Washington & Hyde Mini Park

Before this park existed, this double lot was the site of a private residence that housed an ambitious cultural endeavor. In the nineteen twenties, the basement of the home at fourteen seventy Washington Street served as the base for La Gaite Francaise. This was the only French theater in the United States at that time, and it hosted performances of operas and plays by masters like Moliere and Massenet for an intimate audience of one hundred and fifty people. The home continued to host small-scale theatrical productions for decades until it finally fell into disrepair and was demolished. In nineteen eighty-three, the city acquired the land and transformed the site into the public space you see today.