Niblo's Garden

[1] It was established in 1823 as "Columbia Garden"[2] which in 1828 gained the name of the Sans Souci and was later the property of the coffeehouse proprietor and caterer William Niblo.

At the time New York was undergoing a construction boom that was extending clusters of buildings much past the locale of City Hall.

The garden, surrounded by a plain board fence, covered the block bounded by Prince, Houston, Broadway and Crosby Streets; in the center was the open-air saloon, used also for musical entertainments.

Prior to Niblo's acquisition of the land, a circus called the Stadium occupied the ground.

New Yorkers considered it a beautiful drive up to Niblo's through neighboring suburban market gardens.

During the afternoon and evening stagecoaches ran there from the City Hotel, later the location of the Boreel Building at 115 Broadway.

In 1835, Niblo's Garden hosted P. T. Barnum's first ever exhibition, marking his entry into show business.

A few weeks later the building was demolished to make way for a large office structure erected by sugar-refining titan Henry O. Havemeyer.

Niblo's location later became occupied by early-20th century commercial buildings that span the block between Broadway and Crosby Street; one is the former site of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art.