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In our last show, we left the space that would become Bryant Park as a disaster area; its former\xa0inhabitant, the old Crystal Palace, had tragically burned to the ground in 1858.\xa0\xa0The area\xa0was called Reservoir Square for its proximity to the Murray Hill Reservoir, the imposing Egyptian-like structure to its east, but it wouldn't keep that name for long.\nWilliam Cullen Bryant was a key proponent to the creation of Central Park, but it would be on this spot\xa0that the poet and editor of the New York Evening Post would receive a belated honor in 1884 with the re-naming of old Reservoir Park to Bryant Park.\nWith\xa0the glorious addition of the New York Public Library in 1911, the park\xa0received some substantial upgrades, including its well-known fountain. Over twenty years later, it took on another curious present -- a replica of Federal Hall as a tribute to George Washington.\nBy the 1970s Bryant Park was well known\xa0as a destination for drug dealers and most people shied away from its shady paths, even during the day. \xa0It would take a unique plan to bring the park back to life and a little help from Hollywood and the fashion world to turn it into New York City's most elegant park.\nwww.boweryboyshistory.com\npatreon.com/boweryboys\n\nSupport the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys