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The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Thursday, October 29, 2026

Washington Square Park Estimated to Contain 20,000 Buried Bodies

Christina Rae Stanton points out that Washington Square Park and City Hall Park in New York City are other notable examples of public parks built over former burial grounds, with Washington Square Park estimated to hold 20,000 bodies.

personKelly McEvers

The tape

1 quote
“Washington Square Park supposedly has 20,000 people buried underneath that. Can you believe that? Wow. 20,000.”
Kelly McEvers
Heard on The Atlas Obscura Podcast — “10,000 Dead Bodies Beneath a NYC Park”, published Thursday, October 29, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via deepinfra · $0.01