Perry Square, one of Erie’s oldest parks, is located in the seat of downtown Erie. Bounded by French Street to its east, and Peach Street to its west, and its north and south boundaries respectively by North and South Park Row, the park is divided by State Street into its east and west sections. The park was planned and created at the same time the city was, following the General Assembly of Pennsylvania commissioning the surveying of the disputed Erie Triangle, an act that was passed on April 18, 1795, resolving the boundary dispute between Pennsylvania and New York, thus allowing the surveying and laying out of the city, which begun in June of 1795.
A part of the original survey and lay-out plan for the city, the park was laid out by famed surveyor Andrew Ellicott, the same man who helped resolve the disputed triangle. Ellicott also mapped many of the territories west of the Appalachian Mountains, surveyed the boundaries for the District of Columbia, and took over the plan for completing Washington D.C. The area where the park sits today was chosen by Ellicott because the land was considered the least valuable with its deep ravines that ran through it, from south to north, channeling the two creeks that ran through the park. The first section of the park was cleared of all its trees in 1808, and a foot bridge was erected to span over the ravines. Shade trees, most of which remains today, were later planted in 1846. In June of that same year a public meeting was held in front of the Reed House to celebrate the planting of the trees and to commemorate naming the park Perry Square in honor of the victor in the battle of Lake Erie. The name didn't gain acceptance and the park was subsequently known as the Diamond before being renamed again Central Park on June 19, 1887, by an ordinance that was passed by the city. On December 26, 1911, in preparation for the centennial celebration of Perry’s 1813 victory in the Battle of Lake Erie, the name of the park was once again changed, by city ordinance, back to Perry Square, the name given it 66 years previously.
The park was the circus ground of the early days, and the chosen spot for many public meetings. The first court house erected in Erie County was built in the west park in 1808. It and all of its contents were destroyed by fire in 1823. A new court house to replace it was then erected in the west park in 1825. This courthouse was on the east side of the west park and faced State Street. In 1854 this court house was replaced with what is now the West Wing of the Erie County Courthouse, just west of the park on the north side of West Sixth Street. A market house was also erected in the west park in 1814. It was replaced by another at the same location in 1838. Both markets were next to the court house and also faced State Street. The second market was torn down in 1866 and was not replaced. During the first half of the 19th century several small buildings housing city and county offices were also erected in the west park. The park sections were surrounded by a low white picket fence in 1866, which came down in 1881, when the walkways were paved with asphalt.
An ornate band pavilion was built, under the patronage of Wm. J. Sell, in the center of the west section of the park in 1873. It was removed from the park and relocated to the Soldiers & Sailors Home grounds in 1886. Park fountains were erected in 1868 at a cost of $3,237.98, in both the east and west sections of the park. In 1913 a new fountain was placed in the east park. That fountain was then moved to the west park where it replaced the original fountain there. The east park fountain was then replaced by the Edison Electric Fountain in 1929. Its unique feature was the colored light illumination of the fountain’s spray. Significant changes were made to the Edison Fountain in the late 1980s as part of a major renovation of the entire park. Also at that time the west park fountain was replaced by the gazebo.
In 1872 the Soldiers and Sailors monument was erected, by a society of ladies at a cost of $10,000, in honor of those Erie County residents who gave their lives to preserve the Union — the city contributed $500 for the foundation. This monument was originally erected in the west park facing State Street; later, it was moved within in the west park, facing to the west where West Sixth Street intersects with Peach Street. A statue of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was erected in the east park and was dedicated on the bicentennial of Commodore Perry’s birth, August 23, 1985. It faces to the east where East Sixth Street intersects with French Street. There are numerous other statutes and monuments located throughout both sections of the park honoring war veterans from various wars and police officers and firemen who died in the line of duty.
Properties surrounding the park, historically significant, has always been the focal point of the downtown area. In the 1880s a magnificent new City Hall was built facing the west park at the southeast corner of South Park Row and Peach Street. In the 1960s it was demolished and replaced with a less than magnificent City Hall. Another significant structure was built at the southeast corner of South Park Row and State Street in the 1880s to house federal offices. It was known as the Government Building. It was replaced in the 1930s by a second federal building, which housed, among other federal government functions, the federal courts in Erie. The Erie Public library was later built just to the east of this, facing the park at the corner of South Park Row and French Street. These two building were combined into a new federal building complex in the late 1990s when the library was moved to the bay front. Most of the major hotels in Erie were built fronting on the park. These included the Reed House, Brown’s Hotel, The American Hotel, and the Richford Hotel. Churches fronting on the park included Park Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church. The Park Opera House and the Exchange Building were built in the 19th Century and faced the west park from North Park Row. The Exchange Building still stands at the northwest corner of State Street and North Park Row. Mansions of two of Erie’s wealthiest citizens also were built facing the park. The Charles Manning Reed Mansion at West Sixth and Peach Streets was built in 1846 and since the early 20th century has housed the Erie Club. The Strong mansion was built across Sixth Street from the Reed Mansion in the 1890s and presently serves as Old Main for Gannon University. Erie Insurance has been a major employer in Erie for the past almost 100 years and now fronts on the park from the east side of French Street.
In the 1980s a significant investment was made in and around Perry Square in a $530,000 project that was carried out under the administration of then Mayor Louis Tullio. Over 200 years old, the park has withstood time and the changes that comes with it.
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Perry Square's West fountain (1870) |
The Federal Courthouse and Post Office is in the background at South Park Row and State Street.
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| Erie Railway's Trolley Car on State Street at Perry Square (1800s) |
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| Civil War statue in Perry Square (1880) |
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| Thomas Edison Electric Fountain (1960s) |
