Collect Pond Park Fountain

Collect Pond Park Fountain marks the approximate site of the Collect Pond, a freshwater lake that served as the primary water source for the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam and the early English city of New York until pollution from tanneries and slaughterhouses rendered it unusable.

The Collect Pond was one of the largest bodies of fresh water in Manhattan, covering approximately 48 acres. By the late 18th century, the pond had become so polluted that it was drained and filled in, with the low-lying land becoming the notorious Five Points slum.

The Five Points, built on the unstable landfill of the former pond, became the most infamous neighborhood in 19th-century America, depicted by Charles Dickens as worse than anything he had seen in London. The neighborhood's poverty, crime, and ethnic conflicts were the basis for Martin Scorsese's film 'Gangs of New York.'

The park and fountain were created to honor the memory of the pond that once nourished the city and then, when fouled by human waste, became the foundation for its worst slum. The site is a meditation on the consequences of environmental destruction.

Collect Pond Park Fountain marks one of the most significant and tragic sites in New York history: a pristine lake that was poisoned by pollution, filled in, and replaced by the most desperate slum in 19th-century America.