Bowling Green is the oldest park in New York City. The park was established in 1733 as, well, a bowling green, and leased from local businesses for the cost of "one peppercorn a year," or a nominal fee.
The Charging Bull has attracted the most attention from tourists since its installation at the northern end of the park in 1989. But surrounding the park's fountain is an innocuous cast-iron fence that is part of the history of the American Revolution. The fence was constructed in 1773 to protect a statue of George III, which had been the subject of graffiti and vandalism by increasingly frequent protesters in the park.
After listening to a reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776, at City Hall, a crowd led by the Sons of Liberty headed to the park. The lead statue of George III was unceremoniously dismantled, and, according to legend, melted down and turned into musket balls. The finials on the fence posts, shaped like crowns, were sawn off.
The fence had been partially dismantled during the Revolution, and later moved to Central Park for several years due to the construction of the Bowling Green subway station. In 1970, the fence was designated a landmark without objection, and the site's official designation in the National Register of Historic Places is "Bowling Green Fence and Park."
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