Chatham Square

Chatham Square serves as a sprawling, historic gateway where eight distinct streets collide at the edge of Manhattan’s Chinatown. Its name traces back to William Pitt, the first Earl of Chatham and a prominent British statesman who served as Prime Minister just before the American Revolution. While it acts as a central artery today, the square has undergone drastic transformations over the past two centuries. Before the mid-nineteenth century, it functioned as an open-air market where merchants traded livestock, particularly horses, and other dry goods. As the city expanded, this space evolved into a chaotic intersection, eventually earning a reputation as a rough, notorious district filled with saloons, flophouses, and the city’s very first tattoo parlors.