Independence Flagstaff

An outdoor bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln by Henry Kirke Brown is installed in Union Square in Manhattan, New York.

Marquis de Lafayette is an outdoor bronze sculpture of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette by artist Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, located at Union Square Park in Manhattan, New York.

USS Recruit, also known as the Landship Recruit, was a wooden mockup of a dreadnought battleship constructed by the United States Navy in Manhattan in New York City, as a recruiting tool and training ship during the First World War. Commissioned as if it were a normal vessel of the U.S. Navy and manned by a crew of trainee sailors, Recruit was located in Union Square from 1917 until the end of the war. In 1920, with the reduced requirements for manning in the post-war Navy, Recruit was decommissioned and dismantled, having recruited 25,000 sailors into Navy service.

Union Square is a historic intersection and surrounding neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century. Its name denotes that "here was the union of the two principal thoroughfares of the island". The current Union Square Park is bounded by 14th Street on the south, 17th Street on the north, and Union Square West and Union Square East to the west and east respectively. 17th Street links together Broadway and Park Avenue South on the north end of the park, while Union Square East connects Park Avenue South to Fourth Avenue and the continuation of Broadway on the park's south side. The park is maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Adjacent neighborhoods are the Flatiron District to the north, Chelsea to the west, Greenwich Village to the southwest, East Village to the southeast, and Gramercy Park to the east. Many buildings of The New School are near the square, as are several dormitories of New York University. The eastern side of the square is dominated by the four Zeckendorf Towers, and the south side by the full-square-block mixed-use One Union Square South, which contains a wall sculpture and digital clock titled Metronome. Union Square Park also contains an assortment of art, including statues of George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, Abraham Lincoln, and Mahatma Gandhi. Union Square is part of Manhattan Community District 5 and its primary ZIP Code is 10003. It is patrolled by the 13th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. The New York City Subway's 14th Street–Union Square station, served by the 4, ​5, ​6, <6>​, L​, N, ​Q, ​R, and ​W trains, is located under Union Square.

Union Square Drinking Fountain, also known as James Fountain, is an outdoor bronze sculpture and ornamental fountain by sculptor Adolf von Donndorf and architect J. Leonard Corning, located on the west side of Union Square Park in Manhattan, New York City. Cast in 1881 and dedicated on October 25, 1881, it was donated by Daniel Willis James "to promote public health as well as the virtue of charity". The statuary group includes a standing woman holding a baby in her right arm and a young child at her left side. They are set on an octagonal Swedish red granite pedestal with lion head fountains and basins on four of the sides.

George Washington is an outdoor sculpture by Henry Kirke Brown (1814–1886), located in Union Square, Manhattan, in the United States. The bronze equestrian statue was dedicated in 1856 and is the oldest sculpture in the New York City Parks collection.

The 1991 Union Square derailment occurred shortly after midnight on August 28, 1991, when a 4 Lexington Avenue Express train on the New York City Subway's IRT Lexington Avenue Line derailed as it was about to enter 14th Street–Union Square, killing five people. It was the worst accident on the subway system since the 1928 Times Square derailment. The motorman was found at fault for intoxication and excessive speed, and served time in prison for manslaughter.

On August 4, 2023, at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT, internet personality Kai Cenat held a purported giveaway of gaming-related items in Union Square, Manhattan, while not having a permit for the gathering. The event, which drew thousands of participants to Union Square Park, became a riot. Social media posts of the event surfaced around the same time. Cenat was taken into police custody by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) during the riot and was charged with inciting a riot and unlawful assembly. He appeared in court on August 16 and August 18. His business partners at Any Means Possible apologized for the riot. Cenat would also apologize in a livestream on August 9. The incident led to discussion and debate about the influence of internet personalities.

The Coffee Shop was a restaurant and bar located next to Union Square, New York City. Before The Coffee Shop opened, the building was home to a coffee shop and cafe called Chase. The owners of Chase had placed a large neon sign outside the building reading "Coffee Shop" and the new tenant took its name from the sign and left it attached to the building. The restaurant was known for being popular with celebrities and members of New York's fashion scene.In mid-2018, the restaurant's owners announced it would close in October 2018. It is one of several restaurants on Union Square that have closed due to rising rents.

The Decker Building (also the Union Building) is a commercial building located at 33 Union Square West in Manhattan, New York City. The structure was completed in 1892 for the Decker Brothers piano company, and designed by John H. Edelmann. From 1968 to 1973, it served as the location of the artist Andy Warhol's studio, The Factory. The Decker Building was designated a New York City landmark in 1988, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

The Daryl Roth Theatre is an off-Broadway performance space at 101 East 15th Street, at the northeast corner of the intersection with Union Square East, near Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. The theater, opened in 1998, is housed in the four-story Union Square Savings Bank building, which was designed by Henry Bacon and built in 1905–1907. The original structure, a New York City landmark, houses a theater that can accommodate 300 seated or 499 standing patrons. The DR2 Theatre, located in an annex at 103 East 15th Street, seats 99.

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi by Kantilal B. Patel stands in Union Square in Manhattan, New York, United States.