Clement Clarke Moore Park

What was here before?
Captain Thomas Clarke purchased this property from Jacob Somerindyke in 1750 to build his farmstead. A retired British Army officer, Captain Clarke named his property “Chelsea” after London’s Royal Chelsea Hospital for veterans. His daughter Charity and son-in-law Reverend Benjamin Moore extended the boundaries to present-day West 19th Street, Eighth Avenue, West 24th Street, and the Hudson River. Ultimately the property and house were inherited by their son Clement Clarke Moore, the park’s namesake. 

According to the New York Times, several years after his father died in 1816, “the good Clement C. was much annoyed by boys and adolescent hoodlums, who came out from 'the city' to depredate [sic] his vines and fig trees. The annoyance became intolerable insomuch that he started one day into 'town' determined to rid himself of the annoyance by dispossessing himself of the estate." Prior to selling, builder James N. Wells convinced Moore to lay out roads and lots according to the Street Commission’s grid. His land quickly developed, earning him far more than he would have made if he sold the property outright. His estate was later destroyed in the 1850s.

This block was lined with multi-story, brick residences for the next century. 

How did this site become a park?
In the 1960s, the West 400 Block Association initiated the improvement of neglected property at the corner of Tenth Avenue and West 22nd Street. The City of New York acquired the site in 1965 for a park and existing structures were demolished. The playground opened in 1968 and was named for Clement Clarke Moore in 1969.

Clement Clarke Moore Park was renovated in 1995 and again in 2019. The most recent construction included a new spray shower and playground equipment, as well as additional seating, planting beds, and infrastructural improvements.

Who is this park named for?
Born in New York City, Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) spent most of his life on his family’s Chelsea estate. He graduated from Columbia College with a B.A. in 1798, an M.A. in 1801, and an honorary LL.D. in 1829. Moore donated land for the nearby General Theological Seminary, where he taught Oriental and Greek literature from 1823 until his retirement in 1850. Fluent in six languages, he published numerous scholarly works, including a Hebrew lexicon, a biography, and several treatises and addresses.

Moore is best known for having penned the delightful children’s poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” He composed the poem for his wife Catherine and their children in 1822. A family friend had the poem published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel the following year. The poem soon became a classic, popularly known as “The Night before Christmas.” Moore died in Newport, Rhode Island in 1863. 

The West 400 Block Association holds a variety of special events at the park. Every Christmastime, residents gather to read the poem that begins with the familiar words “‘Twas the night before Christmas…”