Columbus Circle is a large roundabout, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in his 1857
vision for the park, which included a rotary on the southwest corner of the park. It lays just
next to the Merchant gate.
It was originally known as just “The Circle” but got its name by the Christopher Columbus
statue that got installed there in 1892. The monument is 76 – foot tall and was created by
Gaetano Russo. It consists of a 14-foot marble monument of Columbus atop a large granite
column. It is decorated with bronze reliefs of his three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the
Santa María. The pedestal features an angel holding a globe. It was installed on October 12, 1965.