Tuesday, June 6, 2023 – TIME TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE NOLITA NEIGHBORHOOD

By admin

FROM THE ARCHIVES

TUESDAY,  JUNE  6,  2023

ISSUE#  1006

ANOTHER WALK

AROUND

LITTLE ITALY,

LITTLE PARIS AND

NOLITA

JUDITH BERDY

Today was my last day of working on Houston and Bowery. On my walk south I spotted the old restaurant supply signs in a store that is now an art gallery upstairs.

On the corner of Bowery and Prince Street is the Supreme Store specializing in stuff 18 year- olds seem to relish. The exterior is a collection of graffiti  decorations.

On Broome Street is Despana, the Spanish food and kitchen supply company. Cerrado Lunes, means Closed on Monday so no shopping for a new paella pan.

Across from the old Police Headquarters is the new in place for Parisiens in New York. In the French tradition many shops and restaurants were closed on Monday,

The building, now a condo graces the neighborhood.

The cornerstone remains and whatever was adjacent is long gone.

The north corner is a delight of stonework and foliage.

The best part of the stroll was discovering Center Market Place.  Tonight I read about it on Wikipedia.  Enjoy the story, it is worth it!!.

Centre Market Place

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The People’s Baths at 9 Centre Market Pl circa 1890s.Centre Market Place is a one block long street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering Mulberry Street to the east, Grand Street to the south, Broome Street to the north, and Centre Street to the west. Centre Market Place was originally an extension of Orange Street (now Baxter Street, which starts at Grand Street, where Centre Market Place ends), before being formally renamed Centre Market Place in April 1837,[1][2] after Centre Market, which was west of the street. At one time, the street was at the top of a high hill.[3] Currently, local residents consider Centre Market Place to be part of the NoLIta neighborhood. At the southern end of the street, on the corner of Grand Street, is Onieal’s restaurant, which features a cavernous wine cellar that once served as a speakeasy during Prohibition. Gentlemen of means would walk through the front of the Police Building, perhaps make a contribution to the “widows and orphan fund” and then walk through the cellar corridor connecting the two buildings.[citation needed]9 Centre Market Place was once the location to “The People’s Bath House”, a privately run public bathhouse built by the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor.[4] The People’s Baths served as a model to which the City of New York would later build the city’s truly public bathhouses.The block also included several gun stores including the John Jovino at 5 Centre Market Place, and the older Frank Lava Gunsmith at 6 Centre Market Place. The gun stores were part of a gun district owing to its proximity to the police headquarters at 240 Centre St.[5][6] A row of townhouses at No. 1, 2, 4, and 5 were rehabilitated by two developers, a husband-and-wife team, incorporating found architectural castoffs scavenged from around the world as part of its facade.[7]The street was home to many well-known writers, poets, and artists, including the noted crime photographer Weegee, who lived in a small studio apartment at 5 Centre Market Pl.[5]

Tucked away on Elizabeth Street is the Elizabeth Street garden, a mid-block oasis.

Standing at the corner of Bowery and Houston, I spotted this enormous tree in the Liz Christy Garden  across the street.A wonderful view to see before returning to work.

TUESDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
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MONDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY

Second Avenue Elevated Line when it crossed the Queensboro Bridge upper level.   The train has left Queens (it came from either Astoria or Flushing) and is about to enter the downtown tracks of the Second Ave. Elevated.   This service ended on June 13, 1942.   The track space was converted to automobile use in the mid-1950s From Andy Sparberg

Ed Litcher, Aron Eisenpreiss, Nestor Danyluk and Gloria Herman all got it right!

Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated

JUDITH BERDY

THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

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