11. Hess Triangle

In the 1910’s New York City was taking over land downtown in order to extend 7th avenue and expand the IRT subway system. When all was said and done the city had acquired over 300 properties under eminent domain laws, but there were 500 square inches that they couldn’t get their hands ons.

David Hess was the owner of the Voorhis apartment building on the corner of Christopher Street and 7th Avenue in Greenwich Village, and when that property was taken over by the city, he didn’t give it up without a fight. Hess refused to relinquish ownership of a small plot of land measuring 500 square inches located on the plot of his former apartment building. On July 27, 1922 this slice of property was marked by a triangular mosaic of black and yellow tiles that reads “Property of the Hess Estate which has never been Dedicated for Public Purpose,” obstinately declaring Hess’s refusal to accept the City’s request for the last vestige of his domain.

The mosaic, now cracked, can still be seen on the sidewalk outside of Village Cigars. The plot was sold to Village Cigars in 1938 for $1,000.