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Merchants' Gate at Columbus Circle
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Merchants' Gate at Columbus Circle is one of Central Park's four main entrances along Central Park South. These entrances, the first the visitor would encounter in the 1860s when travelling north from densely populated southern Manhattan, were named "to extend each citizen a rightful welcome." In addition to Merchants' Gate, there were Artisans' Gate at Central Park South and Seventh Avenue; Artists' Gate at Central Park South and Sixth Avenue; and Scholars' Gate at Grand Army Plaza. Fighting back calls for elaborate entrances (such as a dramatic classical design proposed by popular Beaux Arts architect William Morris Hunt), Olmsted and Vaux prevailed with unobtrusive openings that punctuated the low sandstone wall around the Park. Eventually most of the 18 original entrances recognized professions.
But at Merchants' Gate — as at Sixth Avenue and Grand Army Plaza — monuments to battles or generals were added over time to adorn the entrances. José Martí, José de San Martín, and Simón Bolívar are astride spirited horses at Sixth Avenue, and a weary General Sherman pauses at Grand Army Plaza. But the most imposing is the Maine Monument at Merchants' Gate, located at Columbus Circle. This 1913 Beaux Arts monument commemorates the sinking of the battleship Maine in 1898; there remains debate over what triggered the explosion, but it definitely precipitated the Spanish-American War (April-July 1898). The monument itself is a massive 44-foot limestone pylon. Crowning the pylon is a gilded bronze sculpture of Columbia Triumphant in a seashell chariot pulled by three seahorses. Churning through the gilt waves, Columbia signifies the United States' dominance of the seas. Supporting that claim are the allegorical figures at the pylon's base: Victory, Peace, Courage, Fortitude, and Justice. The monument not only salutes the Americans killed in the war, but also announces the country's new status as a world power.
The monument is clearly the dominant presence at this Park entrance. But visitors should take time to admire the restored plaza where it sits. In the pavement there is a spiral basketweave pattern of bluestone and granite in various shades of pink, blue, and gray. To define the plaza area and separate it from the Park, there is a low marble wall behind the monument, just the right height for sitting on.
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