Verdi Square

Verdi Square is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and covers {{convert|0.10|acre|m2}}.{{cite web |title=Verdi Square Highlights |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/verdi-square/highlights/6534 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108044307/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/verdi-square/highlights/6534 |url-status=live }} It occupies a trapezoidal site bounded by 72nd Street on the south, 73rd Street on the north, Broadway on the west, and Amsterdam Avenue on the east.{{cite AIA4|page=378}} Much of the park is built on the former northbound lane of Broadway. One block to the south is Sherman Square. On the north side, the park faces the Apple Bank Building at 2112 Broadway,{{cite web |title=Broadway and Its Bowties |url=https://thegreatestgrid.mcny.org/greatest-grid/broadway-and-its-bowties/218 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |website=Museum of the City of New York |archive-date=June 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622203621/http://thegreatestgrid.mcny.org/greatest-grid/broadway-and-its-bowties/218 |url-status=live }} designed by York and Sawyer.{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=April 17, 2005 |title=At a Landmark Bank Building, Change Is in the Air |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/realestate/at-a-landmark-bank-building-change-is-in-the-air.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318174224/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/17/realestate/at-a-landmark-bank-building-change-is-in-the-air.html |url-status=live }} To the northwest is The Ansonia apartment complex, while to the southeast is another apartment building, The Dorilton.{{Cite news |last=Scherer |first=Barrymore Laurence |date=September 10, 2009 |title=Barrymore Laurence Scherer on the Verdi Square Festival of the Arts |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203440104574400723843191560 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321150103/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203440104574400723843191560 |url-status=live }} Two apartment buildings are on the east side of the square: the Severn and the Van Dyck, designed by Mulliken and Moller.{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=September 14, 2003 |title=Streetscapes/Mulliken & Moeller, Architects; Upper West Side Designs in Brick and Terra Cotta |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/realestate/streetscapes-mulliken-moeller-architects-upper-west-side-designs-brick-terra.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030044525/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/14/realestate/streetscapes-mulliken-moeller-architects-upper-west-side-designs-brick-terra.html |url-status=live }}

Originally, Verdi Square was a triangle. The park's shape arises from Broadway's diagonal alignment relative to the Manhattan street grid.{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=January 3, 2012 |title=The Grid at 200: Lines That Shaped Manhattan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/arts/design/manhattan-street-grid-at-museum-of-city-of-new-york.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321170020/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/arts/design/manhattan-street-grid-at-museum-of-city-of-new-york.html |url-status=live }} Further south, the angled course of Broadway creates convergences with other avenues at Columbus Circle and at Times, Herald, Madison, and Union Squares.Spann, Edward K. "grid plan" in {{cite enc-nyc2|page=558}}{{efn|These intersections respectively correspond to Eighth Avenue/Central Park West (Columbus Circle), Seventh Avenue (Times Square), Sixth Avenue (Herald Square), Fifth Avenue (Madison Square), and Park/Fourth Avenues (Union Square).}} Verdi Square is the northernmost location at which Broadway intersects an avenue diagonally, as Broadway straightens out to the north. The Museum of the City of New York described Verdi Square as one of several bowtie-shaped intersections "where the bustle of New York is brought out in all of its glory".

The eastern section of Verdi Square contains the Giuseppe Verdi Monument, a monument to the opera composer Giuseppe Verdi, erected in 1906 and sculpted by {{ill|Pasquale Civiletti|it}}.{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=December 16, 1977 |title=Metropolitan Baedeker |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/16/archives/metropolitan-baedeker-marjorie-morningstar-country-history.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321200240/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/16/archives/metropolitan-baedeker-marjorie-morningstar-country-history.html |url-status=live }} The monument measures {{convert|25.75|ft}} tall and up to {{Convert|18|ft}} across.{{cite web |date=June 26, 1939 |title=Giuseppe Verdi : NYC Parks |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/verdi-square/monuments/1624 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |website=Verdi Square Monuments |publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |archive-date=January 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115040600/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/verdi-square/monuments/1624 |url-status=live }}{{efn|{{harvnb|ps=|National Park Service|1990|p=2}}, states only that it is more than {{convert|25.5|ft}} tall.}} The pedestal is made of dark granite steps, topped by a cylinder,{{harvnb|National Park Service|1990|ps=.|p=2}} and measures {{Convert|15|ft}} tall.{{cite web |date=January 28, 1975 |title=Verdi Square |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0857.pdf |access-date=July 28, 2019 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |archive-date=August 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803014413/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0857.pdf |url-status=live }} Statues of four characters from Verdi's operas are on the pedestal: Aida, Otello, Leonora of La forza del destino, and Falstaff.{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Susan Heller |date=October 10, 1987 |title=Toast to Verdi: Reclaiming a Tiny West Side Park |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/10/nyregion/toast-to-verdi-reclaiming-a-tiny-west-side-park.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321153249/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/10/nyregion/toast-to-verdi-reclaiming-a-tiny-west-side-park.html |url-status=live }} These statues respectively face north, east, south, and west.{{Cite news |last=McKinley |first=Jesse |date=December 3, 1995 |title=F.Y.I. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/03/nyregion/fyi-080799.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322152850/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/03/nyregion/fyi-080799.html |url-status=live }} The character statues are made of white Carrara marble, with large marble lyres placed between them. The western side of the pedestal contains an etching with Civiletti's name. A time capsule was embedded in the Verdi monument's base.{{Cite news |last=Barron |first=James |date=June 25, 2017 |title=The Time to Retrieve Time's Time Capsule Is at Hand |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/25/nyregion/the-time-to-retrieve-times-time-capsule-is-at-hand.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717221818/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/25/nyregion/the-time-to-retrieve-times-time-capsule-is-at-hand.html |url-status=live }} The main statue of Verdi, placed atop the pedestal, is also made of white Carrara marble.

Surrounding the monument is a triangular green space surrounded by shrubs, walkways, and trees. Prior to Verdi Square's expansion, those were the only greenery in the park. In the landscaping devised by Lynden Miller in 2004, flowers around the statue bloom in the spring and summer months.{{Cite news |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=January 21, 2007 |title=Riders on the Storm |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/nyregion/thecity/21fyi.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321134636/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/nyregion/thecity/21fyi.html |url-status=live }} In 2019, chairs and tables were installed around the monument.{{Cite news |last=McDowell |first=Michael |date=March 14, 2020 |title=She Wanted to Revive a Park. First She Had to Take On the Rats. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/nyregion/verdi-square-nyc-park.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112193847/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/nyregion/verdi-square-nyc-park.html |url-status=live }} A garden known as the Woodland was planted around the Verdi Monument;{{cite web |title=What We Do |url=https://www.friendsofverdisquare.org/what-we-do |access-date=March 22, 2022 |website=Friends of Verdi Square |archive-date=September 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917203108/https://www.friendsofverdisquare.org/what-we-do |url-status=live }} it contains native species such as Lindera benzoin, Asclepias tuberosa, and Magnolia virginiana.{{cite web |date=August 25, 2020 |title=Gardening Nurtures Serenity in Verdi Square |url=https://www.landmarkwest.org/gardening-nurtures-serenity-in-verdi-square/ |access-date=March 22, 2022 |website=Landmark West |archive-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616065026/https://www.landmarkwest.org/gardening-nurtures-serenity-in-verdi-square/ |url-status=live }} A raised garden called the Meadow faces Broadway.

File:72nd Street IRT Broadway 007.JPG

The 72nd Street station, served by the New York City Subway's {{NYCS trains|Broadway-Seventh}}, lies under the square. The western section of Verdi Square contains a head house,{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=May 19, 2002|title=Streetscapes/Subway Platforms; Letting the Sun Shine In|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/realestate/streetscapes-subway-platforms-letting-the-sun-shine-in.html|access-date=December 21, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430064126/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/realestate/streetscapes-subway-platforms-letting-the-sun-shine-in.html|url-status=live}} built on Broadway's former northbound lanes.{{Cite news|last=Lee|first=Denny|date=February 4, 2001|title=Neighborhood Report: Upper West Side; A Messy Construction Project Grows Even More Tangled|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/04/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-messy-construction-project-grows-even-more.html|access-date=December 21, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321141256/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/04/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-messy-construction-project-grows-even-more.html|url-status=live}} The head house is one of two entrances for the 72nd Street station; the other, built within Sherman Square on the south side of 72nd Street in 1904, is one of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line's three remaining original head houses.{{cite web |date=January 9, 1979 |title=Interborough Rapid Transit System, 72nd Street Control House |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1021.pdf |access-date=November 19, 2019 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |pages=2–3 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511153619/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1021.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite archive|collection=Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006|institution=National Archives|item-url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313849|series=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017|item=New York MPS Control House on 72nd Street|item-id=75313849|box=National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York}} Verdi Square's head house was designed by Richard Dattner & Partners and Gruzen Samton.{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=May 19, 2002 |title=Streetscapes/Subway Platforms; Letting the Sun Shine In |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/realestate/streetscapes-subway-platforms-letting-the-sun-shine-in.html |access-date=December 21, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430064126/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/19/realestate/streetscapes-subway-platforms-letting-the-sun-shine-in.html |url-status=live }} Its overall design was inspired by the Crystal Palace in London.{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Randy |date=May 14, 2002 |title=Tunnel Vision; Hunting for a Thief With Underground Connections |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/14/nyregion/tunnel-vision-hunting-for-a-thief-with-underground-connections.html |access-date=December 21, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321151607/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/14/nyregion/tunnel-vision-hunting-for-a-thief-with-underground-connections.html |url-status=live }} The artwork inside is a mosaic pattern, signifying the notation for an excerpt from Verdi's Rigoletto.{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Roberta |date=January 2, 2004 |title=Critic's Notebook; The Rush-Hour Revelations Of an Underground Museum |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/arts/critic-s-notebook-the-rush-hour-revelations-of-an-underground-museum.html |access-date=December 21, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125195249/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/02/arts/critic-s-notebook-the-rush-hour-revelations-of-an-underground-museum.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Laced Canopy, 2002 |url=http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=1&artist=1&station=8 |access-date=December 21, 2020 |website=MTA Arts & Design |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511153655/http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=1&artist=1&station=8 |url-status=live }} Elevators and stairs from the head house lead down to the station's platforms.

Next to the entrance is a plaza containing granite urns with raised plantings.{{cite web |last=Benjamin |first=Claudie |date=November 20, 2021 |title=A Patch of Pavement with Unexpected Details |url=https://www.landmarkwest.org/a-patch-of-pavement-with-unexpected-details/ |access-date=March 22, 2022 |website=Landmark West |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322170132/https://www.landmarkwest.org/a-patch-of-pavement-with-unexpected-details/ |url-status=live }} The urns are made of cast iron and are near the northern end of the park. The urns were inspired by bronze planters, designed by Stanford White, near one entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The Verdi Square planters do not have cobra-shaped handles, unlike the Prospect Park planters. Additionally, the design of the planters was modified to fit Verdi Square's surroundings.

There is a concession stand next to the plaza, which was built in 2002 as a newsstand. NYC Parks considered removing the newsstand in 2015, on the grounds that there was also a newsstand in the subway entrance. The concession stand was leased by a Le Pain Quotidien bakery in 2016.{{cite magazine |date=May 9, 2016 |title=For the Record |volume=32 |issue=19 |page=26 |id={{ProQuest|1788320752}} |magazine=Crain's New York Business}} Though the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene cited the stand for unsanitary conditions the next year,{{cite web |last=Krisel |first=Brendan |date=May 5, 2017 |title=Upper West Side Le Pain Quotidien Kiosk Shuttered For Health Violations |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/upper-west-side-le-pain-quotidien-kiosk-shuttered-health-violations |access-date=March 22, 2022 |website=Upper West Side, NY Patch |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322164605/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/upper-west-side-le-pain-quotidien-kiosk-shuttered-health-violations |url-status=live }} the concession remains in operation {{as of|2022|lc=y}}.{{cite web |date=June 26, 1939 |title=Concessions Directory : NYC Parks |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/opportunities/concessions/listing?id=713 |access-date=March 22, 2022 |website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111025522/https://www.nycgovparks.org/opportunities/concessions/listing?id=713 |url-status=live }}

Near the 72nd Street end of the plaza is a bronze lamppost,{{cite web |date=June 26, 1939 |title=Firemen's Memorial Luminaire |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/verdi-square/monuments/1986 |access-date=March 22, 2022 |publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322164627/https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/verdi-square/monuments/1986 |url-status=live }} one of two that originally flanked the Firemen's Memorial on Riverside Drive. Installed at Verdi Square in 2004, the pole dates to between 1913 and 1935 and was removed from its original location in the 1970s, when it was vandalized. The pole contains a bronze coating with cloven hooves at the base and rams' heads at its pinnacle. Verdi Square also contains Odalisca, a sculpture by Spanish artist Manolo Valdés. The sculpture alludes to the artwork of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.{{Cite news |last=Catton |first=Pia |date=May 14, 2010 |title=16 Bronze Beauties Alight on Broadway |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704635204575242330945123148 |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322164626/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704635204575242330945123148 |url-status=live }}

The portion of Broadway around modern-day Verdi Square opened in 1703 as Bloomingdale Road, which extended from Lower Manhattan in the south to modern-day Morningside Heights in the north.{{harvnb|Mott|1908|ps=.|pp=4–5}} The road originally only measured {{Convert|33|ft}} wide. In the 1760s, a neighborhood known as Harsenville was developed around Bloomingdale Road between modern-day 68th and 81st Streets, after farmer Jacob Harsen moved there with his family.{{Cite news |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=September 17, 2006 |title=Knowing the Distance |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/nyregion/thecity/knowing-the-distance.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321171023/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/nyregion/thecity/knowing-the-distance.html |url-status=live }} The neighborhood contained several countryside villas, which overlooked the Hudson River to the south. Many French people settled in the area in the aftermath of the French Revolution in the 1790s, including Louis Philippe I, who later became the king of France.{{harvnb|Mott|1908|ps=.|pp=87–88}}

Bloomingdale Road was initially excluded from the Manhattan street grid, which was laid out as part of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811. Because the Upper West Side was largely undeveloped until the late 19th century, Bloomingdale Road remained in use.{{cite manhmaps|pages=100-106}} Bloomingdale Road was widened to {{convert|75|ft}} in 1849 and was renamed Broadway. In 1867, city planner Andrew Haswell Green convinced the state legislature to give his Central Park Commission the power to make changes in the grid north of 59th Street.{{cite greatest|page=141}}{{cite web |last=Shockley |first=Jay |date=July 15, 2008 |title=Morningside Park |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2254.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801113418/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2254.pdf |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |access-date=July 29, 2019 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |page=3}} Green laid out a street through the West Side along the path of Bloomingdale Road. Work began in 1867,{{harvnb|Mott|1908|ps=.|p=228}} and the road between 59th and 155th Streets was widened the next year, becoming an avenue with landscaped medians.{{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2464.pdf |title=Riverside-West End Historic District Extension II Designation Report |date=June 23, 2015 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |pages=8, 10 |access-date=December 9, 2019 |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921124524/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2464.pdf |url-status=live }} The road was called "Western Boulevard"{{cite book |author=New York (State) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gpxBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA130 |title=General Ordinances of the City of New York Under the Greater New York Charter: Also Ordinances of the Former Cities of New York and Brooklyn, Long Island City, the Town of Newtown, the Villages of Jamaica, College Point, New Brighton, and Port Richmond, in Force December 31, 1897; Also Laws of the State Concerning Intelligence Offices, Pawnbrokers, Animals, Commercial and Stoop Lines in the City |last2=Brown |first2=G. W. |publisher=Banks Law Publishing Company |year=1902 |page=130 |access-date=September 6, 2020 |archive-date=August 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827163850/https://books.google.com/books?id=gpxBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA130 |url-status=live }} or "The Boulevard"{{harvnb|Mott|1908|ps=.|p=237}} and measured {{Convert|150|ft}} wide; it was paved in 1874. Residential developments in the area increased in the late 1870s, and the Harsenville neighborhood was consequently razed by the 1880s.

What is now Verdi Square was acquired by the government of New York City in 1887. The site was then considered part of Sherman Square, which in turn was named after U. S. Army general William Tecumseh Sherman. In 1899, the Boulevard was renamed Broadway. By then, planning for the city's first subway line was underway; the line was planned to run under Broadway on the Upper West Side. A plan was formally adopted in 1897,{{harvnb|Walker|1918|p=148|ps=.}} and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.{{harvnb|Walker|1918|p=161|ps=.}} August Belmont Jr., incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.{{harvnb|Walker|1918|p=182|ps=.}} Work on the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 60th Street to 82nd Street had begun in August 1900.{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924022794253/page/n253/mode/2up?q=april+28 |title=Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor |publisher=Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners |year=1905 |pages=232}} The tunnel was built directly under Broadway using a cut and cover method of construction, requiring the avenue's pavement to be ripped up.{{cite web |last=Scott |first=Charles |date=1978 |title=Design and Construction of the IRT: Civil Engineering |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |access-date=December 20, 2020 |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record |page=237 (PDF p. 238) |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=August 28, 1904 |title=New York's First Underground Railroad; Ready for Operation It Represents the Greatest Triumph of Modern Tunnel Engineering -- Story of Its Progress and the Difficulties Encountered. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/08/28/archives/new-yorks-first-underground-railroad-ready-for-operation-it.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321182141/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/08/28/archives/new-yorks-first-underground-railroad-ready-for-operation-it.html |url-status=live }} The 72nd Street station opened on October 27, 1904, though its initial entrance was south of 72nd Street.{{harvnb|Walker|1918|p=186|ps=.}}

Meanwhile, Carlo Barsotti, the founder of Italian-language daily newspaper Il Progresso Italo-Americano, had started raising funds for a monument to Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi after the latter died in 1901.{{harvnb|National Park Service|1990|ps=.|p=4}} Though the monument had received $4,000 worth of subscriptions by early 1903, a site had yet to be selected.{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1903 |title=Republicans Praise the Fusion Regime; Diners Cheer Mention of Gen. Greene to the Echo. Timothy L. Woodruff Says Low's Administration Is the Best the City Ever Had -- Senator Elsberg on Party Health. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/republicans-praise-the-fusion-regime-diners-cheer-mention-of-gen.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321182141/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/15/archives/republicans-praise-the-fusion-regime-diners-cheer-mention-of-gen.html |url-status=live }} Ultimately, the Verdi Monument's backers decided to install it in the northern section of Sherman Square. Pasquale Civiletti sculpted the monument in his studio in Italy, and it was shipped to the U.S. at the end of August 1906.{{Cite news |date=August 28, 1906 |title=Pasquale Civiletti Honored |pages=6 |work=New-York Tribune |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98086909/pasquale-civiletti-honored/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321180530/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98086909/pasquale-civiletti-honored/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=August 28, 1906 |title=Banquet's Sudden Close |pages=8 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98087407/banquets-sudden-close/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321190237/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98087407/banquets-sudden-close/ |url-status=live }} The monument's cornerstone was laid on September 20, 1906,{{Cite news |date=September 21, 1906 |title=Cornerstone Laid for Verdi Monument |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/09/21/archives/cornerstone-laid-for-verdi-monument-impressive-ceremonies-at-the.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321182300/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/09/21/archives/cornerstone-laid-for-verdi-monument-impressive-ceremonies-at-the.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=September 21, 1906 |title=Stone of Verdi Monument Laid |pages=9 |work=New-York Tribune |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98087551/stone-of-verdi-monument-laid/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321190243/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98087551/stone-of-verdi-monument-laid/ |url-status=live }} and the monument was dedicated on October 12, 1906, coinciding with Columbus Day.{{Cite news |date=October 13, 1906 |title=Balloon Carried Aloft Veil of Verdi's Statue |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/10/13/archives/balloon-carried-aloft-veil-of-verdis-statue-picturesque-scene-at.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321182249/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/10/13/archives/balloon-carried-aloft-veil-of-verdis-statue-picturesque-scene-at.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=October 13, 1906 |title=Verdi Celebration: Monument Unveiled Address Made by Italian Consul-- Large Parade |pages=7 |work=New-York Tribune |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98086709/verdi-celebration-monument-unveiled/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321180529/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98086709/verdi-celebration-monument-unveiled/ |url-status=live }} Thousands of people were present at the dedication, including representatives of the Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Argentine governments. Contemporary newspapers variously reported the cost of the monument as $20,000 or $30,000. At the time of the dedication, Barsotti still owed some money on the monument. As a result, a fundraiser for the monument was hosted during a luncheon in Barsotti's and Civiletti's honor in June 1907.{{Cite news |date=June 3, 1907 |title=Italians Honor Their Countrymen; Medal Presented to Chairman of Verdi Committee and an Address to Abruzzi |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/06/03/archives/italians-honor-their-countrymen-medal-presented-to-chairman-of.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321190236/https://www.nytimes.com/1907/06/03/archives/italians-honor-their-countrymen-medal-presented-to-chairman-of.html |url-status=live }}

In the decade after the subway's opening, the surrounding area grew rapidly into a residential neighborhood.{{cite news |date=March 21, 1915 |title=Upper Broadway Is Alluring to Many Builders |page=C1 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|575386037}}}} The northern section of Sherman Square was dedicated as Verdi Square in 1921.{{Cite news |last=Mangliaman |first=Jessie |date=October 27, 1987 |title=Park Gets Monumental Restoration |pages=33 |work=Newsday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98094544/park-gets-monumental-restorationjessie/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321194800/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98094544/park-gets-monumental-restorationjessie/ |url-status=live }} Musicians frequently visited the park during the early 20th century. These included tenor Enrico Caruso and conductor Arturo Toscanini, who lived in the Ansonia, as well as composers George and Ira Gershwin, who lived a few blocks away on Riverside Drive.{{cite web |last=Albrecht |first=Leslie |date=September 16, 2011 |title=Verdi Square To Host Free Concert Series |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110916/upper-west-side/verdi-square-host-free-concert-series |access-date=March 21, 2022 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=November 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118011228/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110916/upper-west-side/verdi-square-host-free-concert-series/ |url-status=dead }} In addition, the Central Savings Bank Building (later Apple Bank Building) was erected north of Verdi Square from 1926 to 1928, with a narrow facade on the square. By the late 1920s, dirt had accumulated on the Verdi statue. The managers of the Hotel Ansonia wrote a letter to the city's parks commissioner in December 1929, offering to clean the statue; the commissioner readily accepted this offer.{{Cite news |date=December 16, 1929 |title=De Wolf Hopper Plans Some Statue Washing; With Herrick's Consent, He and Cohorts Will Scrub Verdi Figure in Broadway. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/16/archives/de-wolf-hopper-plans-some-statue-washing-with-herricks-consent-he.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321190229/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/16/archives/de-wolf-hopper-plans-some-statue-washing-with-herricks-consent-he.html |url-status=live }} The next month, the statue was cleaned by several Metropolitan Opera members who lived at the Ansonia.{{Cite news |date=January 9, 1930 |title=Singers Scrub Verdi; Cameras Set Tempo; Ponselle and Opera Brigade Use Brushes on Statue as Serafin Conducts With a Broom. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/01/09/archives/singers-scrub-verdi-cameras-set-tempo-ponselle-and-opera-brigade.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321190224/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/01/09/archives/singers-scrub-verdi-cameras-set-tempo-ponselle-and-opera-brigade.html |url-status=live }} Several dozen pigeons at the park were poisoned in 1937 in the city's first recorded mass poisoning of birds; the perpetrator was never caught.{{cite news |date=January 22, 1944 |title=Pigeons Killed By Strychnine; Another 16 Die |page=7A |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1320102065}}}}

Through the mid-20th century, Verdi Square existed as a small traffic island between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway. Its widest frontage on 73rd Street was only slightly wider than the median of Broadway. An image from 1955 indicated that the Verdi monument was surrounded by fences and benches.{{Cite news |date=March 13, 1955 |title=New York's Changing Scene |pages=750 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98091972/new-yorks-changing-scene/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321194805/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98091972/new-yorks-changing-scene/ |url-status=live }} In the 1960s and 1970s, Verdi Square and Sherman Square were highly frequented by local drug users and dealers.{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=April 8, 1988 |title=Strolling Up Broadway, The West Side's Spine |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/08/books/strolling-up-broadway-the-west-side-s-spine.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122022509/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/08/books/strolling-up-broadway-the-west-side-s-spine.html |url-status=live }} As part of a citywide "beautification" initiative announced in 1967, the city government would have planted trees and flowers in the park.{{Cite news |last=Schumach |first=Murray |date=March 5, 1967 |title=Shades of Kilmer to Beautify City; Public and Private Funds to Support Tree Planting |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/03/05/archives/shades-of-kilmer-to-beautify-city-public-and-private-funds-to.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321194803/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/03/05/archives/shades-of-kilmer-to-beautify-city-public-and-private-funds-to.html |url-status=live }} The nickname "Needle Park" came to be applied to Verdi Square after the release of the 1971 film The Panic in Needle Park, although the "Needle Park" in the film might have been Sherman Square. In 1972, local teenagers repainted the benches and planted 300 begonias in the park.{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1972 |title=5-Day Cleanup Starts On Part of West Side |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/23/archives/5day-cleanup-starts-on-part-of-west-side.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321195649/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/23/archives/5day-cleanup-starts-on-part-of-west-side.html |url-status=live }}

File:Verdi-square-nyc.jpg once stood by the Firemen's Memorial at Riverside Drive at 100th Street; it was re-erected here at the refurbishing of Verdi Square in 2004]]

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) proposed designating Verdi Square as a scenic landmark in November 1974.{{Cite news |last=Gerston |first=Jill |date=November 27, 1974 |title=2 City Areas Made Landmarks |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/27/archives/2-city-areas-made-landmarks.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030015321/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/27/archives/2-city-areas-made-landmarks.html |url-status=live }} The LPC had gained the authority to designate city parks as scenic landmarks the preceding year.{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Maurice |date=November 14, 1974 |title=3 New Sorts of Landmarks Designated in City |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/14/archives/3-new-sorts-of-landmarks-designated-in-city-landmarks-of-3-sorts.html |access-date=February 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216042933/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/14/archives/3-new-sorts-of-landmarks-designated-in-city-landmarks-of-3-sorts.html |url-status=live }} The square was designated as a landmark on January 28, 1975, along with the facade of the adjacent Apple Bank Building;{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Shawn G. |date=January 29, 1975 |title=Ocean Parkway Gets Landmark Designation |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/29/archives/ocean-parkway-gets-landmark-designation.html |access-date=March 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318174225/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/29/archives/ocean-parkway-gets-landmark-designation.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=January 29, 1975 |title=Verdi Square Now a Landmark |pages=7 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97873928/verdi-square-now-a-landmark/ |access-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318174218/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97873928/verdi-square-now-a-landmark/ |url-status=live }} the New York City Board of Estimate ratified the designations that March.{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=March 21, 1975 |title=Fuchsberg Staff Provided Offices |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/21/archives/fuchsberg-staff-provided-offices-estimate-board-reluctantly.html |access-date=March 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128083003/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/21/archives/fuchsberg-staff-provided-offices-estimate-board-reluctantly.html |url-status=live }} Residents of the Ansonia cleaned the monument in mid-1975,{{Cite news |last=Eyer |first=Ron |date=June 7, 1975 |title=An unsung 'Mother' |pages=24 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98093935/an-unsung-motherron-eyer/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321194803/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98093935/an-unsung-motherron-eyer/ |url-status=live }} and it was cleaned again in 1977.{{Cite news |last=Stathos |first=Harry |date=May 20, 1977 |title=Singers Clean Up Needle Park Aria |pages=8 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98093025/singers-clean-up-needle-park-ariaharry/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321194750/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98093025/singers-clean-up-needle-park-ariaharry/ |url-status=live }} Civic organization Friends of Verdi Square held free concerts at the park in October 1976 to raise money for a planned $70,000 renovation.{{Cite news |date=October 18, 1976 |title=Verdi Park Is the Site of Concert Designed to Help Improve Image |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/18/archives/verdi-park-is-the-site-of-concert-designed-to-help-improve-image.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321195651/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/10/18/archives/verdi-park-is-the-site-of-concert-designed-to-help-improve-image.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Swertlow |first=Eleanor |date=October 20, 1976 |title=Verdi Park Not Nice Aria |pages=94 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98094022/verdi-park-not-nice-ariaeleanor/ |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321194751/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98094022/verdi-park-not-nice-ariaeleanor/ |url-status=live }} The organization planned to relocate benches, fence off the statue, and add bright lights.

In 1983, The New York Times wrote that "a succession" of homeless men slept on the park's 73rd Street sidewalk because warm air came from the subway ventilation grate there.{{Cite news |last1=Bird |first1=David |last2=Carroll |first2=Maurice |date=October 21, 1983 |title=New York Day by Day |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/21/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-246171.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321195649/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/21/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-246171.html |url-status=live }} By the end of that decade, the Times described Verdi Square as having undergone a "noticeable transformation". The park was still used by homeless people at night, even though it served as a busy meeting place for elderly residents during the day. In 1987, NYC Parks announced that the Verdi monument would be restored for $300,000. Over the years, the marble had cracked because of repeated freezing and thawing of water during the winter, as the Carrara marble was naturally soft. The entire monument had to be removed for restoration, and NYC Parks planned to clean the monument regularly after it was restored.

NYC Parks' antiquities director Jonathan Kuhn sought funding for a further restoration of the monument. Kuhn asked pasta companies, attendees at a Verdi concert in Central Park, and the publicist of screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola to donate money, but he was unsuccessful.{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=August 26, 1996 |title=Expert at Parks Department Has Answered 10,000 Questions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/26/nyregion/expert-at-parks-department-has-answered-10000-questions.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322153000/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/26/nyregion/expert-at-parks-department-has-answered-10000-questions.html |url-status=live }} Ultimately, Italian brand Bertolli funded the monument's restoration, which was completed in June 1996. Bertolli also donated $50,000 to a maintenance fund for the monument.{{Cite magazine |date=June 23, 1997 |title=Bertolli USA Inc. brings Verdi back to life |volume=31 |issue=25 |page=186 |id={{ProQuest|229257907}} |magazine=Nation's Restaurant News}} The same decade, parks commissioner Henry J. Stern also installed a flagpole in Verdi Square, one of 750 he installed without receiving prior approval from the New York City Art Commission or the LPC.{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=December 11, 1998 |title=Arts Agency Loses Leader In a Struggle Over Power |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/11/nyregion/arts-agency-loses-leader-in-a-struggle-over-power.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322153000/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/11/nyregion/arts-agency-loses-leader-in-a-struggle-over-power.html |url-status=live }} The New York City government opened a seasonal greenmarket at Verdi Square in 1997.{{Cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=June 11, 1997 |title=Food Notes |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/11/garden/food-notes-571245.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322154349/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/11/garden/food-notes-571245.html |url-status=live }} The market attracted two dozen farmers and 2,500 to 5,000 visitors each weekend{{Cite news |last=Siegal |first=Nina |date=May 21, 2000 |title=Neighborhood Report: Upper West Side -- Update; A Summer Bereft of Farmers, and Zinnias, at Verdi Square |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/21/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-update-summer-bereft-farmers-zinnias-verdi.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322153001/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/21/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-update-summer-bereft-farmers-zinnias-verdi.html |url-status=live }} and was shown in the 1998 film You've Got Mail.{{Cite news |last=Crow |first=Kelly |date=July 20, 2003 |title=Neighborhood Report: Upper West Side -- Buzz; An Old Friend Returns, Herbs and Fruit In Hand |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/20/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-buzz-old-friend-returns-herbs-fruit-hand.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322152850/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/20/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-buzz-old-friend-returns-herbs-fruit-hand.html |url-status=live }}

Dattner Architects and Gruzen Samton had completed a design for the 72nd Street station's renovation in 1996.{{Cite book |last=Architects |first=Richard Dattner & Partners |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-VShovDX8WQC&q=%22rehabilitation%22+%2272nd+street+station%22&pg=PA118 |title=Dattner Architects |date=2008 |publisher=Images Publishing |isbn=978-1-86470-285-9 |pages=118 |language=en |access-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511153842/https://books.google.com/books?id=-VShovDX8WQC&q=%22rehabilitation%22+%2272nd+street+station%22&pg=PA118 |url-status=live }} The architects announced plans for the renovation two years later, which included a new entrance in Verdi Square.{{Cite news |last=Rutenberg |first=James |date=July 17, 1998 |title=W. Siders call MTA plans shortsighted for IRT's 72nd St. |pages=28 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98143732/w-siders-call-mta-plans-shortsighted/ |access-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322151223/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98143732/w-siders-call-mta-plans-shortsighted/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Ramirez |first=Anthony |date=April 5, 1998 |title=Neighborhood Report: Upper West Side; New Station, Less Pavement At West 72d St. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-new-station-less-pavement-at-west-72d-st.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322152845/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-new-station-less-pavement-at-west-72d-st.html |url-status=live }} The plans included closing the three northbound lanes of Broadway from 72nd to 73rd Street, which were mainly used by buses, and diverting northbound traffic to Amsterdam Avenue. This move, which would more than double Verdi Square's size, would offset the loss of park space caused by the head house's construction.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwZNAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Verdi+Park%22+%2272nd+street%22 |title=Fordham environmental law journal |date=2001 |pages=284 |language=en |access-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511154447/https://books.google.com/books?id=RwZNAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Verdi+Park%22+%2272nd+street%22 |url-status=live }} The New York State Legislature had to agree to transfer ownership of the roadway to NYC Parks.{{Cite news |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=May 28, 1998 |title=2d Subway Entry Planned At 72d St. and Broadway |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/28/nyregion/2d-subway-entry-planned-at-72d-st-and-broadway.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322153000/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/28/nyregion/2d-subway-entry-planned-at-72d-st-and-broadway.html |url-status=live }} The new subway entrance would contain elevators directly above the platforms; as a result, Broadway's southbound lanes also had to be shifted to the west. Local residents and business owners expressed concerns that Broadway's western sidewalk would be narrowed by up to {{convert|8|ft}}. The greenmarket was closed in December 1999 to make way for the renovation.{{Cite news |last=Kearney |first=John |date=December 26, 1999 |title=Neighborhood Report: Upper West Side; The Future Looks Gloomy for a Popular Greenmarket |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/26/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-future-looks-gloomy-for-popular-greenmarket.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322153001/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/26/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-future-looks-gloomy-for-popular-greenmarket.html |url-status=live }}

Work on the project, which was to cost $53 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=53|start_year=2000|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|index=US}}),{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Randy |date=April 10, 2001 |title=Tunnel Vision; 72nd St. Station Project Has Riders Feeling Squeezed |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/10/nyregion/tunnel-vision-72nd-st-station-project-has-riders-feeling-squeezed.html |access-date=December 21, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321151603/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/10/nyregion/tunnel-vision-72nd-st-station-project-has-riders-feeling-squeezed.html |url-status=live }} commenced in June 2000.{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |date=June 7, 2000 |title=72nd St. Station Renovation Should Do More, Critics Say |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/nyregion/72nd-st-station-renovation-should-do-more-critics-say.html |access-date=December 21, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321154757/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/nyregion/72nd-st-station-renovation-should-do-more-critics-say.html |url-status=live }} When excavations began, contractors discovered that the Verdi monument was infested with rats; residents had known about the infestations for years and had nicknamed the park "Vermin Square".{{Cite news |last=Kilgannon |first=Corey |date=February 27, 2000 |title=Neighborhood Report: Upper West Side; Dig They Did Under Verdi Square and Out Scrambled Rats |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/27/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-dig-they-did-under-verdi-square-scrambled.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321165516/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/27/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-dig-they-did-under-verdi-square-scrambled.html |url-status=live }} The northbound lanes of Broadway were permanently closed in 2001,{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Denny |date=February 4, 2001 |title=Neighborhood Report: Upper West Side; A Messy Construction Project Grows Even More Tangled |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/04/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-messy-construction-project-grows-even-more.html |access-date=December 21, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321141256/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/04/nyregion/neighborhood-report-upper-west-side-messy-construction-project-grows-even-more.html |url-status=live }} and the head house was built in the expanded park. The station's renovation was completed on October 29, 2002.{{Cite web |date=October 29, 2002 |title=New Headhouse Opens at West 72nd Street |url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/new-headhouse-opens-west-72nd-street |access-date=December 31, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |archive-date=January 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112081008/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/new-headhouse-opens-west-72nd-street |url-status=live }} The project was closed-out fourteen months late due to a setback in the installation of street lighting, as well as the New York City Department of Transportation's acceptance of the project.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itX3EJZFV-kC&q=%22rehabilitation%22+%2272nd+street+station%22 |title=Transit Committee Meeting |date=February 2005 |publisher=MTA New York City Transit Committee |pages=92 |language=en |access-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511154748/https://books.google.com/books?id=itX3EJZFV-kC&q=%22rehabilitation%22+%2272nd+street+station%22 |url-status=live }} The Firemen's Memorial lamppost was renovated and installed in the park in 2004 upon the request of former parks commissioner Stern. Stern had wanted to surround the monument with a fence depicting parading elephants, a reference to Verdi's Aida, but the Art Commission disapproved because it would "detract from the monument". NYC Parks also hung a fake owl in a tree near the Verdi Monument to deter roosting pigeons,{{Cite news |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=July 24, 2010 |title=Readers' Questions Answered |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/nyregion/25fyi.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322164606/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/nyregion/25fyi.html |url-status=live }} and the Odalisca sculpture was installed in Verdi Square in 2010.

After the park's renovation was completed, local resident Lauri Grossman contacted several friends to organize an opera festival there, having been inspired by street musicians she saw during a trip to Europe. Many people, including then-parks commissioner Adrian Benepe, supported the proposal. George Litton, father of orchestral conductor Andrew Litton, launched the annual Verdi Square Festival of the Arts in September 2006.{{Cite news |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |date=September 11, 2007 |title=The Median Is Alive With the Sound of Music |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/arts/music/11verdi.html |access-date=March 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321151603/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/arts/music/11verdi.html |url-status=live }} The festival's first season contained two concerts performed by the Manhattan School of Music and The New School; subsequent seasons were expanded to three concerts due to their popularity. The festival consists of three free outdoor Sunday afternoon concerts, presenting young musicians in repertoire ranging from opera to bluegrass. Each concert typically included printed programs for 400 guests. The concerts typically took place during September, but two of the 2009 concerts were moved to May due to holidays in September.

Verdi Square gradually fell into disrepair again after its renovation. Though the Times reported in 2014 that Verdi Square "has become as much a place to hang out as pass through",{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=C. J. |date=September 26, 2014 |title=An Upper West Side Boomlet |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/realestate/an-upper-west-side-boomlet.html |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322165800/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/realestate/an-upper-west-side-boomlet.html |url-status=live }} local residents cited an increase in homeless people in the park.{{Cite news |last=Dawsey |first=Josh |date=August 4, 2015 |title=NYC Homeless Problem Vexes City Hall, Spurs Action |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/nyc-homeless-problem-vexes-city-hall-spurs-action-1438722501 |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322164629/https://www.wsj.com/articles/nyc-homeless-problem-vexes-city-hall-spurs-action-1438722501 |url-status=live }} The Verdi Monument was restored in mid-2016 as part of NYC Parks' Citywide Monuments Conservation Program.{{Cite news |last=Gardner |first=Ralph Jr. |date=July 19, 2016 |title=Reviving History, a Summer Project |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/reviving-history-a-summer-project-1468961263 |access-date=March 22, 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322164629/https://www.wsj.com/articles/reviving-history-a-summer-project-1468961263 |url-status=live }} Additionally, a Le Pain Quotidien bakery opened in the park's concession stand in 2016. Local resident Aleya Lehmann founded an organization, Friends of Verdi Square, in 2018 to clean up the park. The next year, Friends of Verdi Square installed seating areas around the monument and cleaned up the park with guidance from NYC Parks officials. Verdi Square became an official partner of NYC Parks in September 2019. With this cleanup, the park's rodent population had decreased by 95 percent by March 2020. Plans for renovations to Verdi Square, which included mechanical upgrades and a new asphalt path, were proposed to the LPC in February 2025.{{cite web | title=LPC To Review Proposal For Renovation Of Verdi Square In Manhattan | website=New York YIMBY | last=Gillespie | first=Max | date=February 10, 2025 | url=https://www.newyorkyimby.com/2025/02/lpc-to-review-proposal-for-renovation-of-verdi-square-on-manhattans-upper-west-side.html | access-date=February 11, 2025}}{{cite web | last=Saltonstall | first=Gus | title=Check Out The Proposed Plan To Redesign a Section of Verdi Square on the Upper West Side | website=West Side Rag | date=February 10, 2025 | url=https://www.westsiderag.com/2025/02/10/check-out-the-proposed-plan-to-redesign-a-section-of-verdi-square-on-the-upper-west-side | access-date=February 11, 2025}}

{{Portal|New York City}}

• Memorials to Giuseppe Verdi
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
• List of New York City scenic landmarks
• List of parks in New York City
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/newyorkofyesterd00mott|title=The New York of yesterday; a descriptive narrative of old Bloomingdale|last=Mott|first=Hopper Striker|date=1908|via=Internet Archive}}
• {{cite report|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/90002223.pdf|title=Verdi, Giuseppe, Monument|date=October 4, 1990|publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service|ref={{harvid|National Park Service|1990}}}}
• {{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=James Blaine |url=https://archive.org/details/fiftyyearsrapid00walkgoog |title=Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917 |date=1918 |publisher=Law Printing |location=New York, N.Y. }}

{{Commons category|Verdi Square, New York City}}

• [http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=6534 Verdi Square – New York City Department of Parks & Recreation]
• Verdi statue, c. 1906 ([http://dcmny.org/islandora/object/nyhs%3A1620/ picture 1], [http://dcmny.org/islandora/object/nyhs%3A1646/ picture 2]), New-York Historical Society, Robert L. Bracklow Photograph Collection

{{Upper West Side}}

{{Manhattan Streets}}

{{Protected areas of New York City}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1906

Category:Giuseppe Verdi

Category:Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan

Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan

Category:New York City scenic landmarks

Category:Pocket parks

Category:Squares in Manhattan

Category:Upper West Side

Category:Urban public parks