring new fights and refused Sears. The merchant then found an interest in a neighboring lot that the city had not acquired and bought it himself. The ban applied to The Common, but the council could not prevent him from using private land.

On February sixth, seventeen seventy, a new mast was brought from the shipyard by six horses. Its base was lowered into a hole twelve feet deep, covered with longitudinal iron straps, bound with hoops, and studded with large nails. At the top, they again fastened a gilded weather vane with the word “Liberty.” The fifth pole stood for six years. It was removed on the order of the British governor after British troops occupied New York City in the fall of seventeen seventy-six.

New York City Hall was built here later and opened in eighteen twelve. The park received its present name from it: City Hall is the municipal government building. The wooden masts and the barracks have disappeared. West of New York City Hall stands the Liberty Pole, and the location of the British barracks is marked by an outline in the paving.