Netherlands Monument
Preserving History
This monumental flagstaff commemorates the Dutch establishment of New Amsterdam and the seventeenth century European settlement that launched the modern metropolis of New York City. Designed by Dutch sculptor H.A. van den Eijnde (1869-1939), the monument was dedicated in 1926 to mark the tercentenary of Dutch occupation, and the purchase of the island of Manhattan from Native Americans. On the north and south faces of the granite pedestal are carved a plan of New Amsterdam and its fort, as well as the transaction between the Dutch and the Lenape natives, and above them are bronze emblems symbolizing Dutch settlement. The flagstaff was unveiled on Saint Nicholas Day, December 6, 1926 south of Castle Clinton, then the site of the New York Aquarium. When the park was closed from 1940 to 1952 for renovations and to build the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, the monument was relocated to its present site at the northeast entrance.
The maintenance of this monument by the Citywide Monuments Conservation Program is made possible by the generous support of The History Channel, with additional support from the Netherland – American Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and Donna Karan.
Marker can be reached from the intersection of State Street and Battery Place, on the left when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
