National Historic Landmark - Union Square

Located in lower mid-town Manhattan, Union Square is nationally significant for the role it has played in American labor history.

While the park has been the focal point for well over a century for parades, mass gatherings, soap-box orations, and demonstrations, its particular moment in history occurred on September 5, 1882, when the first Labor Day Parade took place.

This marked the beginning of organized labor's twelve-year effort to secure passage of national legislation that would set aside one day each year to recognize the contributions and achievements of American laborers.