A Neighborhood Playground Got Its Name in 2000
Take a playground break at a Manhattan street corner with a backstory reaching from Sixth Avenue work to Houston Plaza.
🌳 A Corner With A Backstory
Trade a stretch of Manhattan pavement for a neighborhood playground with an unusually long paper trail. Playground of the Americas sits at the corner of West Houston Street and Avenue of the Americas. Entry is free, and it is open daily from 7 AM to 6 PM, leaving a daytime window for a family play break.
New York City acquired this plot of land in 1925 and transferred it to the Department of Transportation during a Sixth Avenue renovation. Control moved to NYC Parks in May 1934. The space remained unnamed for over sixty years, a remarkably long wait for a corner with two familiar streets beside it. Houston Plaza became its name in February 1998, before the current name arrived in 2000. The detour from transport project to neighborhood play space makes a short outdoor stop feel like a small piece of city history.
