Chinatown in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Windows On The Bowery
400 Years On NYC’s Oldest Street
Colonial Dutch bouwerij (farm) road; Manhattan’s first Free Black settlement; George Washington’s Revolution-era procession route; epicenter of 19th Century Irish-American political influence as well as German-American culture; the Bowery was also the site of Lincoln’s famous anti-slavery speech. New York’s first entertainment district, since the early 1800s, the Bowery has incubated uniquely American cultural expressions, including tap dance, minstrelsy, vaudeville, jazz, Abstract Expressionism, Beat literature, and punk rock.
The Bowery was a 19th century stomping ground for the working class, the Bowery Boys gang, gay New Yorkers and waves of Irish, Italian, Chinese, German and Jewish immigrants. Since the 20th century, it has served as a jewelry, lighting, and restaurant supply district; a base for the homeless, and a live/work space for an influential community of cutting edge artists.
While the shiny, generic condos of recent overdevelopment consume rare & significant sites along the fabled thoroughfare, the Bowery’s importance was recognized with listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. Despite this honor and widely supported calls for preservation, this richly layered repository of social, economic, political, cultural and architectural history remains one of the country’s most endangered historic places.
- Kerri Culhane, Architectural Historian
Erected 2016 by Bowery Alliance of Neighbors.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1780.
Location. 40° 42.87′ N, 73° 59.817′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in Chinatown. Marker is on Bowery near Pell Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5 Bowery, New York NY 10002, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. NYC’s Oldest Brick House (within shouting distance of this marker); Birthplace of Modern Tattooing! (within shouting distance of this marker); Barnum's First Big Bamboozle (within shouting distance of this marker); High and Low Art (within shouting distance of this marker); Gateway to Old Chinatown (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Stephen Foster (about 300 feet away); The Bowery Boys (about 400 feet away); Lost New York Gem (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.
More about this marker. One of more than sixty entries in the “Windows on the Bowery” series.
These markers generally appear at locations that did not have any individual significance, but also sometimes in conjunction with them.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 18, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 226 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 18, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.