Allen Street
| Pike Street (south ofDivision Street) | |
 Allen Street's median mall, since rebuilt | |
| Former name(s) | Chester Street |
|---|---|
| Location | Manhattan,New York City |
| Postal code | 10002 |
| Coordinates | 40.43639 N, 73.592674 W |
| North end | Houston Street |
| South end | South Street |
| North | First Avenue |
| East | Orchard Street |
| West | Eldridge Street |
Allen Streetis a street in theNew York CityboroughofManhattanwhich runs north-south through theLower Manhattanneighborhood ofChinatownand theLower East Side.It is continued north ofHouston StreetasFirst Avenue.South ofDivision Street,it is known asPike Streetto its southern terminus atSouth Street.The northbound and southbound roadways are separated by a meridian mall, which has twobike laneslocated outside the meridian mall; each bike lane is unidirectional. The street's namesake was Master CommandantWilliam Henry Allen,the youngest person to command a Navy ship in theWar of 1812.He was killed in action at the age of 28. His exploits included the capture of the British ship HMSMacedonian.[1]
History[edit]
Prior to 1799, this street in lower Manhattan was laid out and named "Chester Street". After the building of the New York Orphan Asylum on this street around May 1806[2]"Chester Street" was renamed "Asylum Street". In 1833, "Asylum Street" was quietly renamed Third Street, and finally "Allen Street."[3]
During its heyday in the early part of the 20th century, it was populated by Romanian Jews, as well asSephardic Jewsfrom Turkey, Syria, Egypt and Greece. Many worked in brass and copper fabrication shops in the basements, while the wares were sold in street level stores.[4] In September 1903, a gun battle was fought beneath the El tracks at Allen and Rivington Streets between followers ofPaul Kelly,leader of theFive Points Gang,and the rival gang ofMonk Eastman.At one point a hundred men joined the fray, with police driven off by gunfire. Three men were killed and numerous innocent civilians were injured.[5]
Fire destroyed an overcrowded tenement on Allen Street in March 1905, claiming the lives of twenty people. The five-story building at 105 Allen Street housed 200 people.
The street was widened in the early 1930s by demolition of buildings on the east side of the street. This created a broad thoroughfare with a meridian mall in the center and the El running down the western roadway. The El was demolished in 1942.
Allen Street was the site of numerous shops specializing in brassware in the 1910s through the 1940s but only two such shops remained by the late 1970s. In 1979, Allen Street was described byNew Yorkmagazine as an "unbusy area removed from the bustle of Grand Street and the Bowery."[6]
The street's center mall, along with that of Pike Street, was reconfigured in 2009. Parts of that mall were reconstructed completely in 2011.[7][8][9]
Transportation[edit]
A portion of the elevatedIRT Second Avenue Line,commonly known as the Second Avenue El, was constructed over Allen Street's current southbound roadway (then the entire street) fromHouston StreettoDivision Streetin 1878, blocking out most of the light from the then-narrow street. The elevated railway was taken down in 1942. Currently, the nearestsubwaystations areGrand Streetstation, three blocks west at Chrystie Street (Band Dtrains) andDelancey Street – Essex Streetstation, three blocks east at Essex Street (F,<F>,J,M,andZ trains). Also, at the corner ofEast Houston Streetand Allen Street, there are multiple entrances to theSecond Avenuestation (Fand<F> train). There is also an intercity bus station at 84-86 Allen Street.
Allen Street is served in its entirety by theM15/M15 SBSbusroutes. Part of Pike Street, down toMadison Street,is also serviced by the M15.
References[edit]
Notes
- ^Moscow, Henry (1979).The Street Book: An Encyclopedia of Manhattan's Street Names and Their Origins.New York: Fordham University Press. p. 22.ISBN0-8232-1275-0.
- ^New York: A Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of the Metropolitan City of America.New York: Carlton & Phillips. 1853. p.249.Retrieved2010-05-29.
new york orphan asylum history.
- ^Stokes, I.N. Phelps (1998).The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909.Vol. III. Union, NJ: Lawbook Exchange. p. 993.ISBN1-886363-30-7.
- ^Mendelsohn, Joyce (2001).The Lower East Side Remembered and Revisited.New York: Lower East Side Press.
- ^Lardner, James; Reppetto, Thomas (2000).NYPD: A City and Its Police.New York: Henry Holt & Co. p.125.
- ^Edelman, Bernard (Dec 24, 1979)."New York Journal: Splendor in the Brass Shop".New York.p. 82.Retrieved11 July2010.
- ^Allen and Pike Streets
- ^Allen and Pike Streets: Before and AfterArchived2012-11-05 at theWayback Machine
- ^Kazis, Noah (July 25, 2011)."Eyes on the Street: Public Space Upgrades for Allen and Pike in Progress".Streetsblog.Archived fromthe originalon November 3, 2011.
External links[edit]
