Washington Square is located between Greenwich Village and The East Village, surrounded by the freedom and decadence of New York City's most bohemian. Washington Square was once a swamp, a cemetery at the end of the 18th century, burying people who died of yellow fever at the time, and even the scene of duels or hangings in 1819, a bloody past that began to change after it was officially turned into a park in 1827. In 1916, the founders of Dadaism, Duson and Sloane, led a group of artists to the arch of Washington Square, declaring that "Washington Square has achieved freedom and independence, and has become the country of New Bohemia", thus opening a new era of art and vitality in Washington Square.
To the west of Washington Square is greenwich village, also known as West Village. The area is a patchwork of roads and was originally a temporary shelter for urban people to escape yellow fever. Since the establishment of Washington Square in 1831, there has been a turnaround, and many artists have been stationed here, from Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Whitman to Bob Dylan, etc. The high rents here can only be afforded by artists who can mix.
The east village is slightly lower than the west village. In the 1960s, due to the cheap rent in the area, it attracted a large number of Beatles, hippie and punks, experimental music groups and small theaters, creating a special cultural atmosphere of avant-garde and freedom in the area. There are many small restaurants and taverns, Ukrainian immigrants, and little Indian areas gradually occupying individual territories here.
The most striking facility on Washington Square is the Marble Arch, originally built in 1889 to mark the 100th anniversary of the oath-taking of the oath of office by George Washington, the founding father of the United States. In 1892, it was replaced by a marble arch designed by Stanley White, which has a hidden staircase to the right to climb it, and on both sides of the arch stands a sculpture of Washington, with peacetime Washington on the right and Wartime Washington on the left, which were added in 1918 and 1916 respectively.
Today, Washington Square is the most popular place at NYU. The plaza exhibits many oil paintings, photographs, drawings, and prints depicting the square's transformation from the richest neighborhood in Manhattan to the most artistic area of New York City. The Washington Square area is home to many painters, sculptors, and photographers who used the square as a temple for capturing objects.