3. Vauxhall Gardens

Image via Wikimedia Commons, NYPL

With its outdoor wax museum and summer concerts, Vauxhall Gardens, which was located on Broome Street between Broadway and the Bowery, was seen as a “fashionable place of resort.” As Mitchill described it, “The garden is laid out with taste. The walks are agreeably disposed, and strewed with gravel. Their sides are adorned with shrubs, trees, busts, and statues. In the middle is a large equestrian figure of [George] Washington. The orchestra built among the trees, gives to the band of music and singing voices, a charming effect on summer evenings.” These days, this stretch of Broome Street is lined with appealing eateries rather than shrubbery, but it is still worth a visit.