Columbus Circle Traffic Pattern Observation

   In a five minute observation watching the traffic pattern at the light of Central Park South and the circle: 

1:40-1:45

   

   The traffic light for cars on the rotary and pedestrians crossing periphery of the circle is 50 seconds long.

   The light for cars Entering or leaving the rotary and pedestrians crossing the rotary last for 45 seconds.

   Over 200 vehicles pass the light of the rotary and the exit and entrance of Central Park South.  Most vehicles are taxis, less than 30% of the vehicles are individually owned and unmarked car service towncars. Three city buses passed during the period of observation, two passing through the rotary one leaving at the light leaving the circle. Five business owned vans passed two rickshaws passed through the circle and one scooter.

   During this time 73 people crossed the circle. Of these people 28 had bikes eight were riding them ten were from the bike rental. Fourteen strollers were pushed, eleven were cupules, six of them had multiple children. Four people were looking at their phones while crossing. Most people were traveling towards the park.

Columbus Circle Central Park Main Entrance Plaza

 Most street life took place on the sidewalk by the Central Park entrance.

 

  

    Along the edge of the circle were street vendors in collapsible stands selling photographs of New York City.  One man sat on a stool dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and sold NYC tour bus tickets and took pictures with tourists. A few men with signs offered bike tours of NYC and personal bike rentals. Street performers entertained in front of the monument of the Maine and had their collection pots sitting on the floor. Crowds of approximately 50 people gathered around them to watch. On 59^TH St. (Central Park South) there were lines of rickshaws waiting for passengers. Just inside the park, behind the monument of the Maine, were bikes for rent.  Four workers manage the rental station. Large tour groups pass by entering and exiting the park, stopping for a few minutes to take pictures, watch performances and/or congregate and relax.

   

   Most people on the Time Warner Center side of the circle do not congregate in front of the building. The sidewalk is a transitional point from the street into the center. The security outside the center is much more noticeable. While on my visit to the site there was always at least one NYC police car stationed in front of the Time Warner Center and Trump International Towers and Hotel.  Sometimes there were as many as three in each location. Security pylons line the middle of the sidewalk protecting the building, but not the pedestrians, from stray cars and ill intentioned drivers. Such devices are not found on the park side of the circle. Smaller pylons and the planting/water fountain protect the inner circle from cars. The main focus is inside the center itself, behind its large glazed windows.

   

   The entrances to the subway station below sit on opposite ends of the circle’s outer edge. There is a standard sized subway entrance in the Southeast along Broadway and Central Park South. The other entrance is located in front of the Trump International Towers with the metal globe to the north of the opening. The entrance is a large circle impression opening into the ground with a grand staircase descending down into the station.  An elevator to the subway rests between the grand staircase opening and Central Park West

   

   The only place to sit is on the base of the monument of Maine.

Columbus Circle Monuments

There are two monuments which stand in Columbus Circle: the Monument to Christopher Columbus and the Maine monument.

The Christopher Columbus Monument was unveiled in 1892 celebrating the 400^th anniversary of the voyage and discovery of America. The monument was designed by Gaetano Russo in a Beaux-Arts style.  It is a 70-foot granite column with bronze reliefs on the north and three ships on the south.  A statue of Columbus stands atop the tall slender column. At the base there is a globe relating to his global exploration.

The north relief depicts Columbus’s first landing while the south side depicts the three ships at anchor as Columbus takes a longboat ashore. The three ships in the column are the famous ships in his voyage; the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. On the East and West sides there are descriptions which read:

cristoforo colombo
gli italiani residenti in america
irriso prima
minacciato durante il viaggio
incatenato dopo
sapendo esser generoso quanto oppresso
donava un mondo al mondo.

la gioia e la gloria
non ebbero mai piu solenne guido
di quello che risuono in vista
della prima isola americana
terra! terra!

nel 12 ottobre 1892
quarto centenario
della scoperta d'america
a imperitura memoria

to
christopher columbus
the italians resident in america,
scoffed at before,
during the voyage, menaced,
after it, chained,
as generous as oppressed,
to the world, he gave a world.

joy and glory
never uttered a more thrilling call
than that which resounded
from the conquered ocean
in sight of the first american island
land! land!

on the xii of october mdcccxcii
the fourth centenary
of the discovery of america
in imperishable remembrance

The second monument stands near Merchants' Gate, the entrance to Central Park opposite Time Warner Center.

The Maine Monument commemorates the sailors who perished in the battleship Maine which exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba in 1898. It was designed in a Beaux-Art style by sculptor Atillio Piccirilli and architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle in 1901. The monument is a 44 foot tall lime stone pylon and is crowned by a bronze sculpture of Columbia Triumphant in a seashell chariot pulled by three sea horses. The base is shaped like a ship’s prow flanked by statues representing Justice, Peace, Victory, Courage and Fortitude. The inscription reads “Remember the Maine” which was revealed to be a mistake.

Bibliography

AVeiwonCities.com. (2011). Columbus Circle. Retrieved May 25, 2011, from AVeiwonCities.com: http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/columbuscircle.htm

Krogt, R. &. (2000, January 1). COLUMBUS MONUMENTS PAGES. Retrieved May 26, 2011, from vanderkrogt.net: http://www.vanderkrogt.net/statues/object.php?webpage=CO&record=usny28

Unknown. (2010). Columbus Circle (New York). Retrieved May 26, 2011, from Academic dictionaries and encyclopedias: http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/67/Columbus_Circle_-_Statue.JPG

Unknown. (2000). Maine Monument. Retrieved May 26, 2011, from nyc-architecture.com: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CP/cp020.htm

Columbus Circle History

In 1892, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage to the Americas, a statue was erected in the circle.

In 1905 the first modern roundabout opened in Columbus Circle.  It was designed by William Eno and planned by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park whose southwestern gateway enters onto the rotary.

In 1956 the New York Coliseum opened.

In 2000 the construction of Time Warner Center began and, with the donations from the new center, Columbus Circle was renovated. Amenities were added to provide for a more pedestrian friendly environment. A new fountain was added around the inner edge of the rotary with park benches, plantings and grassy areas both inside the rotary and along the periphery.

In 2006 it received The American Society of Landscape Architects General Design Award of Honor.

Columbus Circle has long been a focal point for the Italian community. In 1926 Italian immigrants led a parade from East Harlem to Columbus Circle to honor and celebrate Christopher Columbus's explorations. Then on June 29, 1970 the Italian-American Civil Rights League held a rally there.

 

Bibliography 

google. time line. http://www.google.com/#q=columbus+circle+nyc+history&hl=en&biw=1920&bih=946&prmd=ivns&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=JKndTZElx8-AB4fy1QU&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQ5wIwCg&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=65bd1683206574b5 (accessed May 25, 2011).

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. Columbus Circle, New York. 1907. http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.05881/ (accessed May 25, 2011).

Columbus Circle location and Transportation System

Columbus Circle is located at the southwest corner of Central Park, which is the lower upper west side of New York City, New York. Columbus Circle is a five lane rotary that controls the traffic at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South, and Central Park West.

Eighth Avenue is a one way north-south running street. 8^th enters Columbus Circle from the south and picks back up as Central Park West on the north side of the circle where it turns into a two way street. Central Park West runs until it reaches the northwest corner of Central Park where the name changes back to 8^th Avenue.  Broadway is a diagonal two way street running in a northwest to southeast direction. Broadway enters Columbus Circle from the northwest and picks up again in the southeast as a one way street as it continues its descent into midtown. Central Park South or W 59^th street is a two way East-West running street which ends at Columbus Circle and picks back up one block over on 9^th Avenues behind Time Warner Center.

Public buses which serve the circle are the M5, M7, M10, M20, and M104  Below the circle lies the 59th Street – Columbus Circle subway station with service for the 1, 2 ,A, B, C, D, trains.

 

Bluesky, Sanborn,DigitalGlobe. Google Maps. 2011. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl (accessed May 25, 2011).

N/A. Columbus Circle. May 15, 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Circle (accessed May 25, 2011).