Ladies' Mile Historic District

Coordinates: 40°44′24″N 73°59′31″W / 40.74000°N 73.99194°W / 40.74000; -73.99194
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Ladies' Mile Historic District
(right to left) Hugh O'Neill's, Adams and Ehrich Brothers dry goods emporia
(left to right) Cammeyer, Alexander, Siegel-Cooper Dry Goods and Price buildings

The Ladies' Mile Historic District was a prime shopping district in

Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue).[3] Community groups such as the Drive to Protect the Ladies' Mile District and the Historic Districts Council campaigned heavily for the status.[4][5]

The Ladies' Mile Historic District contains mostly multi-story store and loft buildings. These buildings became common after 1899 when laws prohibited combined home and production areas without a permit, causing people who had previously worked at home to seek commercial spaces; the rise of unions which advocated for better working conditions also contributed to the development.[1]

History

Before becoming a shopping district, this area was residential and included rows of identical brownstone townhouses.

Gorham Silver, Thurn, W. & J. Sloane, Lord & Taylor, and Tiffany & Co.[8][2] The Ladies' Mile also boasted upscale restaurants, booksellers and publishers, and offices and showrooms for piano manufacturers, such as in the Sohmer Piano Building. Performance venues in the district included the Academy of Music and Steinway Hall; the first location of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was there as well.[2]

All of these attractions brought the rich and celebrities to the area, especially since the safety of the district allowed women to shop without male companions to accompany them.

When the district became more commercialized and less elite, many of the well-known residents moved uptown, and the upscale department stores and shops followed them. By the end of World War I, most of the buildings had been converted into warehouses, and lofts for manufacturers, as well as some residences.

, but it closed in 2016.

A major anchor of the district is

Daniel H. Burnham's Flatiron Building, at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street; most of the Ladies' Mile Historic District lies within the Manhattan neighborhood named after that building, the Flatiron District
.

The Ladies' Mile gained the status of Historic District in 1989.[7] This status came after much debate and would not have been possible without the advocacy group The Drive to Protect the Ladies' Mile District. This group was formed by Anthony C. Wood and Jack Taylor.[7] The main opposers to this cause was the Real Estate Board of New York who thought the historic designation would make the lives of property owners too difficult.[7] Margaret Moore and Truman Moore also wrote a book for the cause in 1983 titled End of the Road for Ladies' Mile? Their book contained photographs and essays to share the forgotten history of Ladies' Mile which helped garner support for the cause.[7] This book along with exhibitions and walking tours of Ladies' Mile helped to raise public awareness about the history and significance of Ladies' Mile. Other important influences to the cause was the support of celebrities like Woody Allen, Diana Vreeland, and Joseph Papp.[7]

Notable buildings

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Ladies' Mile Historic District". Trust for Architectural Easements. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ Pearson, Marjorie (ed.) "Ladies' Mile Historic District Designation Report", New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (May 2, 1989)
  4. ^ "Ladies' Mile District Wins Landmark Status", The New York Times (May 7, 1989)
  5. ^ "Ladies' Mile Home Page". The Drive to Protect the Ladies' Mile. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Ladies Mile - Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Ladies' Mile Historic District |". Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  8. ^ Hevesi, Dennis. "When Computer Store Meets Historic District", The New York Times (August 3, 2005)

External links

40°44′24″N 73°59′31″W / 40.74000°N 73.99194°W / 40.74000; -73.99194