Wender·Vista
Washington Square Park arch
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York
at the foot of Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village

Washington Square Park arch

— — a marble doorway with no door.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Stanford White's marble arch closes the bottom of Fifth Avenue and opens onto Washington Square. The wooden version went up in 1889 for the centennial of Washington's inauguration; the marble one followed in 1892 and has held the ground ever since. NYU students cut across the plaza, street musicians work the fountain, and the chess tables run along the south edge. The arch stands 77 feet tall and reads, in carved Latin across the entablature, that the event makes the man and the man makes the event.

from the studio
Washington Square Park arch
— bring it home

Washington Square Park arch, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Washington Square Park arch

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Washington Square Arch stands at the north edge of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, where Fifth Avenue terminates at the park's central axis. The current arch, designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White and completed in 1892, replaced a temporary wooden arch erected in 1889 to mark the centennial of George Washington's inauguration. Built of Tuckahoe marble, it stands 77 feet tall with a span of about 30 feet. The two flanking sculptures of Washington — as commander in war and as president in peace — were added in 1916 and 1918 by Hermon MacNeil and A. Stirling Calder, the father of Alexander Calder.

— informed by Wikipedia, NYC Parks
— the stone

The arch is carved from Tuckahoe marble, a coarse white-grey dolomitic stone quarried in Westchester County and used widely in nineteenth-century New York monuments, including parts of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. White's design borrows directly from the Roman triumphal-arch tradition and, more immediately, from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, though the New York arch is about a third the scale. Across the entablature, a Latin inscription drawn from Washington's farewell reads: *Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the event is in the hand of God*. The carving was restored most recently in a multi-year program completed in 2004.

— the visit

Washington Square Park is open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight and is free to enter. The nearest subway is West 4th Street–Washington Square on the A, B, C, D, E, F, and M lines, about two blocks south. New York University's main campus borders the park on the east and south; Bobst Library and the Silver Center are within sight of the arch. Street performers, the central fountain, the chess tables on the south side, and the dog runs are part of daily life on the square. The park is administered by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation with support from the Washington Square Park Conservancy.

— where
United States · Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York
— within
Washington Square Park
— position
40.7312° N · 73.9974° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
New York University
university campus
at the lake
MacDougal Street
village street
1 km NE
The Cube at Astor Place
public sculpture
1 km W
Stonewall Inn
national historic landmark
N
Washington Square Park arch
New York University
MacDougal Street
The Cube at Astor Place
Stonewall Inn
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Washington Square Park arch — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White. He designed the temporary wooden arch built in 1889 to mark the centennial of George Washington's inauguration and the permanent marble version completed in 1892.

The marble arch was completed in 1892. The two sculptures of Washington on the north face were added later: George Washington as Commander-in-Chief by Hermon MacNeil in 1916, and George Washington as President by A. Stirling Calder in 1918.

About 77 feet from the plaza to the top of the cornice, with a span of roughly 30 feet between the piers. The proportions follow the Roman triumphal-arch tradition that White studied in Europe.

Tuckahoe marble, a coarse white-grey dolomitic stone quarried in Westchester County, New York. The same stone was used in parts of Saint Patrick's Cathedral and other nineteenth-century New York monuments.

Fifth Avenue terminates at the north edge of Washington Square Park, which was originally a potter's field and parade ground laid out in 1826. The arch closes the avenue's southern view and frames the park's central axis.

It reads, in translation from Washington's farewell to the troops in 1783: *Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the event is in the hand of God*. The carving runs across the entablature on the north face.

— about the piece in your home

It often is. The arch frames the daily walk to class from the West 4th Street station and is a landmark of student memory. A Small or Medium reads as personal recognition rather than a postcard.

The piece suits prewar New York, traditional, and warm-academic interiors. The carved-marble subject pairs well with dark wood bookshelves, brass picture lights, and walls in deep green, oxblood, or warm white.

Yes. The current direction in academic and library-style rooms favours specific architectural subjects over generic prints, and a painted marble arch sits true to that vocabulary without reading as university-shop souvenir.

Above a standard sofa, the Large is the single-tile choice. The vertical composition of the arch reads strong as a Medium above a console; a four-tile Mural anchors a tall stair landing or entry wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both handle humidity and routine cleaning and suit a powder room, kitchen backsplash, or shower surround. Glossy belongs in dry living areas where the sheen reads as artwork.

Microfibre cloth and water. The color is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure and rests beneath a thin protective finish, so household abrasives and harsh solvents are not needed and should be avoided.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and painted in-house in our Knoxville studio. We do not license artwork from third parties, and each place enters the atlas through Reid's own selection.

— if this one stayed with you

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