Walking Manhattan. Ellen Levitt
Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation resnickpasslof.org, 87 Eldridge St., 212-226-1259
Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum kkjsm.org, 280 Broome St., 212-431-1619
Woodward Gallery woodwardgallery.net, 133 Eldridge St., 212-966-3411
LMAK Projects lmakprojects.com, 139 Eldridge St., 212-255-9707
Brennan & Griffin brennangriffin.com, 55 Delancey St., 212-227-0115
James Fuentes jamesfuentes.com, 55 Delancey St., 212-577-1201
Tenement Museum tenement.org, 103 Orchard St., 212-982-8420
Artifact artifactnyc.net, 84 Orchard St., 212-475-0448
Shin Gallery shin-gallery.com, 322 Grand St., 212-375-1735
Seward Park High School Campus sewardparkhs.com, 350 Grand St., 212-673-2650
Economy Candy economycandy.com, 108 Rivington St., 212-254-1531
Essex Street Market essexstreetmarket.com, 120 Essex St., 212-312-3603
Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space artistsallianceinc.org, 120 Essex St.
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Walk north on Rutgers Street to East Broadway, and turn right.
2 Cross Canal Street and walk into Straus Square and Seward Park.
3 Head west on East Broadway after visiting the parks and the library.
4 Walk left on Pike Street.
5 Turn around on Pike Street, cross East Broadway, and walk left on Division Street.
6 Walk right on Eldridge Street.
7 Go left on Canal Street.
8 Stroll left on Forsyth Street for about a block; then double back on Forsyth, cross Canal Street, and continue on Forsyth to Sara D. Roosevelt Park.
9 Walk right on Hester Street.
10 Go left on Eldridge Street.
11 Make a brief right on Broome Street, then return to Eldridge Street and turn right.
12 Walk right on Delancey Street.
13 Stroll left on Allen Street.
14 Walk left on Rivington Street, then double back and head in the opposite direction.
15 Walk right on Orchard Street.
16 Go left on Grand Street.
17 Walk left on Ludlow Street.
18 Take a right on Rivington Street.
19 Walk right on Essex Street.
20 Go left on Delancey Street.
21 Stroll right on Norfolk Street.
22 Double back to Delancey Street for the train.
CONNECTING THE WALKS
With the Williamsburg Bridge behind you, walk on Delancey to Allen Street, make a right, and cross Houston Street to arrive at the start of Walk 8 (East Village). To start the next tour, (The Bowery, Little Italy, and Soho), walk about seven blocks west on Delancey from the Essex Street station, turn left on Chrystie Street, and walk two blocks to the corner of Chrystie and Grand Street.
Historic Seward Park and its fountain
7 THE BOWERY, LITTLE ITALY, AND SOHO: FROM GRIT TO GLAMOUR
BOUNDARIES: Grand St., Broadway, Houston St., Bowery
DISTANCE: 3.3 miles
SUBWAY: B or D to Grand St.
“The Bow’ry, the Bow’ry / They say such things / And they do strange things / On the Bow’ry! The Bow’ry …” That’s the refrain from the famous song by Hoyt and Gaunt. As a child I saw TV commercials and heard radio ads for the Bowery Savings Bank, but I also heard about “Bowery bums,” so my parents and I didn’t stroll around there.
The Bowery has had quite the history, being the oldest Manhattan thoroughfare (it began life as a Native American footpath that was much lengthier). Dutch colonists dubbed it the “bouwerij [farm] road,” and even into the 1860s it rivaled Broadway in importance. For many years it was an elegant address, but by the late 1800s it was riddled with honky-tonk entertainments and notorious flophouses. Through the early 1900s and on into the 1970s, the Bowery remained infamous as the city’s Skid Row. But in the decades since (and particularly over the past 10 years), the district has been redeveloped and “rediscovered,” and today it comprises a mix of chic galleries and shops, humbler wholesalers, nonprofit organizations, and residences. This walk also visits neighboring Little Italy (also see Walk 5) and Soho, a historic neighborhood that, like the Bowery, has bounced back from hard times.
Get off the subway and go upstairs to the sidewalk, at Grand Street and Chrystie Street. Grand Street cuts through Sara D. Roosevelt Park here, and you’ll usually find a few street vendors selling newspapers or snacks. You’re likely to hear Chinese and English spoken.
With the park behind you, walk on Grand to the Bowery, one block away. Check out this neat little detail at 253 Grand: The street address is etched into the building, and above that is a crest that reads LB 1901. (What that means is a mystery, although the number could allude to the year of construction.) This stretch of Grand Street has a variety of Vietnamese as well as Chinese businesses.
Across the Bowery on the corner, check out the massive neoclassical structure (built 1893–95) with THE BOWERY SAVINGS BANK inscribed just under the clock. Its two connected buildings go back a block to Elizabeth Street; the Grand Street side has a similar sign. But the bank is no longer here; now it’s Capitale, an upscale event space. Even so, the building still sports SAFE DEPOSIT VAULT signage, and you can also see ghosting where the bank’s name was removed.
Walk right (north and east) along the east side of Bowery, noting the profusion of lighting-fixture stores. At #143 is the Bowery Grand, a budget hotel that doesn’t quite live up to its name. Although some of the buildings here look a bit worn, some have distinctive details. At #161 stands a seven-story commercial building from 1900, with carved-limestone pilasters and capitals, and window brackets set at an angle; #167 has Art Deco lettering up top reading CRYSTAL HOTEL. (Built during the Depression on the site of a 19th-century vaudeville theater, the Crystal was one of the Bowery’s ill-famed flophouses.)
Pause where Kenmare Street intersects on the left and widens into Delancey Street on the right. Looking right, you can see the Williamsburg Bridge in the distance. On the north side of Delancey is a beige stone building with a arched entrance: The Bowery Ballroom, a live-music venue. Directly in front of the club is the Bowery subway stop, the sole station in Manhattan with a one-word name.
As you continue along the Bowery, notice the many restaurant-supply stores. Spring Street branches off on the left; on the corner stands