Elgin Botanic Garden

Elgin Botanic Garden was the first public botanical garden in Manhattan and occupied roughly twenty acres between what is now 47th and 51st Streets. The site featured greenhouses and planting beds dedicated to native species and medicinal plants.

David Hosack founded the garden in 1801 and assembled a collection of more than 1500 plant species from different regions. He sold the land to New York State in 1810, which eventually became the site of Rockefeller Center.

The Federal Art Project commissioned watercolor paintings of the garden in the 1930s, preserving its visual heritage for future generations.

The site no longer exists as it was replaced by modern buildings in the area. Visitors can view archival watercolors and documents from the garden's collections at the nearby New York Public Library system.

Thomas Jefferson sent rare plant samples from the Lewis and Clark expedition that added to the collection. Artists from the Federal Art Project painted watercolors of the garden in the 1930s before the site disappeared completely.

Location: Manhattan

Inception: 1804

Creator: David Hosack

GPS coordinates: 40.75889,-73.97917

Latest update: December 5, 2025 07:53