The circle opened in 1905. William P. Eno was the designer. Eno was a businessman who made road safety and traffic control better. The circle was supposed to be part of the plan for Central Park. This was to be a very important entrance to the park.
There is a statue at the center of Columbus Circle. It was made by Italiansculptor Gaetano Russo,[1] The statue was built in 1892. It is a marble statue of Columbus on top a 70-foot (21 m) granite column. The pedestal has an angel holding a globe. The circle was rebuilt in 2005. There are new water fountains, wooden benches; and plants around the statue. The inner circle is about 36,000 square feet (3,300 m2) wide. The outer circle is about 148,000 square feet (13,700 m2) wide. The rebuilding was honored with an award.[2]
The headquarters of Time Warner is to the west of Columbus Circle. The building is called Time Warner Center. Time Warner Center has the Shops at Columbus Circle, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New York City studio headquarters of CNN, and the Mandarin Oriental New York hotel.
The Merchant's Gate to Central Park is to the northeast. It has the USS Maine National Monument. The USS Maine National Monument was built in 1913 to honor sailors killed on the battleshipUSS Maine in 1898.[3]
2 Columbus Circle is to the south. This is a tower built in 1964 by Edward Durell Stone. It used to hold an art museum. It was rebuilt in 2005. People argued over the rebuilding because they wanted to landmark it.[4]
240 Central Park South is on the southeast side of the circle. It was built in 1941. It is a landmark.
