When you are in lower Manhattan and are visiting the Battery Park and/or Wall Street area don’t miss the Charging Bull statue by artist Arturo Di Modica. The artist created this piece of ‘guerrilla’ art after the Crash of 1987, when we were about to enter the depths of another major recession, one that went from the end of 1987 until the summer of 1995.
This interesting piece of New York history is actually a recent addition to the street art of New York City. The statue was created and cast in 1987 following the Crash and made its first appearance outside the New York Stock Exchange on December 15, 1989.
The bull according to the artist, “represents the symbol of the strength and power of the American people’ following the Crash. It has taken on many meanings since such as the power of Wall Street and the progressiveness of money and power in the Financial industry.
During the high tourist season expect to see the statue surrounded by tourist taking pictures in all directions. The statue of ‘Charging Bull’ is now paired with ‘Fearless Girl’ by artist Kristen Visbal. Some have commented that it has changed the meaning of the statue but I think it is how you interpret both works. Its best to visit and make your own opinion.
The ‘Charging Bull’ with ‘Fearless Girl’
While you are visiting the statue, take time to visit this historic section of Manhattan and visit the other sites that include Bowling Green Park, the Museum of the Native Americans, Frances Tavern and Stone Street as well as the boats to Governor’s, Ellis and Liberty Islands. It is a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.
Please refer to my blog, ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’- “Day One Hundred and Thirteen Tour of Historic Pubs and Bars in Lower Manhattan with the Cornell Club” for a full list of things to see in this section of the City.
History of Charging Bull:
Construction and installation:
The Bull by Bowling Green Park in the early morning hours.
The bull was cast by the Bedi-Makky Art Foundry in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Di Modica spent around $360,000 to create, cast and install the sculpture following the 1987 stock market crash as a symbol of the ‘strength and power of the American people’. The sculpture was Di Modica’s idea and in an act of ‘guerrilla art’, Bedi Makky Art Foundry and Di Modica trucked it to Lower Manhattan. On December 15, 1989, they installed it beneath a 60 foot (18m) Christmas tree in the middle of Broad Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange as a Christmas gift to New Yorkers. That day, hundreds of onlookers stopped to admire and analyze it as Di Modica handed out copies of a flier about his artwork (Wiki).
NYSE officials called the police later that day and the NYPD seized the sculpture and placed it into a impound lot. The ensuing public outcry led the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to reinstall it two blocks south of the Exchange in the Bowling Green, with a ceremony on December 21, 1989. It faces up Broadway at Whitehall Street (Wiki).
Confusion over ownership:
The sculpture technically has a temporary permit allowing it to stand on city property since the city does not own the sculpture but the temporary permission has lasted since 1989, when city officials said the new location would not be permanent. Art on loan is usually limited to a year’s display and although the city does not buy art, it does accept donations. A writer in the New York Daily News wrote in 1998 that the statue’s placement was ‘beginning to look a mite permanent.’ According to an article in Art Monthly, Di Modica as well as officials and New Yorkers, ‘view it as a permanent feature of Lower Manhattan (Wiki).
In 2004, Di Modica announced that the bull sculpture was for sale, on condition the buyer does not move it from its present location. Di Modica continues to own the artistic copyright to the statue. In 2006, Di Modica sued Walmart and other companies for illegally benefiting from his copyright, by selling replicas of the bull and using it in advertising campaigns. In 2009, Di Modica sued Random House for using a photo of the bull on the cover of a book discussing the collapse of financial services firm Lehman Brothers (Wiki).
Arturo Di Modica first conceived of the Charging Bull as a way to celebrate the can-do spirit of America and especially New York, where people from all over the world come regardless of their origin or circumstances and through determination and hard work overcome every obstacle to become successful. It’s this symbol of virility and courage that Arturo saw as the perfect antidote to the Wall Street Crash of 1987.
The artist was born in Vittoria, Italy in 1941 and studied at the Academia Del Nudo Libra in Florence, Italy in 1960. In 1973, he relocated to New York City to a Lower Manhattan space. ‘Charging Bull’ is his most famous piece (Artnet).
The First Reformed church of Hackensack at 43 Court Street
Due to their national historic significance the church, cemetery and the adjacent Hackensack Green were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Green dates back to 1696 and is one of the oldest public squares in NJ.
The church and its interesting cemetery.
The inside of the church was visited by General George Washington visited and worshipped here. The church still has the original pews and fixturing. I visited the church for Sunday services which is now run by the Korean Joy Catholic Church. I had a very nice time visiting with the parishioners and the Pastor.
The inside of the church
The inside of the church
The bell tower and gas light fixture
The light fixture
The recent tour with my students, we were able to see the second floor, take a full tour of the church and graveyard. We got to see parts of the church that you do not see during service plus many of the artifacts the church owns from different eras of the church’s history.
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The inside pews
The alter
The view of inside of the church
The Revolutionary War artifacts
My student visit:
Tour of the church
The Team picture in front of the church
A strategic point during the American Revolution, Hackensack was a small village centered on The Green, a public meeting place where public notices were posted. In the 18th century it was where punishments were inflicted on criminals and where the local militia trained.
The Hackensack Green
The Hackensack Green
General Washington headquartered here in November 1776, while he surveyed the local roads and bridges. On November 20, 1776, he led his army into Hackensack. The army camped on The Green as Washington made the important decision to continue the retreat from overwhelming British and Hessian forces. On March 23, 1780, the British raided Hackensack and burned the courthouse that stood on the Green at that time. Since 1715, a Bergen County courthouse building faced The Green in Hackensack, the County Seat since 1710, making it the historic heart of Bergen County (County of Bergen Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs).
The historic Courthouse of Hackensack, NJ facing the cemetery at the Church.
The Cornerstone
The First Dutch Reformed Church congregation was organized in 1686, the oldest Reformed Dutch congregation in Bergen County and second oldest in NJ. (County of Bergen Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs).
The historic marker outside the church.
The historic marker
The cornerstones of the original church with the names of the ‘First Families’ of Bergen County.
The cornerstone front of the church
The stone of Peter Zabrfky
The stone of Jacob Brinckerhoff
The Hackensack Reformed Church graveyard is one of the most famous in the State of New Jersey with many prominent families of Bergen County whose contributions helped shape not just the State of New Jersey but the United States as well. The graveyard contains the graves of many who fought for our freedom in the Revolutionary War.
The front of the church
The back of the graveyard
The historic graveyard
During the first ten years, churchgoers worshiped in a private home outside the limits of modern-day Hackensack. The official name of the congregation was the “Dutch Reformed Church of Ackensack” and comprised thirty-three residents from Hackensack, New Barbadoes and Acquackanonk. All three of these townships made up most of northeastern New Jersey.
Acquackanonk was located in the northern portion of modern Essex County. New Barbadoes was comprised of land west of the Hackensack River, while Ackensack was located to the east. In April of 1696, Captain John Berry (1619-1712), the proprietor of a large portion of land in northeastern New Jersey, donated two and three-quarter acres of his property to the congregation to support their efforts to build the church.
Most of present-day Hackensack at that time was called “New Barbadoes Township” and Hackensack is thought to have gotten its unofficial name when the Church relocated to New Barbadoes and brought the name “Ackensack” with it (Church website).
The historic church and cemetery in the back.
The emergence of the Dutch Reformed Church in America developed from Dutch colonization of New York and New Jersey during the 17th century. Dutch settlement was prominent in these areas before the British took control of the area in the late 1600’s. Still, the Dutch were freely allowed to practice their religion in America, even under British sovereignty. The Hackensack First Reformed Church would become the second oldest Reformed Church in New Jersey and the first in Hackensack. Construction of the church was completed in the latter part of 1696.
The historic cemetery at the church
John Berry’s donation of land was appropriately dubbed, “The Green” and the church soon became known as “The Church on the Green”. The first sermon was preached on November 15th, 1696, based on Psalm 26:8 “Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth.” Although the first church was largely completed in 1696, the steeple was not built until 1708. The entire structure was rebuilt in 1728 on the same site. These two early church buildings were thought to have been octagonal structures.
The Schuyler Family marker
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the British invaded Hackensack. They burned the courthouse and jail and threatened to destroy the Church on the Green, which was located adjacent to the aforementioned buildings. Fortunately, the church was spared. Dutch Colonial architecture with sandstone walls being the prominent feature of the building. Some aspects, especially the arched and pointed windows, appear to have Gothic elements.
The Zabriskie Family plot
The front of the church has three sets of double doors with similarly arched doorways and transom windows. This style was a precursor for many of the Reformed Dutch churches that were eventually build in New Jersey. Although the present-day building dates from 1791, the church was enlarged in 1847 and again in 1847 and again in 1869, thus containing newer elements.
The Demarest Family plot.
The attached cemetery is original to the first building’s construction in the late seventeenth century but during the renovation in 1847, it was also enlarged. The neighboring service house was built in 1867 and was used as a Sunday school, lecture hall and chapel.
The Van Riper/Kipp Family plot
The class trip:
The Hackensack graveyard
The First Reformed Church of Hackensack
I recently visited both the church and the graveyard of the church which is home to many veterans of both the Revolutionary and Civil War. It is home also to the family plots of ‘Founding Families’ of Bergen County who worshipped at this famous church.
As one of my Team Projects, my students were mapping the cemetery for veterans of the Revolutionary War, many of them buried in the church graveyard. We came to pay our respects.
The Van Buren family plot
The Van Saun family plot
The Westervelt family plot
The Banta family plot
The Brinckerhoff-Terhune family
The Herring family
The Kipp family plot
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The Paulson family plot
The Demarest-Doremus family plot
The Zabriskie family
Many of the veterans of the American Revolution were buried closest to the church which was the tradition of the time to be buried as close to the church as possible. Their graves were marked by Revolutionary War medallions and American flags.
The Demarest-Voorhis Revolutionary War graves
General Poor’s grave
Albert Romin grave Revolutionary War veteran
The front part of the church by the Hackensack Green was the resting place of many of these heros
Our Team of Student Consultants picture inside the historic graveyard
The churchyard cemetery features simple stone tablets and obelisks that are surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Some notable burials include General Enoch Poor (1736-1780), Colonel and New York Mayor Richard Varick (1753-1831), Congressman George Cassedy (1783-1842) and Congressman Adam Boyd (1746-1835). General Enoch Poor’s burial is especially noteworthy as he served alongside George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Additionally, both Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette were in attendance at Poor’s funeral. Enoch Poor’s gravestone reads: “In Memory of the Hon’ble Brigadier General Enoch Poor of the State of New Hampshire who Departed this Life on the 8 day of Sept: 1780 aged 44 years/Washington, Lafayette and a portion of the American army attended the burial of Gen. Poor.
The Team picture in front of General Poor’s grave
In 1824, Lafayette visited this grave and turned away much affected, exclaimed, “Ah, that was one of my Generals!” Poor died in 1780, before the close of the Revolutionary War, so this gravestone is clearly not the original (Church website).
The graveyard at the Dutch Reformed Church
The Reformed Church was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places on April 25, 1983. Included in this nomination was the “Green”, which is one of the oldest public squares in New Jersey. This area encompasses the Churchyard, the cemetery, the church outbuilding and the green area that is adjacent to the Bergen County Courthouse. There are a few monuments that occupy this space, including a statue memorial to General Enoch Poor, which was dedicated in 1904 and the Hackensack War Memorial, which dates to 1924.
The church continues to be a prominent feature of the history of Hackensack through community and self-guided walking tours. In addition to this, there are yearly Memorial Day commemorations, where a wreath is placed over General Enoch Poor’s grave and a tour of the church is provided to the attendees of the celebration.
Surrounding the Green, there are a few other historical buildings:
*The Peter Zabriskie Mansion site at 50 Main Street.
*Archibald Campbell’s Tavern Site at 41 Main Street
*The Hackensack War Memorial
*Site of the Burned Jail
*The Annual Christmas Tree on the Green
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Bergen County Historical Society pamphlet and the Clio Website on the First Dutch Reformed Church of Hackensack and from visiting downtown Hackensack. Please call the church at (201) 342-7050 for details on visiting it. Please remember this is a resting place.
I always admire Cleopatra’s Needle whenever I am touring Central Park West after an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The obelisk sits in back of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue and the pathways behind the museum lead to the site.
It is one of the few place where you can see hieroglyphics up close unless you are in Egypt and the sad part is that the natural surroundings are wearing them out. Still it is one of the most interesting outside artifacts that Manhattan and New York City has on display. Take time to observe all four sides of the obelisk and observe the writings.
Sometimes I think the tourists miss this interesting artifact and how it got here from Egypt.
The History of Cleopatra’s Needle:
(From Wiki)
Cleopatra’s Needle (obelisk) was erected in Central Park, just west of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on February 22, 1881. It was secured in May 1877 by Judge Elbert E. Farnam, the then United State Consul General of Cairo as a gift from the Khedive for the United States remaining friendly neutral as the European powers, France and Britain, maneuvered to secure political control of the Egyptian government.
The obelisk is a twin of the obelisk given to London at the same time and come from the ancient city of Alexandria. The name is a misnomer as they have no relationship with the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and were already over a thousand years old in her lifetime (please see the Wiki link attached to the blog for more information on the obelisk).
The obelisk is free to the public and can be seen by taking the path behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is open all day.
Camp Merritt Memorial Monument marks the center of an important World War I embarkation camp, where more than one million U.S. soldiers passed through on their way to and from the battlefields of Europe.
The Front of the Camp Merritt Memorial Site
The inscription on the memorial
In August 1919, the Bergen County Freeholders purchased land for the monument from what was the approximate center of the camp at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Knickerbocker Road in Cresskill. In 1922, work on the shaft commenced. Modeled on the Washington Monument, the memorial is a 65′ high granite obelisk. On the base are the names of the 578 people who died in the camp, mostly as a result of the 1918 worldwide influenza epidemic.
The historic memorial facing the circle lawn
A large Art Deco style carved relief by the sculptor Robert Ingeroll Aitkin (1878-1949) shows a striding “doughboy” with an eagle flying overhead. Set into a large boulder is a copper plaque with a relief of the Palisades, illustrating that Camp Merritt was used as an area for embarkation, designed and made by the local artist Katherine Lamb Tait. In the ground is a three dimensional stone carving of the map of Camp Merritt.
Artist Robert Ingeroll Aitkin was an American born artist who studied at the California School of Design. He was known for his historical sculptures (Wiki).
The “Doughboy” on the back of the memorial
The troops training at the site during WWI
The Camp Merritt Monument was dedicated on May 30, 1924 by a number of state and federal dignitaries. General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing gave the dedicatory address to a crowd of 20,000 people. Camp Merritt, located midway between Cresskill and Dumont and 12 miles from Hoboken, received its first soldiers in October 1917. Originally called Camp Tenafly”, and covering an area that included Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Haworth and Tenafly, it was eventually named for General Wesley Merritt, a gallant Civil War officer who was in the service of his country from 1855 to 1900.
The historic marker sits before the memorial
Little publicity surrounded the camp as it was deemed vitally important to keep troop movements a secret. The soldiers would march with their heavy packs and supplies to the trains or over the Palisades to the Hudson River to board boats that would take them to their European-bound ships docked in Hoboken. The last soldier passed through in the beginning of 1920.
The map of the camp behind the memorial
The camp was 770 acres in size and had a capacity of 42,000 men (two thousand of them officers). It was strategically built near major rail lines, facilitating the transport of soldiers to the camp. It contained 1300 buildings of all varieties. The base hospital alone was composed of 93 buildings. A staff of 300 nurses treated 55,000 sick men. 8000 men representing 40 different nationalities were nationalized in the Camp and made citizens of the US. Camp Merritt had its own newspaper, the Merritt Dispatch established and edited by Charles Philip Barber, which was the only printed record of the camp’s activities. The editor and staff of the Merritt Dispatch were the first to promote the idea of the monument.
Another view of the back of the memorial
After the camp was sold, it suffered three suspicious fires while the buildings were idle, each one worse than the last. The second fire in March of 1921 destroyed a hundred buildings. The third fire was the most spectacular, destroying almost all of what was left of the camp and detonating two stores of dynamite that had been stored for demolition purposes. Eighteen fire companies (including three from New York City, which came by way of the Dyckman Street Ferry) struggled to prevent the fires from spreading to adjacent homes. Other fire companies came from Tenafly, Closter, Bergenfield, Cresskill, Demarest, Teaneck, Hackensack and Palisades.
The Monument is located on the traffic circle and can be reached by foot and is illuminated at night.
The signs from around the circle describing the site:
Sign One:
Sign Two:
Sign Three:
Sign Four:
The closing of the site and purchase from Bergen County, NJ for development.
2015 Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from a pamphlet from The Bergen County Division of Cultural Affairs & Historic Affairs in Bergen County, New Jersey. You must stop off on one of the side streets to see the monument and the information boards on the site are off to the west side of the circle. Try to walk around the monument on the circle itself to see the most detail.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 