344: The Cheyney apartments
340: James N. Wells' Sons Real Estate Co.,
founded 1819 by the builder of much of Chelsea.
338: , a nonprofit collective. Was John Stevenson Gallery, art photography.
332: Leo House, a Catholic residence
for women founded in 1889; building dates to 1926.
322-324: Condos originally built, oddly
enough, for the American Jersey Cattle Club.
312-320: Louis P includes
Patsy's Pizzeria, founded 1933. No. 314 was the
site of a drugstore where on February 8, 1932, mobster
was rubbed out by Dutch Schultz's
Coll had accidentally killed a child during
a shoot-out, bringing unwanted attention to
300 (corner): This 1928 Art Deco building, by architect
, was supposed to be a hotel, but the
project went bankrupt.
Restored with its original
deco fixtures.
WEST23RDSTREET
From 23rd to 29th streets between 8th and 9th
avenues is Penn Station South, 1962 housing co-op built by ILGWU.
333: Chelsea West Cinema was the home of the
, 1974-84.
313: This was the address
of the mansion of financier Jim Fisk. (See below.)
315: The Broadmoor apartments used
to be the Cornish Arms Hotel, where the wrap party
for The Godfather was held. The ground
floor is Dagostino 23rd Street Market.
Corner: F originally Pike's Opera House (1868), bought
soon after by financiers
Jay Gould and ,
partly as showcase for Fisk's mistress, Josie Mansfield, partly
as offices for Gould and Fisk's Erie Railway. During 1869
"Black Friday" panic--caused by Fisk and Gould's attempts
to corner gold--Fisk
allegedly hid in Opera-House vaults. Fisk was shot in 1872
by Edward Stokes, a rival for Mansfield'
his funeral was held at the Opera-House.
George M. Cohan
Fred Astaire practiced dancing. Converted
to a cinema in 1917; demolished 1960. There's a branch
of the local Dallas BBQ chain here now.
8TH AVENUE
This intersection is the approximate location of "Chelsea" (1750-77), Captain Thomas Clarke's estate that
gave its name to the neighborhood. Clarke, Clement Clarke Moore's grandfather, named the house he
intended to retire to after London's old soldiers' home.
264: Was Burritoville, local Mexican chain
was built 1989 as one of the first "modern" cinemas in M
sold by Cineplex Odeon to Cablevision in 1998 for
antitrust reasons. My future wife and I saw our first movie
together here.
256: Was the address of Cavanagh's
Restaurant (), hangout for
, John L. Sullivan and Tammany Hall pols.
After the restaurant
closed, it housed
(1972-76), a gay disco closed by the police,
a venue for such musicians as Nico, John Cale,
Sun Ra and the Lounge Lizards,
and an inspiration to filmmaker Jonathan Demme.
254: East of Eighth, gay-friendly bar and restaurant.
I ate here with one of my favorite people the first
time we met.
250: Emigrant Savings Bank was built in
1948 as Broadway Savings Bank.
248: Was Healthy Chelsea, longstanding health food store.
242: Fourth Federal Savings building features
scary animal faces.
236-38: Congregation Emunath Israel (since 1920)
was Third Reformed Prebyterian Church (1855).
228: Was Manhattan Comics & Card
226: El Quijote, the Chelsea's bar
and restaurant since 1930.
A Janis Joplin hangout.
222: Built in 1883, it was New York's tallest building until 1902. A
hotel noted for writers, artists, musicians. , , , ,
(who reportedly slept here in a coffin),
, etc. Art from many tenants hangs on walls,
usually offered in lieu of rent.
wrote Look Homeward Angel
wrote Naked Lunch;
wrote 2001 (#1008);
wrote "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" (# 2011);
(#424) wrote
Hotel No. 2" about it.
filmed Chelsea Girls.
Some of Nine 1/2 Weeks was shot here, as was
the avant-porn movie Stunt Girl.
killed Nancy
Spungen in Room 100 in 1978.
I was taken here
once after a very s on another occasion, I
met a delightful kitten at a costume party here.
Serena, styley and pricey bar in the
Chelsea's basement, has hard-to-spot entrance.
220: Chelsea Guitars has fancy vintage models
218: Capital Bait and Tackle, since 1897
208: Carteret building houses Righteous Urban Barbecue,
where they're serious about barbecue. Used to
have Twirl, 1980s-inflected dance club.
Jake's Saloon was The Basil, Thai restaurant,
which replaced
The Nouvelle Justine, aka Maison de Sade, an S/M-themed
restaurant. Before that
(in the early 1990s) it was the Zig Zag, which
had a cool neon sign (and was an early date spot for my wife and me).
Upstairs (when it was the Oasis Bar)
was once Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe's loft.
202 (corner): Chelsea Savoy hotel is notably ugly.
WEST23RDSTREET
271: Trailer Park, ironic restaurant/bar
269: F-B, European street food--meaning
interesting hot dogs, mainly.
267: Was Mother's, a one-time gay bar that was an
early punk venue from 1974-75--Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads,
Television, Heartbreakers etc. played there.
265: Krispy Kreme doughnuts, good if you stop at two.
Miranda goes off her diet here on Sex
and the City.
263: Was , collectors' haven for garage
and psychedelic music--now an Internet store.
241: Noted undertaker Frank E.
Campbell opened his first facility, called the
Funeral Church, here in 1898.
national HQ; used to house Unity, the
official CP bookstore. Was the site of
Kalem silent film studios.
215: Oldest Y in NYC (from 1869); moved to this
location 1904, supplanting the French Branch, a Y for the local
French-speaking population. Moved in 2002 to 14th Street,
when this building was converted to condos.
Named for Robert Ross McBurney, an early leader of the Y movement.
Merrill met Lynch in the swimming
pool in 1913; other members have included Edward Albee, Andy
Warhol and Al Pacino.
stayed here
when he came to NY in 1928, as did Keith Haring 50 years later.
inspired the Village People's "YMCA." The steamroom scene in
The Godfather was shot here.
209: , NY Public L named for pastor of the
Church of the Holy Communion
(later the Limelight disco), who donated his books
to the Free Circulating Library, which became
part of the NYPL. Built 1906 with funds from Andrew Carnegie.
7TH AVENUE
170: The hip-hop star Foxy Brown was
charged with assaulting a worker at Bloomie Nails
in 2002 for not giving her the pedicure she ordered.
used to be Godzilla Sushi--trademark problems.
The site used to be the headquarters of the
King's Daughters and Sons, an organization for the spiritual uplift of
tenement dwellers.
148-156: Chelsea Mews, Gothic-Revival
commercial bldg converted to condos.
140: Was the New York Institute for
Artist-Artisans, an artists' trade school founded 1889.
118-122: The gables make this 1988 apartment
building an early example of Post- Modernism. Used to be a
nice restaurant here called The Milan Cafe.
102-116: Was side entrance to Erich's
department store, now
side entrance to Burlington Coat F in
both cases, the main entrance was on 6th Avenue.
100 (corner): Your Taste upscale deli building
was Riker's Drug S rejected
buy-out from Ehrich's, which wanted the whole
end of the block. Originally built as a jeweler's.
WEST23RDSTREET
171 (corner): Chelsea Papaya--tasty
hot dogs and frothy tropical fruit drinks, ala Gray's Papaya.
167: Landmark Wine & Spirits. This
1898 building was a ''landmark'' in the sense
that it had a neat meta next
door at No. 169 also had an interesting
The decorations were removed about
1990, so the liquor store sort of has a misnomer.
165: Allen Office Furniture. Author
lived on top floor of this brownstone (1895-96),
as did painter
from 1904-11; the view is featured in
many of Sloan's paintings.
163: Malibu Diner is in the Traffic
Building; early modernist building, built for
a 1920s cafeteria, with "virtuoso brickwork"
(AIA Guide).
161: Suede, formerly the gay Blu
159: Francisco's Centro Vasco, touted for lobster
Associated Blind Housing
, federally subsidized housing for
the seeing-impaired, opened in 1980. Built
on the site of Proctor's 23rd Street Music Hall
(1888), a vaudeville showcase featuring ,
et al. Made the song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De
Ay" famous.
131: ; New School Culinary Arts.
St. Vincent De Paul
129: Founded in
1841 Catholic services in English and French.
remarried here in 1962.
123: Peter's Place, senior service center
119: Albert Building is the site of , perhaps the best (and nicest)
Macintosh repair shop in the U.S. Also houses the
Flatiron Playhouse on the 3rd floor.
117: The site of the Phil Kearny post
of the Grand Army of the Republic, one of the most prominent
posts of the powerful Civil War vets organization.
101 (corner): Citibank building was
site of Koster & Bial's Concert Hall (),
popular vaudeville house featuring Victor
Herbert's orchestra. In 1890, Italian sailor
Giovanni Succi set a world record by fasting
here for 45 days.
Earlier was the site of Bryant's Opera House (1870).
It's now the (mailing) address of Lucas Entertainment, which
Time Out calls "one of the biggest gay adult-film
businesses in the world."
F train to
This is the station where the pro- tagonist
unwit- tingly boards the Midnight Meat Train in
the Clive Barker short story of the same name.
6TH AVENUE
The Caroline
60 (corner): Commercial/ residential building completed 2002.
On the site of the Edwin Booth Theater
(), run by and featuring New York's
most prominent Shakespearean actor--brother
of John Wilkes Booth. Sarah Bernhardt made her New York
debut here in 1880.
In the basement was
Ivan Siscovitch's saloon, said to be
the "headquarters for all the noted forgers
in America." Later James W. McCreery
(), "Dean of the Retail Trade." Demolished
1975; see an
image of the old building .
60 was also the address () of Best & Co., a children's clothing
store known as "The Lilliputian Bazaar"; it was slightly east
of the corner.
58: Site of Bonwit & Teller's second store (); fine women's clothing.
54: This was the second location of
and the first to try out its successful formula
as a woman-oriented tea room.
52: Once the address of the American Water-Color Society.
50: Reminiscence,
Straight From the Crate was
Woodwind & Brasswind.
From , this was LeBoutillier Bros.;
from 1854-83, the site
of Calvary Baptist Church, now on .
Stern Brothers
38-46: This was Stern Brothers Department Store,
a company founded in 1867 by Isaac, Louis and Bernard
Stern. It moved from 22nd to 23rd Street in 1978, and
this massive cast-iron expansion was built in 1892. It
was New York City's largest store until Siegel-Cooper
opened up in 1896. The store had top-hatted doormen,
but took pride in offering
goods priced for all classes. Stern's closed its
flagship store in 1970, but "SB" can still be seen
the facade is well-preserved, save for a defacing
modernization in the upper left corner.
Now Manhattan's first Home Depot.
32-36: The building with the large
pillars in front was apparently the original part of
Stern's, built in 1878 to a Henry Fernbach design.
Later toymaker Hasbro HQ, and also used for the toy company's
exterior in Tom Hanks' Big.
26: Jennifer Leather, sofas
24: Medici shoes
22: Mangia cafe is at the address of the Quill Club,
a club formed in 1890 for "the promotion of fellowship and
interchange of views on questions in the domains
of religion, morals, philosophy and sociology."
20: Shoegasm on 23rd Street; Murphy
Bed Center, fold-down beds for
all your screwball comedy needs. The top three stories illustrate
what the whole block used to look like.
funky local cosmetics chain
16: Lenny's sandwiches
Edith Wharton birthplace
was born here January 24, 1862, in what was then an Anglo-Italianate
has been redesigned at least three times since,
once by . Recently Scott's Fifth Avenue Florist,
noted for its now
a corporate coffee outlet.
12: This building, housing AnnSam@Chelsea, was the home of
, former vice president of
the New York Stock Exchange, president
of the synagogue Shearith Israel, and
uncle of former Supreme Court Justice
Benjamin Nathan Cardozo. Nathan's
murder here on the night of July 28, 1870
is an enduring New York mystery.
Western Union Building
Corner (186 5th Ave): Built 1883 in Queen Anne style
(Henry Hardenbergh, arch.). Sent messages via
pneumatic tube
two and a half miles to the downtown office.
Note "W.U. 1883" near peak. Houses Luz's Shoe Repair,
J'adore French bakery.
WEST23RDSTREET
F train to
71 (corner): Chase bank is ground floor
of this 1913 building, built on the site of
a 1875 Masonic Hall. New York Masons include John
Jacob Astor, Theodore Roosevelt, Fiorello
LaGuardia and Harry Houdini. Vanguard Recording Studios
was located here,
where Kiss recorded part of their album
69: Limerick House, pleasant Irish bar/restaurant.
My wife once met Steven Sondheim here.
67: Four Seasons, which are apparently bagel,
coffee, sandwich and salad.
61-65: Was Robert J. Horner's
Furniture (); later Villeroy and Boch,
china and glass. Now houses Manor House Cellar
wines and spirits, Unlimited Jeans and Rickshaw noodles.
53: PC Richards electronics (formerly Arcade America clothing)
is on the site of the Eden Musee (), which
featured "the usual retinue of freaks,
midgets, fire eaters, sword swallowers, waxworks,
a Chamber of Horrors, and 'Ajeeb, the Chess
Mystery,'...a hollow figurine inhabited by a child
dwarf" (Low Life). So popular it had its
own streetcar stop.
43-47: Castro Building, an elegant 1894 design
by , was Flint Furniture Co., which
merged with Horner's. Later Castro Convertibles, then Moda Furniture.
51: Sleepy's mattress outlet
39-41: Parking lot was F.A.O. Schwartz toys.
35-37: Originally D.S. Hess furniture
(1879); later Villeroy and Boch china, then F.A.O Schwartz toys (before
moving next door). Now Louis & Sons, selling furniture
27-33: Main building of a far-flung professional
school founded in 1971 and named for an 18th Century
Jewish philanthropic family. Duggal Visual Solutions,
high-tech photo lab, is on the ground floor.
25: Was the Comfort Diner, 1950s retro
23: Gothic Cabinet Craft, local furniture chain
19: Noir et Blanc...bis, clothing
International Toy Center
Corner (200 5th Ave): Since 1925 the center of the U.S. toy
note toy and holiday displays. Replaced the
Fifth Avenue Hotel (), once the
most exclusive hotel in NYC. Cornelius Vanderbilt
and his cronies would trade stocks here after
hours. Setting of Gore Vidal's 1876. Earlier it
was Franconi's Hippodrome (1852-59); before
that it was Corporal
Thompson's Madison Cottage, a roadhouse described by the
New York Herald as "one of the most agreeable spots for an
afternoon's lounge in the suburbs of our city."
5TH AVENUE
The nation's first civil rights march, organized
by the NAACP on July 28, 1917, took 10,000
African-Americans, led by 300 children dressed in white,
down 5th Avenue from 59th Street to 23rd Street
to protest recent anti-black riots.
Built in 1903 as the Fuller Building, its
unusual and striking shape (designed by
Daniel Burhnam to match its triangular lot) quickly earned
it its lasting nickname. It is not
true that is New York's first skyscraper--
just one of its most memorable. A traditional publishing
center, it's still home to
. In 1910s, it housed
the offices of the Socialist
Labor Party,
ancestor of most U.S. left parties. It features
in the movie Spider- Man as the Daily Bugle building,
and Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak are teleported
here in Bell, Book and Candle.
The phrase "23 Skidoo" supposedly originated
with a police officer chasing off loiterers
at the 23rd Street corner hoping to catch a
glimpse of stocking under a skirt blown up by the
freakish Flatiron winds.
EAST23RDST
Madison Green
6 (corner):
Very large luxury condo building was built on site of the Wonder Drugs Fire
of October 17, 1966, which killed 12
firefighters--the worst disaster in FDNY history until the World Trade Center attacks. An earlier fire
(January 5, 1952) at No. 2, which
was then the corner address, destroyed the studio (and much of the work) of sculptor
10: When the band
got together in 1972, they rehearsed
here in a fourth-floor loft. Now houses
Cosmic Comics, which has a strong back-issue
selection.
14: Live Bait, popular bayou-themed singles' bar
18: , new-wave vegan
named for .
Was Trattoria Bella Donna.
One Madison Park
20: Was Aperture Book Center,
photography bookstore run by a
founded by Ansel Adams and other photography greats.
The building was torn down in 2007, and was replaced
by a 50-story modular skyscraper once called , but now going
by the pseudo-address of
One Madison Park. This building used
to bug me, but I now think it does a great
deal to reconcile the old and new architecture
around Madison Square.
28: Chetty Red has been a bar with many names,
including True, Vanity, Mantra, Sci Bar,
X Bar and Buck Wild.
34: JAS Mart, Asian products
for Japanese expatriates, is a cross-cultural
experience. Upstairs is ,
featuring four-time kickboxing world champion
Charlie "The Cream" Cassis. Sport of the future!
36: The Studio Building is home to
, New York real estate magazine.
Used to house Cosmic Comics.
38: Mozzerelli's, Italian chain, was
Shoe Outlet, notable for having
half a car in its window.
40: . Used to house Everything $10
and Up, which seemed an odd promise for a store.
42: Was Chicken Kitchen
Corner (304 PAS): The Kenny Building's first 11 stories
were completed in 1904, an Italian Renaissance design
Clinton & Russell. A penthouse--a single studio the
height of two stories--was added in 1916 for artist
Jules Guerin, who painted murals for the Lincoln Memorial
here. An adjacent penthouse was added in 1925 by the building's
then-owner Bill Kenny for his friend, Gov. Al Smith,
to use as a political clubhouse. Known as the
(for the "Tammany Tigers"), it was decorated
in tiger skins and featured the likes of Al Jolson and Will Rogers
as entertainment.
The modeling firm , which represents the likes of Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen,
now has penthouse offices here.
EAST23RDSTREET
Madison Square Park
The area was named Madison Square 1814, during
Madison's presidency, though Madison Square
Park was opened in 1847; the current layout dates to 1870.
It was the center of NY society in the 1860s.
The park features in O. Henry
short stories ("Cop and the Anthem," "Madison Square Arabian Night"). Author Herman
Melville used to walk here regularly with
his granddaughter.
(1801-72);
an early abolitionist who became NY governor
(1838-42) and a U.S. senator (1848-61), he served as secretary of state under Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. He's most
remembered for paying Russia $7 million for Alaska in 1867.
Making the statue in 1876, sculptor
re-used cast of Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation for
Seward was actually
short with a large head.
The Star of Hope was erected in 1916 to commemorate
the site of the first U.S. community Christmas tree, put up
here in 1912.
Roscoe Conkling statue
A U.S. senator and Republican machine boss who fell victim to the Great
Blizzard of 1888. This bronze was done of him in 1893 by John Quincy Adams Ward.
A hot dog stand run by Danny Meyer, the
owner of Tabla and Eleven Madison, two great
(and greatly expensive) restaurants nearby.
MADISON AVENUE
Corner (1 Madison): A 1957 redesign
stripped most of the ornamentation from Met
Life's 1893 Home Office Building (1893).
The tower, a 1909 Napoleon LeBrun & Sons
design, was the world's tallest building
for four years (until the Woolworth Tower).
Corner: Former site of the National
Academy of Design (1865-99).
PARK AVENUE SOUTH
On September 15, 1776, Hessians captured 300 Revolutionary soldiers here during the
Corner (295 PAS): Park 23, 17-story apartment
building constructed 1900. Note that corners read "East 23rd
Street/Fourth Avenue," reflecting the avenue's old name.
On the 23rd Street side, No. 104 is Gramercy Wine &
Spirits, and No. 106 is Cohen Fashion Opticals--
I used to be a customer, until they took
two months to replace a lost contact.
110: Organique, organic burgers and sandwiches
112: Papou's Pizza
120: Time Warner Cable of NYC HQ; HBO Studios.
132 (corner): Beach Bum Tanning
EAST23RDSTREET
Corner (303 Park Ave):
lived and taught dance in
this building (1914-15), which she called
The Dionysian. Houses Pax Wholesome Foods,
New York Sports Club, Golden Krust Jamaican fast food, InVite Health.
115: Was Associated Artists
117: Site of the Building-Trades' Club, a
clubhouse for construction employers.
121: , soft- Extreme Pita
123: Little Folks, children's bargains
125: Mark Cafe
127: Opened in 1937 (as the Gramercy Park),
this cinema went from first-run to second-run
to revival house, and served as the home
of the Roundabout Theater Company and for
MOMA's film series during renovations. Now
a concert venue known as the Blender Theater at
Gramercy. The hall of the American Society of Civil
Engineers, founded 1852, was here--not clear
if it's the same building.
131 (corner): Twelve-story building from 1912
converted to apartments in 1996.
LEXINGTON AVENUE
Corner (17 Lexington): CUNY's business school.
On this site was the Free Academy, a boys' high school,
in an 1849 Gothic building by
This became the College of the City of New York,
which moved in 1907, leaving its business school
this became Baruch in 1953, named for financier
and presidential advisor , CCNY class of 1889.
The Renwick building was torn down in
1928 and replaced in 1930 with the current
16-story structure by Thompson, Holmes & Converse.
150-152: Vercesi Hardware, est. 1912
154: Xavier Center for the Blind
156: Eagle Master Signs & Awards
Grand Saloon
158: This building dates to 1843; in 1880 it
was the St. Blaize Hotel & Restaurant, a
celebrated brothel frequented by
. In 1911 it became Klube's
Steak H that name is still visible on the copper facade.
It was a speakeasy during Prohibition.
160: Kanter Press Printers & Stationers
162 (corner): Five-story Greek revival
EAST23RDSTREET
George Washington Hotel
Corner: Built 1928; writers
stayed in 1939. Auden called it
"much the nicest hotel in town." Dee Dee Ramone lived
here c. 1991, when it was much less nice. Entrance is on Lexington.
137: Shakespeare & Co. on the ground
floor of George Washington Hotel.
139: , pawnbrokers since 1893
Kenmore Hall
145: Was the Hotel Kenmore in 1928; writer
was night manager (1927-29); allowed
friends like , ,
free room and meals.
finished The
Maltese Falcon here. Hotel was seized by government
as drug den, 1994; now Kenmore Hall, subsidized housing.
Hidden City Cafe and Olive Leaf are on the ground floor.
An earlier building (at 143-147) housed Art Students League (1887-92), taught by artists like
lived in that building (1893-95), writing The Red Badge of Courage.
' novel The
Coast of Bohemia was set here.
149: Madison Square Post Office (10010) is an
art deco landmark. The bronze frieze on the facade is
called Communication,
a 1937 New Deal work by Edmond R. Amateis and Louis S
by Kindred McLeary depict
Manhattan neighborhoods.
155: Building with striking three-story
arches has
on ground floor.
Suite 405 was the laboratory of Dr. Josef Gregor, who in 1981 claimed to have created , a
cockroach extract that would cure arthritis, acne,
menstrual cramps and enable people to survive
high doses of radiation. Gregor
turned out to be hoaxter Joey Skaggs.
Corner: A line of old buildings
was taken out for the new building here--, intended to be a
luxury condo for Irish investors but sold
instead to NYU for use as a dorm at the last minute.
Students have complained that it's too luxurious.
3RD AVENUE
200 (corner): NY Gourmet D
Tanning Z Professional Tae Kwon Do
204:Firefighter Dan DeFranco Building
houses the International Association of F
DeFranco (1934-96) was a firefighter and union rep
who promoted health and safety issues. Manhattan
Carpets on ground floor.
210: Viang Ping T upstairs was
Acquiesce, a sex club mainly
populated by single straight men that was
closed down in 2001.
212: Salvation Army Thrift Shop
222: City Opera Thrift Shop
of the NY Public L founded 1887
by NY Catholic Archdiocese, and named for
Epiphany church and school nearby on E 22nd.
Current building 1907, funded by Carnegie.
238: 99-Cent Plus Discount Store, part of
a row of old 19th Century rowhouses
246: Exclusive Video DVD (replacing B&R Uniforms Center)
is below the former
fourth-floor apartment of model ,
who was stabbed to death here on June 18, 1982. Police
believed the killer was Canadian TV anchor Alain Montpetit
(who died of a cocaine overdose in 1986),
though he was never charged.
Corner (395 2nd Ave): Cosmos Diner, since 1978
EAST23RDSTREET
205: A building formerly at this address was
the New York College of Dentistry, founded 1829.
209: founded 1947 as the Cartoonists & Illustrators School. Many prominent artists have
taught here, including designer
, creator of the "I Heart NY" logo.
was an SVA drop-out.
217: Monkey Bar Lounge, SVA student
219: Nicely detailed brick
note dragons at top. Umi No Aji
(Japanese); La Tina's Comida Latina.
221: The same building as 219.
Kool Bloo Burgers; Jess Bakery has bubble tea.
School for the Deaf
225 (corner): Junior High School 47.
Old part of building dates to 1926. This was the
original site of Stuyvesant High School,
founded here in 1904 as a vocational school for
it moved to
2ND AVENUE
Corner (398 1st Avenue): The site of the
, whose congregation moved to
. Used to bear the inspiring
verse: "My house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples."
Torn down, 2008.
304-316: The Foundry (1905), condos.
On ground floor are Furry Paws pet supplies,
B&R Uniforms Center (nurses', maids', etc.).
320: Sixteen awful stories of white brick,
built 1965
338: In 1920, this was the address of the Olive Tree Inn.
340: Gramercy Starck
346: O'Donnell's Bar here
was torn down for the Gramercy Starck.
352 (corner): Post Luminaria,
Mondrian-inspired apartment tower (2002).
East Side Cafe on ground floor.
EAST23RDST
East Midtown Plaza Apartments
The AIA Guide is very impressed with this
1972-74 apartment complex. Associated Supermarket,
Corbet & Conley Caterers, Pastrami & Things on
ground floor.
1ST AVENUE
Peter Cooper Village
420-440: Built in the late 1940s by Met Life
Insurance Co. a now
being converted to luxury condos. Built on the site
of the notorious Gashouse District, where fumes from
chemical plants
kept out all but the poorest immigrants.
Terrorized
by the Gashouse Gang.
Peter Cooper was a 19th Century industrialist
who ran the first U.S. railroad (the Tom Thumb),
helped lay the trans-Atlantic telegraph cable and
invented jello. He founded Cooper Union, a school
of art, engineering and architecture where tuition
has always been free.
EAST23RDSTREET
Corner (400 1st Ave): District 75/Citywide P
provides instructional support for students
with special needs throughout New York's public school system.
VA Hospital
(423 E 23rd): Technically, this is the
Manhattan's main hospital for veterans.
ASSER LEVY PLACE
This used to be part of .
Asser Levy Park
Asser Levy was an early Jewish immigrant, a
kosher butcher, who won an important victory for
religious tolerance in 1655 when
he successfully appealed Peter Stuyvesant's
ban on Jews in the New Amsterdam militia.
He also won, against Stuyvesant's opposition,
the right to trade and to practice his profession.
After the colony became New York, Levy was
the first Jew to serve on a jury in North
Asser Levy Recreation Center
Originally the East 23rd Street Bath,
built in 1908 to a design by Arnold W. Brunner
and William Martin Aiken.
Joyce Mendelsohn calls it a "magnificent
Beaux-Arts building." Features year-round
indoor swimming.
Believe it or not, there is a small beach
here, where the group
sponsors day and night swims in the
East River.
EAST RIVER
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If you enjoy the New York Songlines, please link to them from your website. A link to a particular intersection looks like this: .
NYSonglines' .}