LentSpace was a temporary outdoor

art space An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues ...

and

sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by ...

located in

Hudson Square Hudson Square is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by Clarkson Street to the north, Canal Street (Manhattan), Canal Street to the south, Varick Street (Manhattan), Varick Street to the east, and ...

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The space, which opened in September 2009, is bounded by

Varick Street __NOTOC__ Varick Street runs north–south primarily in the Hudson Square district of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. Varick Street's northern terminus is in the West Village, where it is a continuation of Seventh Avenue South sout ...

to the west,

Canal Street Canal Street may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Canal Street (Manchester), Manchester, England * Canal Street, Oxford, Jericho, Oxford, England United States * Canal Street (Buffalo), a street and district at the western terminus of the Er ...

and Albert Capsouto Park to the south, Grand Street to the north, and Sullivan Street and Duarte Square to the east.

History

The block occupied by LentSpace is part of a parcel of land granted to Trinity Church by Queen Anne in 1705. In the years prior to the park's opening in 2009, the church's development company demolished a number of buildings previously located on the site. The land is owned by Trinity Church and was slated for eventual development. The church negotiated a deal with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) to use the idle space for a period of about three years. LMCC raised about $1 million to transform the empty lot into a space to promote art in the neighborhood. Interboro Partners of Brooklyn designed the landscape, incorporating inexpensive materials such as gravel and plywood, reflecting the temporary nature of the space. The park is surrounded by a fence, the eastern edge of which is decorated with small, reflective aluminum disks. The interior features planters, benches and straight paths. The inaugural show in the space was entitled "Points and Lines" and featured seven installations by Graham Hudson, Eli Hansen and

Oscar Tuazon Oscar Tuazon (née Hansen) is an American artist based in Los Angeles who works in sculpture, architecture, and mixed media. Early life Oscar Tuazon was born Oscar Hansen on July 9, 1975, in a geodesic dome his parents built in the woods at India ...

, Ryan Tabor, Tobias Putrih, Olga Chernysheva, Corban Walker and Oliver Babin. The pieces all referenced civic design and construction techniques, using materials such as flagpoles, ladders, concrete and steel. Since then, the space has been used for a variety of different purposes. In 2010 LentSpace was featured in an episode of

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

reality TV show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

, '' Work of Art: The Next Great Artist''. In the summer of 2012 the space became home to a rotating lineup of

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van or multi-stop truck) or trailer equipped to store, transport, cook, prepare, serve and/or sell food. Some food trucks, such as ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food, but m ...

s, accompanied by musical performances throughout the week. In late 2011, protesters from the

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist Social movement, socio-political movement that expressed opposition to Social equality, social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of real democracy around the world. It aimed primar ...

briefly occupied the space after being evicted from

Zuccotti Park Zuccotti Park (formerly Liberty Plaza Park) is a publicly accessible park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is located in a privately owned public space (POPS) controlled by Brookfield Properties and Goldman S ...

. Trinity Church had denied permission for the protestors to use the space. On December 17, some protesters scaled the fences which surrounded the park while others squeezed beneath the fences.

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

officers arrested a number of protesters, including retired

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

Bishop George Elden Packard. In 2019, Trinity Church selected Taconic Partners and its investment partner Nuveen Real Estate to develop the space formerly occupied by LentSpace. In March 2024, Taconic Partners unveiled plans for a 28-story office tower with a public school and retail on its first floor, named One Grand, to be built on the site.

References

External links

LMCC's LentSpace in Hudson Square
{{Tribeca, Manhattan Squares in Manhattan Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in New York (state) Public art in New York City Tribeca West Village Privately owned public spaces Hudson Square