Foley Square

Foley Square is a 2.5-acre public plaza in the Civic Center district of Lower Manhattan, surrounded by some of the most important courthouses and government buildings in the United States. The square is named for Thomas F. Foley, a Tammany Hall political leader and saloon keeper who served as an alderman and sheriff of New York County in the early 20th century.

The square sits atop what was once the Collect Pond, the freshwater lake that served as New Amsterdam's primary water source before being drained and filled in the early 1800s. The soft, waterlogged fill beneath the square has caused engineering challenges for the surrounding buildings throughout their history.

The courthouses ringing Foley Square include the United States Courthouse (designed by Cass Gilbert, architect of the Woolworth Building), the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, the New York County Supreme Court (with its grand Corinthian colonnade), and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse. Together they form one of the densest concentrations of judicial architecture in the world.

The square features a large open plaza, the Triumph of the Human Spirit fountain (a sculptural work by Lorenzo Pace that memorializes the African Burial Ground discovered nearby), and seating areas surrounded by mature trees. The African Burial Ground National Monument, honoring an estimated 15,000 free and enslaved Africans buried at the site during the 17th and 18th centuries, lies adjacent.

Foley Square regularly serves as a gathering point for political demonstrations and rallies, its proximity to the courthouses making it a natural venue for protests related to criminal justice, civil rights, and government accountability. The square has witnessed some of the largest political gatherings in Lower Manhattan's history.