Hell's Kitchen refers to the area between 34th Street and 59th Street from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River. The neighborhood has been home to gangs and violence in the past but has transformed into a lively area frequented by actors and some of NYC's best bars. Irish immigrants settled in Hell's Kitchen in the mid-19th Century, falling victim of the Great Famine in their home country. These immigrants found work on the docks and railroads, but soon overpopulated this "land of opportunity" and the increasing poverty led to gang formation. It was around this time that the neighborhood was coined the name "Hell's Kitchen" even though it's exact origins are not known. Some claim Davey Crockett started the term when he used it to describe the Five Points slum, while others claim the name is traced back to particular tenements in the area. One thing is for certain, it did not have a positive connotation. Gangs were on the rise through the next several few decades, with increased violence during Prohibition and the arrival of Puerto Rican immigrants in the 1950s. The hostility among the Puerto Rican, Irish, and Italian immigrants in the area is highlighted in the film West Side Story. The Irish-American gang, the Westies, who had violent tendencies and ties with the Gambino family, controlled Hell's Kitchen from the mid-1960's through the 1980's. In 1986, convictions under the Rackateer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act haltered the gang activity in Hell's Kitchen, and by the early 1990's, the neighborhood was in full swing of a gentrification. With the prominent Midtown as its neighbor, Hell's Kitchen started to become more elite as Midtown continued to prosper. Young professionals and actors moved into this area and continue to enjoy the close proximity to the business district and Broadway theaters alike. Some celebrities that have lived in Hell's Kitchen include Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stalone, Jerry Seinfeld, Madonna, and Alicia Keys. Despite the increasing prominence of the neighborhood, we will never forget the famous gangsters like Owney Madden and James Coonan that dominated Hell's Kitchen before all that. The municipality, gentrifies, and real estate agents tend to refer to the area as "Clinton" to erase the reputation of the neighborhood's past, but Hell's Kitchen will always be Hell's Kitchen.To get a more in-depth and interactive history of Hell's Kitchen as well as enjoy a few beers at historic bars in the area, check out the Hell's Kitchen Pub Crawl offered Wednesdays at 7:30 pm.
Despite being only one square mile in area, the Garment District of Manhattan still has a significant impact on the fashion industry and global business. The neighborhood is marked by the Javits Convention Center at the extreme west, the New York General Post Office, Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden in the center, and the Empire State Building in the east. With over $14 Billion in annual sales, New York is the fashion capital of the United States with 1/3 of clothing manufactured in the U.S. being designed and produced in this neighborhood alone. Conferences, expositions, Fashion Week, and tourism all contribute to this outrageous statistic.
The growth of the Garment Industry dates back to the 1800's where there was a transition of people making their own clothes to having them tailor-made. Factors that contributed to this transition include the efficiency of having clothes produced for slaves instead of by them, the invention of the sewing machine, the need for uniforms during the Civil War, and the arrival of immigrants with relevant business experience and skills. By 1880 New York produced more garments than its four closest urban competitors combined and in 1910, 70% of the nation's Women's clothing and 40% of the Men's was produced in the City. By the 1920's the United Hebrew Trades union hired Jewish and Italian Gangsters such as Lepke Buchalter as union enforcers, but got more than they bargained for. They used unions to demand payments from factory owners and threatened strikes while dipping into union bank accounts. This control transformed into a protection racket, expanding into such areas as bakery trucking. Shortly after Lepke Buchalter's death by the electric chair, Carlo Gambino turned the mob-influenced industry into an all out organized crime cartel. Life for the mob trucker couldn't get better through the early 90's, but everyone else was suffering.
From the mid-1950s until 1992, the garment business shrank 75 percent, and cost New York 225,000 jobs. Manufacturing has declined tremendously in New York City over the past two decades because of numerous factors such as lower outsourcing costs and excessive rents. Many of the showrooms and factories are being transformed into retail stores and condo apartments as we speak. Some of the industry's most famous designers, promising entrepreneurs, and fashion makers reside their business here including Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Liz Clairborne, and Nicole Miller. The Garment industry still remains the fashion capital for designers, couture houses and showrooms despite the decline of manufacturing.
16th Century:The site of Greenwich Village was inhabited by Native Americans during this time. The Village was merely a marshland named Sapokanican, used for camping and fishing.
17th and 18th Century:By the early 1600's, Dutch settlers had cleared pastures and planted crops in this area, which they called Noortwyck. After the English conquest of New Amsterdam in 1664, the settlement became a country hamlet, first referred to Grin’wich in 1713 Common Council records. Greenwich Village survived the American Revolution as a pastoral suburb and in the 1780s the city bought a parcel of eight acres for use as a potter’s field and public gallows, at what is now Washington Square Park.
19th Century: Outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera caused flocks of people to flee north which contributed to a time of seclusion of the area. From 1820 a more affluent residential development emerged to the east near Broadway and Washington Square Park, at the foot of Fifth Avenue. Religious denominations commissioned buildings with elaborate decorative schemes, New York University grew on the east side of Washington Square beginning in 1836, and the neighborhood soon became the site of art clubs, , literary salons, fine hotels, and theaters. The character of the neighborhood changed markedly at the close of the century when German, Irish, and Italian immigrants found work in industries in the area.
20th Century: By the start of World War I it was widely known as a bohemian enclave with secluded side streets, low rents, and a tolerance for radicalism and nonconformity. Artists and writers received more attention for their innovative work and decrepit row houses were remodeled into “artistic flats.” The Village had become a center for the “beat movement” by the 1950s, with galleries, coffee houses, and street front theaters. During the 1960s a homosexual community formed around Christopher Street and was the site of the Stonewall Rebellion, regarded as the beginning of the movement for gay and lesbian rights. In the 1940s, urban renewal efforts on Washington Square South had altered the physical character of the neighborhood by demolishing many 19th century structures, but local resentment inspired a preservation movement.
Recent Years: The extension of the Greenwich Village Historic District and the creation of the Weehawken Street Historic District in 2006 were the results of the goal to preserve the waterfront. These recent landmarking victories were successful because of the Greenwich Village Society of Historic Preservation. The Society continues to work in close connection with the community to uphold the goals and protect the undesignated neighborhoods. Tourists and locals flock to the Village to live the history of the neighborhood and enjoy the artsy feel. Coffee shops, restaurants, and bars are always packed in this area mostly by a younger, hip crowd. Below is a video made a couple years ago that highlights some of Greenwich Village, in particular Washington Square Park.
Madison Square Park has been recognized as a public park since 1847, but has existed as a public space since 1686. The park is named after the fourth President of the United States, James Madison and has hosted historic events and seen plenty changes over the years. Baseball, America's pastime, is said to have began in this park after Alexander Cartwright formed the first baseball club in 1845. The park has also hosted the first two Madison Square Gardens, the arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty, as well as temporary arches commemorating George Washington's first integration all at the end of the 19th Century. This was a time where Madison Square was the focal point one of Manhattan's most elite neighborhoods.
The park was the site of the tallest building in the world in 1909, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Building pictured on the left, and also featured America's first community Christmas tree in 1912. Despite its huge impact in history, the park was in disrepair in the 1990's with lack of maintenance and increase in crime. The City Parks Foundation would not let this historic park just deteriorate however, and raised 6 million dollars during a capital restoration project completed in 2001. Now the park is popular as ever with a recently added playground, kept lawns and gardens, and even cultural programs.
Uncle Sam’s New York Tours is an experience that will make the most of your time, show you the ins and outs of the city that never sleeps, and give you a story to go home with.
Gangs were on the rise through the next several few decades, with increased violence during Prohibition and the arrival of Puerto Rican immigrants in the 1950s. The hostility among the Puerto Rican, Irish, and Italian immigrants in the area is highlighted in the film West Side Story. The Irish-American gang, the Westies, who had violent tendencies and ties with the Gambino family, controlled Hell's Kitchen from the mid-1960's through the 1980's. In 1986, convictions under the Rackateer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act haltered the gang activity in Hell's Kitchen, and by the early 1990's, the neighborhood was in full swing of a gentrification.
With the prominent Midtown as its neighbor, Hell's Kitchen started to become more elite as Midtown continued to prosper. Young professionals and actors moved into this area and continue to enjoy the close proximity to the business district and Broadway theaters alike. Some celebrities that have lived in Hell's Kitchen include Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stalone, Jerry Seinfeld, Madonna, and Alicia Keys. Despite the increasing prominence of the neighborhood, we will never forget the famous gangsters like Owney Madden and James Coonan that dominated Hell's Kitchen before all that. The municipality, gentrifies, and real estate agents tend to refer to the area as "Clinton" to erase the reputation of the neighborhood's past, but Hell's Kitchen will always be Hell's Kitchen.
To get a more in-depth and interactive history of Hell's Kitchen as well as enjoy a few beers at historic bars in the area, check out the Hell's Kitchen Pub Crawl offered Wednesdays at 7:30 pm.
