Paley Park — Attraction in New York

Paley Park is a pocket park located at 3 East 53rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on the former site of the Stork Club. Designed by the landscape architectural firm of Zion Breen Richardson Associates, it opened May 23, 1967. Paley Park is often cited as one of the finest urban spaces in the United States.

Measuring 4,200 square feet (390 m2), the park contains airy trees, lightweight furniture and simple spatial organization.[3] A 20-foot (6.1 m) high waterfall, with a capacity of 1,800 US gallons (6,800 L) per minute, spans the rear boundary of the park. The waterfall creates a backdrop of grey noise that masks the sounds of the city. The park is surrounded by walls on three sides and is open to the street (with an ornamental gate) on the fourth side, facing the street. Twelve honey locust trees were planted in the park at 12-foot (3.7 m) intervals and five in the footpath pavement. The green of the ivy−covered side walls ('vertical lawns')[5] of English Ivy and Thorndale Ivy (Hedera helix 'Thorndale') contrast with colorful flowers. Finnish−American architect Eero Saarinen designed the tables and Italian−American sculptor Harry Bertoia designed the wire framed chairs (Bertoia Side Chairs by Knoll in white), which have been used in the park since its first opening. A wheelchair ramp is positioned on either side of the four steps that lead into the park which is elevated from the sidewalk level. The park displays a unique blend of materials, textures, colors and sounds. The wire mesh chairs and marble tables are light, while the ground surfaces are rough-hewn granite pavers which extend across the sidewalk to the street curb.

In 1968, Paley Park and the Ford Foundation Building shared an Albert S. Bard Civic Award, distributed to structures that exhibited "excellence in architecture and urban design". Social interaction in the park was analyzed in the 1980 book and film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte.[3] Paley Park also inspired the similarly sized Theodora Park in Charleston, South Carolina, which opened...

You’re walking down 53rd, dodging suits and tourists, and there it is. A crack between buildings. Slip in and the city drops dead behind you. Just the roar of a waterfall pounding twenty feet down like it’s trying to punch through the concrete. Midtown’s chaos can’t reach you here.

The air’s cooler, cleaner, almost like it doesn’t belong in New York. Tables and chairs scattered like they’ve been there forever. Nobody’s rushing. The waterfall has that effect. You sit, you eat, you forget the clock exists.

Grab a greasy pastrami from Carnegie John’s and bring it here. Let the water drown out the sirens and small talk. Watch strangers waste time like pros.

Paley Park isn’t a park. It’s an accident. A little square of quiet where the city takes a...

Love Paley Park, the only public park in NYC that you're allowed to smoke in (they even have ashtrays and places to dispose of them). It's a pretty small lot between two buildings in midtown east. It has cobblestone and a few steps to get into it (not wheelchair accessible). In the back is a small perpetual waterfall that drown out the noise of the city the further into the space you move. This makes it ideal for private/discrete conversations. There's also a small food stand on the inside that is operational during the day. This is a good spot to come through for a rest, a cig break, or even to eat your lunch if you're a...