New York Vauxhall Gardens facts for kids
The Vauxhall Gardens in New York City was a fun place for people to visit. It was like a park with entertainment, also called a pleasure garden. It also had a theater. The gardens were named after the famous Vauxhall Gardens in London, England. Over the years, it had many different owners and moved locations a few times. It stayed open until the mid-1800s.
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A Look Back at Vauxhall Gardens
First Location: Greenwich Street (1760s)
In the mid-1760s, places like Vauxhall Gardens became popular in New York. These were often outside the main city area. In 1767, a man named Samuel Fraunces opened the first Vaux-Hall Gardens. It was located on Greenwich Street near the Hudson River. This area is now where Public School 234 stands.
Another large pleasure garden called Ranelagh Gardens also opened around the same time. Both gardens are shown on an old map of New York from 1767. Samuel Fraunces ran Vaux-Hall until 1773. He then sold everything. The garden had two large areas, a house with many rooms, and a big dining hall.
The Vauxhall Gardens offered light summer concerts. It also had an outdoor wax museum. In 1768, it even had an exhibit about the life of Scipio Africanus. This included a grove with a model of the military leader in his tent. The Vauxhall Gardens stayed popular through the Colonial period of New York and into the late 1700s.
Second Location: Broome Street (1798)
As New York City grew, buildings and streets took over the first garden's spot. In 1798, the owner, Joseph Delacroix, moved the gardens. The new location was on Broome Street, between Broadway and the Bowery.
Third Location: Lafayette Street (1805)
In 1805, the gardens moved again. This time, they went to Lafayette Street. This area stretched from 4th Street to 8th Street. Back then, this was the northern edge of the city. Today, this area is known as Astor Place.
A travel writer named John Lambert visited in 1807. He wrote that New York's Vauxhall was a nice place for people to relax. He described it as a neat park with paths, trees, and statues. In the middle, there was a large statue of General Washington on a horse. The gardens also had a small theater. People watched plays and listened to music outdoors. There was also a place for fireworks.
The Astor Place Area
The land where the Vauxhall Gardens was located on Lafayette Street later belonged to John Jacob Astor. In 1826, he created a fancy neighborhood there. He built Lafayette Street right through the middle of the old gardens. Rich New Yorkers, including Astor's family, built large homes along this street. Astor also built the Astor Library nearby as a gift to the city.
This new location made the gardens easy to reach for people from both the Broadway and Bowery areas. In the summer of 1838, the owners opened a saloon. Here, they put on funny musical shows called vaudeville comic operas. Later, theater managers added more types of shows to attract different people.
By 1850, the area became too noisy and crowded. The upper-class people stopped coming, and the gardens lost money. The theater buildings were torn down in 1855. The Vauxhall Gardens closed for good in 1859.
Images for kids
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This British map from 1776 shows the Vauxhall Gardens (right of the "H" in "NORTH RIVER") and Ranelagh Gardens (west of "Fresh Water").
See also
In Spanish: Vauxhall Gardens para niños
