' For the
purpose of honouring its first occupation as a military
parade, Colonel Arcularis will order a detachment from his
regiment with field pieces to parade on the ground on the
morning of the Fourth of July next. He shall fire a national
salute and proclaim the name of the parade ground, with such
ceremonies as he shall see fit."
This occasion, an anniversary of American independence, seems to have
been a most gorgeous affair, with the Governor, Mayor and other
officials present, and a monumental feast to wind up with. The menu
included, among other dainties, two oxen roasted whole, two hundred
hams ("with a carver at each"), and so many barrels of beer that the
chronicler seems not to have had the courage to record the precise
number!
1827 seems to have seen a real growth of social life around the
Washington Parade Ground. The New York _Gazette_ of June 7th
advertised "three-story dwellings in Fourth Street, between Thompson
and Macdougal streets, for sale. The front and rear of the whole range
is to be finished in the same style as the front of the Bowery
Theatre, and each to have a grass plot in front with iron railings.
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