Piatt Park (est. 1817), is the oldest park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It stretches two blocks between Elm Street and Vine Street on Garfield Place/8th Street. The park is owned and maintained by the Cincinnati Park Board.
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The land was given to the city in 1817 by Benjamin M. Piatt, a Federal Circuit Judge and father of Civil War general Abram S. Piatt, for "a market space."[1] It was officially christened Eighth Street Park in 1868, and was given its present name in 1940; however it has been popularly referred to as Garfield Park.[1] Two bronze statues of US Presidents from Ohio stand on either end of the park, with a sculpture of James A. Garfield by Charles Henry Niehaus facing Vine and one of William Henry Harrison facing the Covenant First Presbyterian Church across Elm. The Harrison statue is notable for being the only equestrian monument in Cincinnati.[2]
In October of 2011, Piatt Park became the site of Occupy Cincinnati, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Those staying in the park after closing have received citations of $105.[3] On October 20th, 21 members of the group were arrested overnight, after two weeks of having occupied the park.[4]