Minetta Triangle

Minetta Triangle is a tiny triangular park at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village. Like Minetta Playground nearby, the triangle takes its name from Minetta Brook, the buried stream whose course through the Village is still legible in the curving paths of Minetta Lane and Minetta Street.

The triangle is created by the intersection of Minetta Lane, one of the Village's characteristic winding streets that predate the Manhattan grid, with the straight line of Sixth Avenue. When Sixth Avenue was extended through the Village in the 1920s, it sliced through the older street pattern, creating triangular remnants like this one.

The park consists of a small planted area with a few trees and minimal landscaping. It is too compact for seating or any active use, serving primarily as a traffic island and a green accent at an otherwise paved intersection.

Minetta Lane, which borders the triangle, has a rich cultural history. The lane was once the center of a small African American community known as Little Africa in the 19th century, and later became associated with the bohemian culture of Greenwich Village. The Minetta Tavern, a legendary restaurant on the lane, has been in operation since 1937.

Minetta Triangle is one of the smallest named public spaces in Manhattan, but its name carries layers of history: the Lenape stream, the African American settlement, the bohemian Village, and the ongoing life of one of New York's most characterful neighborhoods.