MANHATTAN

Gramercy Park Neighborhood Guide

It may surprise you that a neighborhood like Gramercy Park could remain a quiet haven with a small town feel while also being centrally located in the Big Apple. However, this upscale neighborhood can give residents the best of both worlds due to its low-key nightlife, lush greenery on almost every street, and beautiful brownstone homes throughout. The neighborhood surrounds the private 2-acre park of the same name, which is exclusively available to residents for a relaxing jog around the well-kept greenspace or a peaceful outing. Within the boundaries of the neighborhood are the esteemed National Arts Club and famous Gramercy Park Hotel. Residents enjoy the great cuisine, laid-back vibe, and private lifestyle that define this chic New York neighborhood.

Gramercy Park Real Estate Stats

MEDIAN SALE PRICE

$1,700,000

MEDIAN RENTAL PRICE

$5,175

An Abbreviated History of Gramercy Park

This gorgeous New York City neighborhood actually started out as swampland until it was developed by Samuel B. Ruggles, a lawyer, and politician in the mid-1830s. Ruggles envisioned a neighborhood that promoted a peaceful, exclusive lifestyle for affluent families. After spending around $180,000 (the equivalent of about $5.36M today) to drain the swamp and landscape, he divided the land into 66 individual parcels. This division allowed each section of the neighborhood enough space to house residents in a way that their homes were separated by greenspace for peaceful living and natural beauty. His strategic planning and technique of dividing up the neighborhood by parcels was so effective that it was deemed to be a great influence on future city planning in New York.

Once the famous gated Gramercy Park was established in 1844, a limited number of keys were made for the future residents to allow them exclusive access to the gated grounds. After further development, Gramercy Park became home to a variety of new architectural feats, including an old cooperative that hosted one of the first-ever elevators, as well as the first apartment buildings in New York City, located at No. 34 and No. 36 in Gramercy Park East.

In the late 19th century, Gramercy Park was opened to the Union Soldiers that were involved in putting a rest to the draft riots that broke out before the Civil War. The neighborhood and park were protected throughout the riots by Union troops. In 1918, a statue of Edwin Booth, an acclaimed Shakespearean actor, and also the brother of John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, was erected in the center of the park, celebrating one of the neighborhood’s most famous residents. In the late 20th century, Gramercy Park was officially labeled as a historic district and was listed on the National Register of Historic Districts in 1980.

NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES

  • Park Avenue South to the West
  • East 23rd Street to the North
  • 1st Avenue to the East
  • East 14th Street to the South
Union Square 4 5 6 L N R Q
23rd Street 4 6

Residents Love This Neighborhood Because

  • Central location
  • Small-town feel
  • Great dining options
  • Few tourist attractions make for less-crowded streets
  • Private neighborhood and low-key lifestyle
  • Lush greenery

What to expect

Cafés

+20

Hospitals

5

Colleges/Universities

3

Dog Runs

2

Libraries

5

Parks

3

Playgrounds

4

Restaurants

+80

Yoga Studios

2

Gramercy Park Landmarks and Cultural Institutions

A NEIGHBORHOOD TOUR

Get to know the neighborhood by visiting its most notable landmarks and sites. From museums and sculptures, to parks, markets, and hidden neighborhood gems, you’ll find everything you need to know about the neighborhood’s most unique and historical attractions.

Gramercy Park

Gramercy Park is the last surviving private park in Manhattan, and by far its most notable. This exclusive park can only be accessed by the owners of the 39 surrounding structures, members of the Players Club and National Arts Club, and guests of the Gramercy Park Hotel. The park is open to the public only once a year on Christmas Eve.

Gramercy Park Hotel

For nearly a century, the Gramercy Park Hotel has hosted distinguished guests and creative minds during their stay in the city. This prestigious hotel includes luxury amenities in every room as well as handcrafted furnishings and a rotating assortment of 20th century artwork. Within the Hotel is Danny Meyer’s Italian eatery, Maialino, and the exclusive Rose Bar. The hotel also boasts stunning views and a key to Gramercy Park, which guests can use only when being escorted in and out by hotel staff.

The National Arts Club

Charles De Kay, the distinguished American author and poet, founded this club in 1898 along with several other artists. The group wanted to create a gathering place where artists and art lovers of all genres could meet. In 1906, the club moved to the historic Samuel Tilden Mansion in Gramercy Park, where it remains today. Today, the club hosts members-only and public events including art exhibitions and theatrical and musical performances. Notable members have even included US Presidents Theodore Rosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Block Beautiful

Gramercy Park’s “Block Beautiful” is the stretch of houses on East 19th Street between Irving Place and Third Avenue. Architect Frederick Sterner helped redevelop this block in the early 1900s starting with his own house at number 139. In the redevelopment of this block, Sterner added more fashionable updates on the traditional brownstones, and gave these homes touches of lighter colors, wide shutters, and stucco facades. In the early 1920s, Block Beautiful was an informal colony for artists and writers, and was home to the likes of actress Ethyl Barrymore, author Ida Tarbell, and painters George Bellows and Robert Chanler.

Architecture In Gramercy Park

Italiante

Second Empire

Art Deco

Greek Revival

Beaux-Arts

Victorian

Gothic Revival

Renaissance Revival

Notable New Yorkers

Who Have Lived in Gramercy Park

Daniel Radcliffe - East Village

UMA THURMAN

Actress

Michael Jordan

JIMMY FALLON

Talk Show Host

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

U.S. President

KARL LAGERFELD

Fashion Designer

THOMAS EDISON

Inventor

JOHN STEINBECK

Author

JULIA ROBERTS

Actress

EDWIN BOOTH

Shakespearean Actor

Popular Food & Drink

Gramercy Tavern

42 East 20th Street

Casa Mono

52 Irving Place

Boucherie Union Square

225 Park Avenue South

Union Square Cafe

101 East 19th Street

Barbounia

250 Park Avenue South

Friend of a Farmer

77 Irving Place

Dear Irving Gramercy

55 Irving Place

L'Express

249 Park Avenue South

All Notable New Yorker photos courtesy of Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons. Photo of Uma Thurman by Rita Molnár; Photo of Jimmy Fallon by Montclair Film Festival; Photo of Theodore Roosevelt by Pach Bros; Photo of Karl Lagerfeld by Christopher William Adach; Photo of Thomas Edison by Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios, restored by Michel Vuijlsteke; Photo of John Steinbeck by McFadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited; Photo of Julia Roberts by David Shankbone; Photo of Edwin Booth by Staudenbaur, R., 19th cent., printmaker;

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