Madison Square Park is a New York City park at Madison Square in Midtown, Manhattan. It hosts public art installations all year long, and free concerts in summer. Many Manhattan parades start here or end with street fairs on Park Avenue alongside the Park.
Madison Square Park Events
OCTOBER
The 3rd National Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Parade 2024 lines up in Madison Square Park at 26th St in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, at 8am, with an opening ceremony at 9am. The Parade marches through traditional Lenape hunting grounds, down Broadway to 17th St at Union Square; on Saturday, October 19, 2024, from 12-3pm. FREE. 🇺🇸
About Madison Square Park
Madison Square Park
23rd to 26th St
(between Fifth Avenue/Broadway and Park Avenue)
Flatiron District, Manhattan
The Park is named for James Madison, the fourth American president (1809-17), known as “Father of the Constitution” for his role in drafting the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The area was originally a Native American Lenape hunting ground. Our Lenape friends have confirmed that to us. It became a public space in the 1680s, and like many New York City Parks was used first as a burial ground, and later as a military training ground.
Madison Square Park opened in 1847 just as Manhattan’s northward development reached the area. Madison Square was New York City’s most fashionable district until after the U.S. Civil War.
Famed circus showman P.T. Barnum’s Roman Hippodrome was an entertainment venue in a converted train station north of the Park. It became the first Madison Square Garden in 1879. A second Madison Square Garden lasted from 1890-1926 before leaving the area.
The Madison Square Park Reflecting Pool anchors the northern half of the Park. The Madison Square Fountain and the original Shake Shack anchor the southern half. Jemmy’s Dog Run is on the Park’s west side.
On the New York City skyline, the tall thin MetLife Building, the gold-roofed New York Life Building, and the Flatiron Building are markers of the neighborhood. When built, the MetLife Building was the world’s tallest and could be seen for miles out to sea.
Social Media
Facebook @madisonsquarepark
Instagram @madsqparknyc
Latin Artists
Daymé Arocena, Cuban jazz with rumba roots 🇨🇺
Recent Latin Programming
SEPTEMBER
Cuban Jazz
Daymé Arocena sings Cuban jazz with rumba roots, for Carnegie Hall Citywide at Madison Square Park, on Saturday, September 20, 2024 at 12noon. FREE. 🇨🇺
AUGUST
Indian Food Festival
The 2024 India Day Parade food festival and cultural programs are on Madison Avenue along Madison Square Park and on 26th St; on Sunday, August 18, 2024, from 12-6pm. FREE. 🇮🇳
JULY
Argentine Rock
Alisa Amador, the first Spanish-language winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, plays Latin rock for Carnegie Hall Citywide; at Madison Square Park, in Midtown Manhattan; on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. 🇦🇷 🇲🇽 🇵🇷
Cuban Curated Chamber Music
JACK Quartet, the Grammy-nominated string quartet, plays American composers who redefined the string quartet, curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and conductor Tanía Leon; for Carnegie Hall Citywide at Madison Square Park, Manhattan; on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. 🇺🇸 🇨🇺
Cameroonian Jazz
Ekep Nkwelle the rising star Cameroonian American vocalist; sings jazz for Carnegie Hall Citywide; at Madison Square Park in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. 🇨🇲