While Washington Square Park is an integral part of the university, its history stretches far beyond NYU. For decades, the park has been a brewing ground for creative and social change; Jean-Michel Basquiat used to sleep on the park benches before he met Andy Warhol, and after the 1969 Stonewall uprising, it became a congregation point for what was then known as the Gay Liberation Movement. The next world-famous influencer is probably in the park filming man-on-the-street interviews, as are the creators you already see in your feed.