2. Two Presidents’ Funeral Processions Went Through Here

The funeral processions of both Andrew Jackson (in 1845) and Abraham Lincoln (in 1865) traveled through Union Square. Accompanied by 300 people, Lincoln was carried along the boulevards of big cities on a 1,654 mile route he himself traveled as president.

Another presidential fun fact: Theodore Roosevelt and his brother Elliott watched Lincoln’s procession from a second-floor window in his grandfather’s Union Square mansion when he was 6 years old. Roosevelt’s father used to go to church with Lincoln and his wife, and Teddy would call Lincoln his “great hero” as president. So yes, Teddy Roosevelt used to hang around Union Square too.