Paley Park

Park in Manhattan, New York

Paley Park is a pocket park located at 3 East 53rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on the former site of the Stork Club. Designed by the landscape architectural firm of Zion Breen Richardson Associates, it opened May 23, 1967. Paley Park is often cited as one of the finest urban spaces in the United States.

Measuring , the park contains airy trees, lightweight furniture and simple spatial organization. of English Ivy and Thorndale Ivy (Hedera helix 'Thorndale') contrast with colorful flowers. Finnish−American architect Eero Saarinen designed the tables and Italian−American sculptor Harry Bertoia designed the wire framed chairs (Bertoia Side Chairs by Knoll in white), which have been used in the park since its first opening. A wheelchair ramp is positioned on either side of the four steps that lead into the park which is elevated from the sidewalk level. The park displays a unique blend of materials, textures, colors and sounds. The wire mesh chairs and marble tables are light, while the ground surfaces are rough hewn granite pavers which extend across the sidewalk to the street curb.

In 1968, Paley Park and the Ford Foundation Building shared an Albert S. Bard Civic Award, distributed to structures that exhibited "excellence in architecture and urban design". Social interaction in the park was analyzed in the 1980 book and film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces by William H. Whyte. Paley Park also inspired the similarly sized Theodora Park in Charleston, South Carolina, which opened in June 2015.