Talk:Gramercy, Manhattan/Archive

Similarities with London

As someone who grew up in New York City, then spent many years in London; I can't escape the strong persistence of London feeling in the architecture and ambience of Gramercy. Note, for instance, that small, private parks are quite characteristic of many a peaceful London neighbourhood. One could easily imagine that at one time large parts of New York might have been fashioned after London, and that Gramercy exists as a remnant.

I understand that vague musings have no place in an encyclapedia, but in writing I hoped to encourage more knowledgeable readers to include an entry about similarities between Gramercy and London.

--Philopedia 22:55, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

"Gramercy"

I post the former phake etymology here, as a cautionary lesson: "The area is named for a stream which meandered like a 'crooked little knife,' or 'Crom messie' in old Dutch ('Krom mesje')". Let's all try to root out this kind of phancy junque.--Wetman (talk) 01:04, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

Actually it looks like there's good evidence for the Dutch etymology in old records: http://www.oldandsold.com/articles14/new-york-72.shtml -- "Gramercy," from the French, was likely adopted because it was more familiar to the English. 72.225.199.161 (talk) 03:26, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

My scepticism seems to have been unreasonably aroused in this case. So many excruciatingly quaint etymologies for placenames have made me over-sensitized, I guess.--Wetman (talk) 01:24, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Since when is it just "Gramercy"?

The purpose of this entry seems to be to reinforce the very recent and unfortunate trend, found mainly on blogs and in pseudo-hipster domains like "The L Mag" and on Craigslist, to lop off the "Park" from Gramercy Park. Yes, as written in the article, there is indeed an open space in the middle of the neighborhood known as "Gramercy Park". The neighborhood as a whole, however, was always called "Gramercy Park", and continues to be in the mainstream press and on television. I've yet to hear any self-respecting native New Yorker over the age of 40 refer to the neighborhood as simply "Gramercy." More to the point, nowhere in either of the contemporary references cited for this entry is it referred to as simply "Gramercy". Both sources correctly refer to the neighborhood as "Gramercy Park."Terrapin7 (talk) 14:17, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Well, it's been four months and no one has offered a counter argument. Thus, I've changed it, with cites. I think the name of the article should be changed too - perhaps "Gramercy Park (neighborhood)", to differentiate from "Gramercy Park (park)".Terrapin7 (talk) 01:40, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

The Wikipedia reader is not served by dividing articles into their smallest possible components, separating the garden from the square and the square from the neighborhood. The proper title for this encyclopedic article is Gramercy Park.--Wetman (talk) 20:00, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Notes/References

At Wikipedia it is just as common to refer to in-line citations, i.e. footnotes, as "Notes". Switching "References" to "Notes" is not really "large scale change" and surely no excuse for the discourtesy of a revert to an established editor's change.--Wetman (talk) 00:22, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Inquiry

Could I ask anyone also familiar with Gramercy Park about a elderly Mrs. Van Dyke, a portrait artist who lived there. She painted me in the spring 1938 before I turned 10, and I have never discovered where the painting ended up, nor anything about her. I lived around the corner on 22nd St. The painting hung at the Grand Central Gallery and was for sale at $1,000 (lots of money in 1938). Thanks for anyone's input.75.85.37.146 (talk) 22:56, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Suggestion to merge this article into Gramercy Park

Please see here, where I've made a suggestion regarding the merger of this article into Gramercy Park. Beyond My Ken (talk) 21:07, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

I second that emotion! I hope that other knowledgable and sensible New Yorkers will follow Beyond My Ken's suggested merge.--Wetman (talk) 21:32, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

OK, on this basis, I've merged all the information from this article into the Gramercy Park article and re-written and finessed it as necessary. I'll be making the change shortly. Beyond My Ken (talk) 22:20, 12 April 2010 (UTC)