Midtown South in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The Haymarket
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, July 27, 2017
1. The Haymarket Marker
Nearby this spot, from the 1870s to the 1910s, stood the Haymarket, the Moulin Rouge of New York's gilded age. A concert saloon, it was among New York's first night clubs, when electricity first turned night into day. The subject of a famous painting by John Sloan of the Ash Can School, it tallied 5,000 visitors per day in 1903.
It stood at the nexus of New York civilization when Madison Square was the center of the city; where the theater, high end residential, and red light districts all came together. It was feet away from the Great White Way, when the theaters came up Broadway from Madison Square. Across Broadway stand today the Gilsey House (1869), the Breslin Hotel (1904), and the beginning of high end residential Fifth Avenue.
A red light district in the Tenderloin (that reformists called Satan's Circus) stretched along these side streets, west of Broadway from 24th Street up the West Side. "A popular if not always proper resort in the city, the Haymarket's national notoriety was due in part to a policy of not allowing the "business of prostitutes, pimps, gangs, and thieves to be conducted on the premises.
In the 1910s it became a moviehouse run by William Fox, a former garment worker, whose name is so widespread in the media today.
Contributed by Robert Amell NYC
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1903.
Location. 40° 44.846′ N, 73° 59.497′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in Midtown South. It is on West 29th Street west of 6th Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 135 West 29th Street, New York NY 10001, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in New York City. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 130 West 30th Street (within shouting distance of this marker); In Honor Of Donald W. Distasio (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Jerry McAuleys Mission (approx. 0.2 miles away); Nikola Tesla (approx. 0.2 miles away); Samuel Rea (approx. 0.2 miles away); Madison Square Garden (approx. 0.2 miles away); Greeley Square (approx. 0.2 miles away); Retail Pioneers (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.
More about this marker. The marker is located just to the left of the entrance to the Haymarket Building.
Photographed by Larry Gertner, November 17, 2018
2. The Haymarket Marker
The marker is at the left of the entrance.
Photographed by Larry Gertner, November 17, 2018
3. The Haymarket Building
135 West 29th Street
Oil painting by John Sloan, 1907
4. The Haymarket, Sixth Avenue
"The 1908 exhibition in which John Sloans The Haymarket, Sixth Avenue was shown drew headlines in New York.... Exhibited with the work of his colleagues in an artist group called The Eight, The Haymarket was especially provocative because it showed lavishly dressed women entering a well-known dance hall unaccompanied by male companions. These women were independent and pleasure-seeking, defying societys expectations. This type of realism in art shocked many viewers who were accustomed to idealizing and genteel subjects." - Brooklyn Museum
Credits. This page was last revised on November 12, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 18,086 times since then and 1,433 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 3, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2, 3. submitted on November 17, 2018, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 4. submitted on August 3, 2018, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
