Nine Heroes Plaza

Broadway, 41 Ave., 76 St.

Queens

Directions via Google Maps

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

The Nine Heroes Plaza, also known as Vietnam Veterans Triangle, lies within the Elmhurst section of Queens. The parkland was first acquired by the City and transferred to NYC Parks in October 1924. Nine Heroes Plaza is a reference to the 14th-century French tapestries on display at the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park.

The Nine Heroes Tapestries were created around 1385 by French artist Nicolas Bataille. Woven into the fabric are representations of nine legendary heroes. The hangings portray three Hebrew heroes (Joshua, David, Judas), three Christian heroes (Maccabeus, Charlemagne, Arthur, Godfrey of Boullion), and three classical heroes (Hector, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar). Bataille drew inspiration from a well-known 14th-century poem by Jacques de Longuyon whose main character was braver than the nine great heroes.

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