2. Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park became a public park in 1827. The park, located in the Village and surrounded by NYU, was once home to a graveyard. In 1797, the land was acquired by the Common Council for use as a potter’s field and a place for public executions. Some historians think that the land might also have been used as a cemetery for one of the adjacent churches, as headstones have been unearthed in the park.  According to the Bowery Boys, over 20,000 people are likely still buried in the Park out of as many as 125,000 people who might have been buried there.