The corner of Baxter and Worth Streets behind government buildings seems like an ordinary intersection, but on closer inspection one might notice the street sign also says âFive Pointsâ. In the 19th century, this intersection was the center of the notorious neighborhood called Five Points, popularized in the film Gangs of New York. It got…
Stone Street in the Financial District of Manhattan is a lively little block, filled with outdoor tables of the bars and restaurants that line it. It received its name because it was the first street paved in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. The Dutch called it Hoogh Streat (High Street) because it was a…
Peter Minuit was the third director of the colony of New Amsterdam, which later became known as New York. He is most famously known for the 1626 purchase of the island of Manhattan for $24 in beads, at least that was the story in schoolbooks. But did it actually happen? The Dutch West India Company…
In the trendy neighborhood of NOLITA (North of Little Italy) a stylish clothing boutique with a glass storefront resides at 247 Mulberry Street. If you had come here 40 years ago, you would have seen a brick wall with a simple white door and two small windows. This unassuming façade hid the Ravenite Social Club,…
In the Northwest corner of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village stands an English Elm tree that is much taller than the trees around it. At over 300 years old, the Parks Department has declared it to be the oldest tree in Manhattan. It is known as “The Hanging Tree” or “Hangman’s Elm” although no…
In February 1963, Bob Dylan was about to release his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. He was living at the time in a studio apartment at 161 West 4th Street near the corner of Jones Street. Columbia Records sent staff photographer Don Hunstein to shoot the cover. Dylan’s girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo…
On the corner of MacDougal Street and Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village is CafĂ© Wha?, one of the most important clubs in rock history. It was opened in 1959 by Manny Roth in a former basement stable and became the launching ground for many rock legends. Among others to play here were Peter, Paul &…
On the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 10th Street sits one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, now called The Jefferson Market Library. It looks like a church or castle, but it was originally a courthouse built in 1877 as part of a complex that also included a jail and market. Designed…
The 1942 painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, which depicts four people in a small triangular restaurant late at night, is one of the most iconic American works of art. Hopper was a realist known for his paintings of scenes around New York City. So where exactly is this restaurant in Nighthawks? Hopper has been quoted…
Near the entrance of the apartment building at Two Fifth Avenue there is a small plaque which reads: A BROOK WINDS ITS ERRATIC WAY BENEATH THIS SITETHE INDIANS CALLED IT MANETTE OR DEVIL’S WATERTO THE DUTCH SETTLERS IT WASBESTEVAER’S KILLETJE OR GRANDFATHER’S LITTLE CREEKFOR THE PAST TWO CENTURIES FAMILIAR TO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD ASMINETTA BROOK A…
Patchin Place is a little dead end street in Greenwich Village across from the Jefferson Market Library off West 10th Street. The buildings on it were originally built in 1848 to house lower-class hotel workers. In the early 20th century, it became a home for bohemian writers in the growing artistic community of the neighborhood….
Staple Street is a narrow lane, only two blocks long, bordered by old brick buildings in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca. It’s charming enough on its own, but what makes it especially Instagram worthy is the skybridge connecting two buildings across the street. The building on the west side was constructed in 1893 for…
When passing the corner of 7th Avenue and Christopher Street, one might be drawn to a vintage-looking shop named Village Cigars. Indeed, it is a picturesque little shop with signage unchanged since the 1920s. But upon closer inspection there is a small mosaic triangle in front of it with the words “Property of the Hess…
One of the most iconic images of New York City is a suspension tower of the Manhattan Bridge framed by the old factory buildings in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn. The Bridge was completed in 1909 and was the third bridge over the East River connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn after the Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges….
Walking down West 11th Street near 6th Avenue, one may notice a small triangular cemetery which seems out of place surrounded by apartment buildings. How did this little cemetery come to be here? As a sign on the wall of the cemetery explains this is the Second Cemetery of Shearith Israel, which was and still…
Just north of Washington Square Park between Fifth Avenue and University Place is one of the most charming streets in the city, Washington Mews. It seems out of time from the busy streets around it with little “houses” on a cobble stone lane. The buildings on it were originally stables for horses and carriages in…
