Greenwich Street
Former name(s) | Road to Greenwich |
---|---|
Part of | West Village, Hudson Square, Tribeca |
Namesake | Greenwich Village |
Type | Street |
Length | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
Coordinates | 40°43′18.96″N 74°0′35.44″W / 40.7219333°N 74.0098444°W |
north end | Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street |
south end | The Battery |
Construction | |
Construction start | 1790s |
Other | |
Known for | World Trade Center, skyscrapers |
Greenwich Street is a north–south street in the
Main east–west streets crossed include, from north to south,
History
The earliest documentation of Greenwich Street came in the 1790s, when it ran parallel to the Hudson River. At that time it was called 'Road to Greenwich', as it was the only continuous road from Lower Manhattan to Greenwich Village other than Broadway.
By the late 18th century, lower Greenwich Street had become part of one of the most fashionable residential neighborhoods in the city, lined with four-story Federal-style mansions, although upper Greenwich street was home to artisans, shopkeepers and an enclave of free blacks.
In the early 19th century, circus impresario John Bill Ricketts opened his New Amphitheatre on Greenwich streets, designed by Joseph-François Mangin, where sell-out crowds watched his "Equestrian Circus", which featured "clowns, tightrope walkers, tumblers, acrobatic riders, mounted Indians and fireworks."[6] This continued a tradition for the area, as 150 years earlier "Vauxhall Gardens", which boasted a wax museum and fireworks and served afternoon teas, was put up by Samuel Fraunces, of Fraunces Tavern, near the present corner of Greenwich and Warren Streets.[7]
In 1824, painter Thomas Cole, who had arrived in the U.S. in 1818, maintained his residence in a garret on Greenwich Street, exhibiting his paintings in local shops.[8] Poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe lived in a boardinghouse on the street briefly between 1844 and 1845, but did not like the neighborhood, complaining of dirty streets and the noise made by clam-and-catfish vendors.[9]
Also on Greenwich Street in the mid-1800s was one of the many outlets of "Madame Restell" (Ann Lohman), who sold pills for abortion of unwanted pregnancies. The Greenwich Street location doubled as a lying-in facility for women who wanted to bear their child. In 1846, an angry mob, riled up by Restell's competitors and false claims of murder, descended on her Greenwich Street headquarters and attempted to evict her from the city; 40 policemen restored order. Restell, who was wealthy from her business, was arrested a number of times, but was able to buy her way out of trouble, and eventually built a mansion at Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street.[10]
In 1867, engineer Charles T. Harvey managed to get permission from the
At the World Trade Center site, Greenwich Street once ran through a neighborhood called Radio Row, which specialized in selling radio parts. The neighborhood was demolished in 1962, when the area was condemned to make way for the Construction of the World Trade Center.[12] After the World Trade Center was destroyed in the September 11 attacks, the public supported rebuilding a street grid through the World Trade Center site.[13][14][15] It was ultimately decided to rebuild Cortlandt, Fulton, and Greenwich Streets, which had been destroyed during the original World Trade Center's construction.[14]
Etymology
Both Greenwich Street, originally called Greenwich Road,
Transportation
Subway
The
The
The
Bus
The uptown M11 bus operates on Greenwich Street from Bethune Street to Gansevoort Street.[23]
Two buses intersect with, but do not stop on, the street:
- The crosstown M8 bus crosses Greenwich Street in both directions, westbound on Christopher Street and eastbound on West 10th Street.[23]
- The crosstown M21 bus crosses Greenwich Street in both directions, westbound on Houston Street and eastbound on Spring Street.[23]
Notable buildings and establishments
- 443 Greenwich Street
- 408 Greenwich Street
- 388 Greenwich Street
- 240 Greenwich Street
- 125 Greenwich Street
- 88 Greenwich Street
- 7 World Trade Center
- 4 World Trade Center
- 3 World Trade Center
- 2 World Trade Center
- American Stock Exchange Building
- Tribeca Grill
References
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.372
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.456
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.715
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.940
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.1053
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, pp.369; 403-404
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.176
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.469
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, pp.700-01
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, pp.808-810
- ^ Burrows and Wallace, p.832
- ISBN 978-0-8050-7691-2.
- ^ "WTC will be test for urbanism". CNU. September 1, 2002.
- ^ a b Dunlap, David W. (August 1, 2014). "At World Trade Center Site, Rebuilding Recreates Intersection of Long Ago". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-230-34138-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-60354-055-1. (Reprinted by Scholarly Press, 1976; often referred to as WPA Guide to New York City.), p.77
- ISBN 978-0-8232-1275-0., p.55
- ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ "Christopher Street Station". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
- ^ a b "World Trade Center Station - PATH". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
- ^ Yee, Vivian (November 9, 2014). "Out of Dust and Debris, a New Jewel Rises". The New York Times.
- ^ Altamirano, Angy (May 26, 2016). "MTA opens passage connecting Fulton Center to WTC PATH station". Metro New York.
- ^ a b c "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-195-11634-8.
External links
- New York Songlines: Ninth Avenue with Greenwich Street, a virtual walking tour