Lt. William Tighe Triangle

Lt. William Tighe Triangle is a tiny triangular traffic island at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Hudson Street, and West 14th Street in the West Village. The triangle is named in honor of Lieutenant William Tighe, a local servicemember who gave his life in military service.

Like many of Manhattan's named triangles, this space is created by the intersection of the regular grid with an older diagonal street. Hudson Street, which follows an ancient path predating the 1811 grid plan, cuts through the West Village at an angle, producing these characteristic triangular remnants.

The triangle features a small planted area and minimal landscaping. It is too small for seating or any recreational use, serving primarily as a traffic island and a memorial marker honoring Lieutenant Tighe's sacrifice.

The naming of small triangles and traffic islands for fallen servicemembers is a longstanding New York City tradition, creating a distributed network of memorials that are woven into the everyday streetscape rather than concentrated in formal memorial settings.

Lt. William Tighe Triangle may be one of the smallest named public spaces in Manhattan, but it serves an important function: ensuring that the sacrifices of local men and women who served in the armed forces are remembered in the very neighborhoods they called home.