Hess triangle

Detail of the triangle, which contains the text "Property of the Hess Estate which has never been dedicated for public purposes."
Triangle detail
View of the triangle, which is located on a sidewalk at a street corner. The triangle is outside the Village Cigars shop and the Christopher Street–Sheridan Square station of the New York City Subway. The triangle can be seen on the sidewalk toward the left side of the photo.
Location of the triangle, outside the Village Cigars shop and the Christopher Street–Sheridan Square station of the New York City Subway. The triangle can be seen on the sidewalk toward the left side of the photo.

The Hess triangle is a triangular tile mosaic set in a sidewalk in New York City's West Village neighborhood at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Christopher Street. The plaque reads "Property of the Hess Estate which has never been dedicated for public purposes."[1] The plaque is an isosceles triangle, with a 25+1⁄2-inch (65 cm) base and 27+1⁄2-inch (70 cm) legs (sides).[1]

The plaque is the result of a dispute between the city government and the estate of David Hess, a landlord from Philadelphia who owned the Voorhis, a five-story apartment building.[2] In the early 1910s, the city claimed eminent domain to acquire and demolish 253 buildings in the area in order to widen Seventh Avenue and expand the IRT subway.[1][3][4] By 1913, the Hess family had exhausted all legal options.[4] However, according to Ross Duff Wyttock writing in the Hartford Courant in 1928, Hess's heirs discovered that when the city seized the Voorhis the survey had missed a small corner of Plot 55 and they set up a notice of possession.[1] The city asked the family to donate the diminutive property to the public, but they chose to hold out and installed the present, defiant mosaic on July 27, 1922.[5][6]

In 1938 the property, reported to be the smallest plot in New York City, was sold to the adjacent Village Cigars store (United Cigars at that time) for US$100 (equivalent to $2,165 in 2023).[7] Later, Yeshiva University came to own the property, including the Hess Triangle, and in October 1995[8] it was sold by Yeshiva to 70 Christopher Realty Corporation.[9] Subsequent owners have left the plaque intact.[4][10] The triangle and Village Cigars shop behind it were placed on sale in 2021.[11][12]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Kim2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference McKinley1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carlson2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Guiberteau2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference road27150 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carlson2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barron2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference FT_1260004891226 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Snetiker2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Plitt2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Chang, Sophia; Offenhartz, Jake (February 3, 2021). "Village Cigars And The Hess Spite Triangle Are For Sale". Gothamist. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Schulz, Dana (February 3, 2021). "Historic Village Cigars building will be sold". 6sqft. Retrieved February 10, 2024.