Mitchel Square
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
An entrance to the park
A closer look at the sign by the entrance
The plaque, with a foot for reference
The Washington Heights-Inwood War Memorial in the park
Another entrance to the park
A slanting rock at the center of the park
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Mitchel Square honors the memory of John Purroy Mitchel, the second youngest mayor of New York ever and U.S Army Air Service officer.
Mitchel was born to an Irish Catholic family in Fordham, Bronx, New York City. His grandfather and namesake John Mitchel was a writer and leader in the Irish independence movement. The young Mitchel's career took off in 1906 when he was hired to investigate Manhattan Borough President John F. Ahern and Bronx Borough President Louis Haffen. Both of them were dismissed as a result of the investigations. His reputation as a reformer gathered support for him from anti-Tammany forces. In 1909, he was elected President of the Board of Alderman (an organization similar to the City Council today). Four years later, he was elected mayor, making him the second youngest mayor of New York ever.
After failing the get re-elected, he heeded the call for volunteers to serve in the First World War, joined the Army Air Service, completed training and earned the rank of major. On July 6, 1918, Mitchel fell 500 feet from his plane returning from a training flight to Gerstner Field, near Lake Charles, Louisiana, reportedly due to an unfastened seat belt. Numerous memorials were made for him. The former Mitchel Air Force Base located in Long Island, now the cite of Nassau Community College and the Cradle of Aviation Museum, is named after him. On February 8th, 1919, the Board of Alderman named this park for Mitchel. There is also a plaque of his likeness on the entrance to Central Park through 90th Street.
Sources
"Mitchel Killed by Fall From Aero; Safety Belt Loose." New York Tribune, July 6, 1918.
NYC Parks. "Mitchel Square." Accessed October 29th 2019. https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mitchel-square/history.
Pollak, Michael. "Answers to Questions About New York: Young and Younger." The New York Times, April 15, 2011.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/nyregion/unraveling-a-mystery-new-york-citys-youngest-mayor.html
Freeman, Paul. "Abandoned & Little-Know Airfields: New York, Central Long Island." Revised August 6, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071221082902/http://www.airfields-freeman.com/NY/Airfields_NY_LongIsC.htm
Yuxin Jiang, 29 Octoer, 2019
Yuxin Jiang, 29 October, 2019
Yuxin Jiang, 29 October, 2019
Yuxin Jiang, 29 October, 2019
Yuxin Jiang, 29 October, 2019
Yuxin Jiang, 29 October, 2019