Sherman Square

Sherman Square is a small triangular park at the intersection of Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue at West 70th Street on the Upper West Side. The square is named for General William Tecumseh Sherman, the Union Army commander whose 'March to the Sea' through Georgia in 1864 was one of the most decisive campaigns of the Civil War.

The square sits at the southern end of a pair of triangles created by Broadway's diagonal intersection with Amsterdam Avenue. Verdi Square, dedicated to the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, occupies the northern triangle across the street, creating a matched set of small parks that frame the busy intersection.

Sherman Square was once the site of the original 72nd Street subway station entrance, one of the ornamental kiosks designed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company's first subway line, which opened in 1904. The station below remains one of the busiest on the Upper West Side.

The square features a few benches and trees, providing a modest resting spot at one of the Upper West Side's most heavily trafficked intersections. The nearby Beacon Theatre, a landmark Art Deco concert venue, and the many restaurants and shops along Broadway ensure constant pedestrian activity.

Sherman Square and Verdi Square together represent a common Manhattan pairing: twin triangles flanking a Broadway intersection, each named for a figure from a different sphere (military and cultural), each providing a tiny green pause in the commercial bustle of the avenue.