Section 9, Detail 3l00k1ngf0rs

The Hess Triangle

A tile triangle, about two feet on each side, is built into the sidewalk at the corner of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue South in New York City, New York.

In 1910, the family of David Hess owned a five-story apartment building. The city of New York forced him to sell his building to make room for the new subway system. The city made a mistake, however, and left the Hess family with a small triangle-shaped patch of land. A plaque remains on that spot to this day, declaring that it is “property of the Hess Estate which has never been dedicated for public purposes.”

At 0.0000797113 of an acre, the Hess Triangle is the smallest privately owned piece of real estate in New York City.

Thousands of New Yorkers walk over the triangle every day without noticing it. Or taking a closer look.

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A three-way switch beneath the Hess Triangle is the secret control for the ultra-high-speed “slingshot trolley” stationed beneath Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park.

Tapping one of three special tiles will point the vehicle toward the Library of Congress, the wreck of the RMS Titanic, or an empty field in Dynamite, a suburb of Spokane, Washington.