Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Jefferson Market
Courthouse
The site was a market in 1833,
named after the former president,
Thomas Jefferson. The fire
lookout tower had a giant bell
that alerted volunteer firefighters.
When the courthouse was built in
1877, the bell was installed in its
clock tower. The building became
a treasured Village landmark, and,
after the market had moved and
court sessions were discontinued,
it was eventually saved from
demolition after a spirited local
campaign and converted into a
branch of the New York Public
Library
(see p124)
in the 1950s.
d
425 6th Avenue, between 9th & 10th
sts
•
Map M3
•
Open noon-8pm Mon,
Wed, 10am-6pm Tue, noon-6pm Thu,
1pm-6pm Fri, 10am-5pm Sat
•
Free
The Halloween Parade
Anything goes in this wildly gaudy
annual parade of cross-dressers
and amazing costumes. It draws
25,000 marchers and many times
that many spectators. The parade
route goes up 6th Avenue, from
the Village to 23rd Street,
starting at 7pm.
Fenimore Cooper lived at No. 145
in 1833, Theodore Dreiser stayed
at No. 160 when he came to New
York in 1895, and James Agee
lived at No. 172 from 1941 to
1951. The café at No. 189, the
corner of Bleecker and MacDougal,
was the San Remo bar, the
favorite gathering place for William
Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg,
Gregory Corso, and Jack Kerouac,
leading lights of the beat
generation.
d
Between 6th Avenue &
West Broadway
•
Map N3
Cherry Lane Theatre
In 1924, a warehouse was
converted into one of the first
Off-Broadway theaters and
showcased plays by the likes of
Edward Albee, Eugene Ionesco,
David Mamet, and Harold Pinter.
Today, the “Cherry Lane Alternative”
uses established playwrights to
mentor talented newcomers.
d
38 Commerce St, between Bedford &
Barrow sts
•
Map N3
•
212 989 2020
• www.cherrylanetheatre.com
New York University
Founded in 1831, N.Y.U.
enlarged the scope of early 19th-
century study from its previous
concentration on Greek and Latin
to contemporary subjects: a
“rational and practical education”
for those aspiring to careers in
business, industry, science, and
the arts, as well as in law,
medicine, and the ministry.
It has grown into the largest
private university in America and
now occupies many blocks around
Washington Square.
d
Washington
Square
•
Map N4
Bleecker Street
The present line-up of ordin-
ary shops and restaurants belies
the history of this street. James
Left
Cherry Lane Theater
Right
Bleecker Street
106
