A trip through time
From Columbus Circle to 168th Street, the Broadway Malls form a five-mile ribbon of green along one of America’s oldest and longest roads. Here are some of the key moments that shaped them — and where they’re headed next.
Long before Broadway, this route followed Native American paths of the Munsee Lenape and Wappinger peoples. These trails connected settlements across Manhattan and beyond. Broadway’s diagonal path still traces this early geography.
New York City formally acquires Bloomingdale Road, the precursor to today’s Broadway. Then a rural thoroughfare linking lower Manhattan to villages uptown, it was poised for transformation as the city expanded northward.
Under Andrew Haswell Green and the Central Park Commission, Bloomingdale Road is redesigned as a 160-foot-wide “Boulevard,” modeled after the Champs-Élysées. Elm-lined sidewalks and broad landscaped malls introduce a European-inspired civic vision to the West Side. The new design helps spur development along the corridor.
The Boulevard is paved with asphalt and lined with hotels and apartments. Streetcars run alongside the planted malls, and cyclists favor the smooth new roadway. In 1899, it is officially renamed Broadway.
Construction of the Seventh Avenue IRT subway removes the original malls. They are rebuilt in 1904 and redesigned by the Parks Department in 1908, adding iron fences, benches, paved ends, and structured plantings. Many of today’s spatial proportions date to this period.
A major relandscaping fills each mall with dense trees and shrubs, reinforcing their identity as planted medians. Several mature trees from this era still anchor the landscape.
West Side residents form what becomes the Broadway Mall Association (BMA). During a period of citywide fiscal strain, community members step in to advocate for care and restoration, launching decades of partnership with NYC Parks.
BMA is incorporated as a non-profit in 1987.
In partnership with NYC Parks, BMA helps lead an eight-phase renovation from 60th to 168th Streets. Walk-through paths are converted into greener planted spaces, trees and bulbs are added, benches replaced, and crosswalks made accessible. Much of the malls’ present-day structure comes from this effort.West Side residents form what becomes the Broadway Mall Association (BMA). During a period of citywide fiscal strain, community members step in to advocate for care and restoration, launching decades of partnership with NYC Parks.
BMA hires Future Green Studio to develop a comprehensive Restoration and Management Plan. The ecological redesign addresses aging infrastructure, invasive species, and climate change impacts — setting a long-term vision for a healthier, more resilient Broadway.
Full restoration launches on the malls at 83rd–84th and 164th–165th Streets as proof-of-concept sites. Invasive plants are removed and more than 3,000 native trees, shrubs, grasses, and perennials are planted in each mall.
These pilot projects mark the first step toward restoring the entire corridor as The Great Green Way — a continuous, sustainable, and biodiverse landscape for the future. Plant lists and updates will continue as the work grows.BMA hires Future Green Studio to develop a comprehensive Restoration and Management Plan. The ecological redesign addresses aging infrastructure, invasive species, and climate change impacts — setting a long-term vision for a healthier, more resilient Broadway.
Today, the Broadway Malls remain a living landscape — rooted in history and evolving toward a more climate-resilient future. Explore the neighborhoods, and our plants.
