Monday, June 29, 2026 – A One Hundred Year Old Flagpole
This controversial Union Square flagpole was created to
honor America’s 150th birthday in 1926
EPHEMERAL NEW YORK
Monday, June 29, 2026
ISSUE # 1705
| The 1876 Centennial was an all-out party in Gotham—fireworks, military parades, musical performances, and thousands of American flags and bunting draped over the windows of city buildings, houses, and hotels. |
| But the Sesquicentennial, or America’s 150th birthday? By comparison, it was much more low-key.The big national celebration took place at Philadelphia’s Sesquicentennial International Exposition. In New York City, smaller events focused on patriotic education and the creation of historical markers.Yet the 1926 celebration did bring a new addition to Union Square: the Independence Flagstaff, one of the tallest flagpoles in New York state, according to NYCParks. You’ll find this towering monument in the center of the park |
“The intricate bas-reliefs and plaques were completed in 1926 by sculptor Anthony De Francisci, and feature a procession of allegorical figures representing democracy and tyranny, the text of the Declaration of Independence, and emblems from the original 13 colonies,” states NYC Parks.
The problem was that the flagstaff was gifted to the city by the Tammany Society. This infamous political machine long associated with corruption and scandal had their headquarters near the park on East 14th Street.
The flagstaff was supposed to be dedicated to Charles Murphy, a recently deceased Tammany president. But controversy arose, as the dedication was considered an insult to America’s founding fathers.
“Public sentiment prevented honoring a symbol of Tammany corruption in a manner commensurate with Lincoln and Washington at Union Square Park, and by the time the Murphy Flagpole was dedicated on July 4, 1930, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it was referred to as the Independence Flagstaff.”
That quote in the second photo chiseled into the base comes from Thomas Jefferson: “How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth enjoy.”
Time for a New Baseball Cap?
Multiple Colors
Check them out at the Kiosk
CREDITS
EPHEMERAL NEW YORK
[Top image: Alamy; second image: NYCParks; third image: Angelo Rizzuto (1940s)]
Tags: How NYC celebrated America’s 150th birthday, Independence Flagstaff Union Square, Tammany Hall Charles Murphy Flagstaff, Union Square Flagpole, Union Square Flagstaff, Union Square NYC Monuments
Posted in Politics, Union Square | 1 Comment »
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