WEEKLY WHINE

As above ground tracks, so below ground tracks

There now follows a ranking of the top circles and squares in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Criteria included amenities, location, notability, and geometric accuracy [points were deducted for entities like Herald Square, which is not even rectangular].

1. Columbus Circle: Located at the southwest corner of Central Park. Perhaps the best known traffic circle in the United States, and the geographic datum for distances to and from New York City. Features a rostral column with a statue of Christopher Columbus [the explorer, not the film director].
2. Washington Square: Located in Greenwich Village at the south end of Fifth Av. Features a central fountain, an arch honouring George Washington, and several outdoor chess tables.
3. Union Square: Located at the centre of the neighbourhood it gives its name to, at the south end of Park Av between 14th and 17th Sts. Features statues of George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, and the Marquis de Lafayette.
4. Tompkins Square: Located in the East Village, bounded by Avs A and B, and 7th and 10th Sts. Home to a well known dog run, and hosts the annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.
5. Stuyvesant Square: Located at the centre of the neighbourhood it gives its name to, on Second Av between 15th and 17th Sts. Home to Beth Israel Medical Center.
6. Times Square: Located in midtown Manhattan, at the intersection of 42nd-47th Sts with Seventh Av and Broadway. Centre of the Theatre District, and famously home to annual New Year’s Eve celebrations.
7. Grand Army Plaza: Located at the southeast corner of Central Park. Home to such landmarks as the Plaza Hotel, the statue of William Tecumseh Sherman, the Pulitzer Fountain, and the Scholars Gate.
8. Duke Ellington Circle: Located at the northeast corner of Central Park. Features a statue of Duke Ellington surrounded by an amphitheatre.
9. Madison Square: Located in the Flatiron District, at the intersection of 23rd St with Fifth Av and Broadway. Home to the Flatiron Building, and the original site of Madison Square Garden.
10. Herald Square: Located in midtown Manhattan, at the intersection of 34th St with Sixth Av and Broadway. Formerly the site of the New York Herald’s headquarters. Is actually triangular.
11. Greeley Square: Located immediately south of Herald Square. Named for publisher Horace Greeley. A popular rest spot for shoppers at nearby malls and department stores. Is actually triangular.
12. Frederick Douglass Circle: Located at the northwest corner of Central Park. The pedestrian plaza at the centre was finally completed seven years ago.
13. Cooper Square: Located at the northern end of the Bowery, between Greenwich Village and the East Village. Named for Peter Cooper, founder of the adjacent Cooper Union. Is actually more of a trapezoid.
14. Lincoln Square: Located in the Upper West Side, at the intersection of 65th St with Columbus Av and Broadway. Home to the Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School. Is actually a bowtie intersection, a pair of triangles.
15. Chatham Square: Located in Chinatown at the southern end of the Bowery. Named for William Pitt the Elder, the Earl of Chatham.
16. Jackson Square: Located in Greenwich Village. Features a central fountain. Is actually triangular.
17. Verdi Square: Located in the Upper West Side, at the intersection of 70th St with Amsterdam Av and Broadway. Named for opera composer Giuseppe Verdi. Is actually triangular.
18. Foley Square: Located in the Civic Center, and the site of several county and federal courthouses. Is actually triangular.
19. Duarte Square: Located in lower Manhattan, at the intersection of Canal St and Sixth Av. Named for Juan Pablo Duarte, one of the Dominican Republic’s three founding fathers, at the same time that Sixth Avenue was designated the Avenue of the Americas. Is actually triangular.
20. Sherman Square: Located immediately south of Verdi Square. Named for Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman. Is actually triangular.
21. Duffy Square: The northern end of Times Square. Named for World War I army chaplain Francis Duffy. Is actually triangular.
22. Hanover Square: Located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, near Wall St. Former site of several commodity markets. Is actually triangular.
23. Pershing Square: Located in front of Grand Central Terminal, underneath the Park Av Viaduct.
24. Petrosino Square: Located in lower Manhattan, between SoHo and Little Italy. Best known for a rentable bicycle facility. Is actually triangular.
25. Mulry Square: Located in the West Village. Primarily used as a parking lot, but the fencing features Tiles for America, a memorial to the victims on TUE 11 SEP 2001. Is actually triangular.