New York Songlines: 14th Street

South:

Liberty Inn

500: A short-stay hotel. Used to be the Strand Hotel (1908), a sailor haunt. Later The Anvil, a decadent gay club (1974-86) frequented by German director Werner Rainer Fassbinder. Felipe Rose was discovered dancing here in an Indian costume, inspiring and becoming the first member of the Village People.

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The High Line

Bridging the street here is a disused elevated railroad that was used to transport freight along the Westside waterfront, replacing the street-level tracks at 10th and 11th avenues that earned those roads the nickname "Death Avenue." Built in 1929 at a cost of $150 million (more than $2 billion in today's dollars), it originally stretched from 35th Street to St. John's Park Terminal, now the Holland Tunnel rotary. Partially torn down in 1960 and abandoned in 1980, it now stretches from Gansevoort almost to 34th--mostly running mid-block, so built to avoid dominating an avenue with an elevated platform. In its abandonment, the High Line became something of a natural wonder, overgrown with weeds and even trees, accessible only to those who risk tresspassing on CSX Railroad property. Plans are underway to turn it into a park, open to the public; it will be a tricky balancing act to add safety and amenities without sacrificing the lost ruin quality that makes it so cool.

S <===    WASHINGTON ST

432: Was Mother, home to many fetish and drag events. Now Filter 14 dance club, where women who flash the crowd get free shots.

420: Heller Gallery showcases work in the medium of glass.

416: R&R aka Rare, rock club, was Cooler--before that a meat locker. Also Casey Kaplan gallery, specializing in conceptual art.

410: Rubin Chapelle, minimalist gallery/boutique

408: Israeli designer Yigael Azrouel and Brazilian designer Carlos Miele share this address-- also furniture showroom Design Within Reach.

Kelly Building

400: 1886 building housed The Toilet, 1970s gay sex club. Later home to Lee's Mardi Gras (3rd floor), crossdressing emporium that served as consultant to Tootsie, The Birdcage and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything. Ground floor is now Gaslight, 1890s-themed bar.

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449: Jeffrey New York, noted for super-expensive shoes; led the move of high-fashion back to 14th Street

435: Jean Shop carries Western fashions.

429: Stella McCartney, boutique noted for thigh-high cowboy boots-- owned by the Beatle's daughter

427: DDCLab features futuristic clothes on meathook-hung mannequins-- in a nod to the neighborhood's meatpacking roots. Plus a coffee bar.

425: La Perla, the ''creme de la creme of luxury lingerie''--New York

419: Baktun, club for club kids

417: Alexander McQueen, outrageous fashions at outrageous prices

415: Bodum, houseware store organized by color

413: Was Mizrach Kosher Poultry.

409: Lotus, celebrity nightspot, includes Suzie Wong's Late Night Cafe.

407: Little Pie Company, decadent desserts

405: Son Cubano, hip Cuban

403: Western Beef, a grocery store in a former meat locker--which is still refrigerated, so the meat just sits on shelves.

401 (corner): Markt, bar specializing in Belgian beers. Used to be M&W Packing--meatpacking, of course.

South:

Block (675 Hudson): This triangular building, built as a factory c. 1849, houses Vento Trattoria, hip Italian. Downstairs is the restaurant's lounge, Level V, which used to be the gay leather club The Manhole, and before that the straight Hellfire Club. The building also contained Glenn Close's apartment in Fatal Attraction. (For real-life sexiness, try the Triangulo tango studios on the third floor.) Ed Harris jumps out of the north corner in The Hours.

South:

350 (corner): Four-floor tenements with three (sort of) matching stories added on top--you can see how much better old brick looks. Houses Hudson Health Food.

348: The West Side Discussion Group was based here in 1972, holding gay-related public consciousness-raising talks. In 1903, this was the Co-operative Home for Self-Supporting Girls. Now it's the DJ school Dub Spot, and Chelsea's Best (coffee, Italian ice etc.).

344-336: Grey brick apartments with black Grecian details are from 1910.

342: Blow hair salon. Back entrance to 345 W. 13th Street.

336-338: Elegant red-brick townhouses

Our Lady of Guadelupe at St. Bernard's

330: Was St. Bernard's, a Catholic church erected in 1875, designed by Patrick C. Keely. This was the first church dedicated by the U.S.'s first cardinal, John Cardinal McCloskey. In 2003, the archdiocese merged this church with Our Lady of Guadelupe down the street.

328: Rectory for the church

326: "Holy Cross" above door

320: Lucy Barnes, Scottish designer

314: Chelsea Village Medical Building

310: Istanbul Grill, Turkish; King Food, Chinese take-out

304: Elegant Deli & Grocery; Due Amici pizza. In the 1950s, Village Voice photographer Fred McDarrah lived here, documenting the Beat movement.

New York County National Bank Building

Corner (75-79 8th Ave): Neo-classical 1907 building designed by DeLemos & Cordes, the same architectural firm that did Macy's. Was the New York County National Bank, whose name can still be made out above entrance; the caduceuses on the side presumably refer to Mercury as god of commerce. Later a Manufacturers Hanover branch. After 1999 alterations, it was a theater and now Nickel, a spa for men.

SUBWAY:
A/C/E to West 4th Street

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Corner (44 9th Ave): Diner, the kind where a grilled cheese sandwich sets you back eleven bucks. In a three-story building with dormers.

351-355: Unusual peak-roofed tenements. 355 was the Eagle Tavern, long-running bar, then the Village Idiot, the original dance-on-the-bar, hang-up-your-bra place; now Gin Lane, upscale drinkery. 353 is the comedy club Comix.

349: Site of the Spanish-American Workers Alliance. This stretch of 14th Street was once the center of a community of immigrants from Spain--some remnants of which still remain. Later this space was the Village Preschool Center and A Bicycle Shop--now ADI courier service.

335-337: Neo-Grecian apartments from 1900

333: The Prime, new condos that advertise that they're "from $3 million"--as if that's a selling point. And 333 isn't even a prime number, which would have at least made the name clever.

325: Redden's Funerals

319: A young Orson Welles lived here (1935-37) while working with Harlem's Negro Theater and the Federal Theater.

317: The Chelsea Pines Inn, named for the posh Fire Island resort. H.P. Lovecraft's horror story "Cool Air" is set in a four-story brownstone on West 14th Street--said to be based on this 1850s building, where Lovecraft's friend George Kirk lived.

315: The Vidon

New York Savings Bank Building

Corner (81 8th Ave): Domed Greek temple built 1896-98 for the New York Savings Bank, designed by R.H. Robertson. Later Goldome Bank, then Central Carpet. Now Balducci's, upscale grocery store.

South:

14TH STREET STATION:
L to 6th Avenue
C/E to 23rd Street
A to 34th Street/Penn Station

Corner: North Village Delicatessen

254: North Village Wine & Liquors. I don't believe there is any such thing as the "North Village," but you can't blame them for trying.

252: Ipanema Bar

248: Dirty Disco, stylish dance club, was 2i's, which featured Hunkmania, a male strip show for women.

Plumm

246: A purple-themed celebrity-ridden nightclub. Formerly NA; before that Nell's, the nightclub that introduced the idea that just hanging around could be nightlife too.

244: In 1939, this was the Chelsea Bowling Center.

242: Jerry Ohlinger's Movie Material Store. Artist Franz Kline's studio was on 2nd floor (1958-62).

240: Crispo, Mediterranean with an open kitchen.

238: Here Comes the Bridesmaid

234: Woody McHale's, after-work bar

232: El Rey Del Sol, subterranean Mexican with freaky Aztec/Catholic decor. Tasty and discreet. I had a fascinating dinner date here once that ended up at the Chelsea Hotel.

222: Sequoia Apartments (1987) has notable cornices. Used to house Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center, now an extension of St. Vincent's.

218: Was Casa Moneo, a Latin food store that was a center of West 14th's Spanish-speaking community from 1929-1988.

214-216: Teamsters Local 237--for city employees.

212: Gavroche

210: Casa Moneo moved to this location in the late 1960s. Upstairs was La Bilbaina, a Basque/Northern Spanish restaurant. Artist Marcel Duchamp rented the 4th floor here in 1943, where he secretly worked on Etant Donnes, a collection of found objects now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

204: Dirty Bird to Go, chicken

202: Primitivo Osteria

200 (corner): This building is interesting, with gargoyles, an Amazon, etc. Houses Papaya King Sucelt Coffee Shop, beloved Latin hole-in-the-wall; Bagelry has the best bagels in NYC, according to Chowhound.

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Corner (80 8th Avenue): A 20-story highrise designed in 1930 by William Whitehall

245: McKenna's Pub

243: Bistro Cassis was once the Tammany Tough Club, a speakeasy; later was Tequila's Bar & Grill, then Kloe.

Andrew Norwood House

241: Named for the stockbroker and developer who built it, this 1847 Italianate house was one of the first built of masonry on the street--marking the beginning of 14th Street's brief fashionable era.

239: Centro Espanol La Nacional, aka the Spanish Benevolent Society

Our Lady of Guadeloupe

229: This Catholic church, serving a Spanish-speaking congregation, was in a converted townhouse once owned by the Delmonico restauranteur family. Jack Kerouac for a time attended daily. Now offices for the merged OLG/St Bernard parish.

221: Macondo

207: Time Machine: Memorabilia Comics Collectibles

205: Flannery's Bar, Irish-y

203: The Donut Pub, old-school doughnut shop. Stained glass can be seen here as a remnant of a long-vanished Victorian saloon.

201 (corner): Sence Deli Flower & Grocery

SUBWAY:
1/9 to Christopher Street
2 to Chambers Street

Bernard Goetz got on the express here on December 22, 1984, and before he had gotten to the next stop had shot four teenagers who had asked him for money. One of the teens, Darryl Cabey, was shot again after he fell; "You don't look so bad--here's another," said Goetz, who was convicted merely of gun possession and sentenced to six months in prison. Cabey was paralyzed and brain damaged for life.

South:

154-160 (corner): Lavish terra cotta on a 1913 building by Herman Lee Meader, known for his elaborate decoration.

152: Symbolist painter Albert Pinkham Ryder had a studio here c. 1912.

148: Folksinger Woodie Guthrie lived in this building in 1942. Now houses Extraordinary DVD, perhaps the best porn outlet in the city; has a good selection of ordinary DVDs as well.

138-146: Roman Revival lofts from 1899, inspired by the 1893 Columbian Exposition.

144: Pratt Institute

142: Site of Church of the Annunciation, where former president James Monroe lay in state after being exhumed from the New York City Marble Cemetery in 1858--27 years after his death--before being shipped to Virginia for reburial.

128: Site of Metropolitan Museum of Art (1873-79) before it moved to Central Park.

Centennial Memorial Temple

120: This Art Deco fortress was built for the Salvation Army in 1930.

116: This was the last New York home of Frank Moore, an artist and AIDS activist who helped create the AIDS ribbon. Also the longtime offices of Screw magazine.

104: Krazy Fashion

102: E&L Sportswear

100: Used to be Funny Cry Happy Gift, a well-named store. Also Valentino Jewelry, NYC Candy.

Corner (527 6th): Jason's Jewelry

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SUBWAY:
1/9 to 18th Street
2 to 34th Street

149: Was Kooky's Cocktail Lounge, in the Stonewall era, one of only two lesbian-oriented bars in NYC. Kooky, the owner, was said to be hostile to the gay liberation movement, fearing it would cut into her business. Now La Nueva Rampa.

147: Model Training Center--driving lessons

137: Libreria Lectorum, Spanish-language books

131: Desco Vacuum has a great neon sign.

McBurney YMCA

125: Probably the most historic Y branch in the country moved here from 23rd Street in 2002, on the former site of the oppressive 244th Coast Artillery Armory. The oldest Y in NYC (from 1869), it's named for Robert Ross McBurney, an early leader of the Y movement. Merrill met Lynch in its swimming pool in 1913; William Saroyan stayed here when he came to NY in 1928, as did Keith Haring 50 years later. Other members have included Edward Albee, Andy Warhol and Al Pacino. This Y branch inspired the Village People's "YMCA."

103: Entertainment Outlet; great deals on DVDs, videos etc.

Corner: This bank branch--now an HSBC-- features vintage murals that can be seen from the street.

SUBWAY:
L to 8th Avenue
F to 23rd Street

South:

14TH STREET SUBWAY:
L to Union Square
F to West 4th Street

Maria's Kebab Wagon, a fixture at this corner, is said by the New York Post to have the best street kebab in the city.

Corner (526 6th Ave): This handsome building with arched entrances was built by Henry Siegel, co-creator of the Siegel-Cooper store five blocks north. He sold his interest in the "Big Store" in 1904 to make an even bigger department store in the area vacated by Macy's--but the new store went bust and Siegel went to jail in 1914 for defrauding creditors. Now it's a branch of Urban Outfitters, a chain owned by one of the chief financial backers of homophobic Sen. Rick Santorum, which tells you all you need to know about faux hipsterism.

58: Vinocur's Furniture is on site of novelist Henry James' childhood home.

56: Balas Electronics & Gift is a remnant of the original Macy's, which used to take up several buildings extending to and around the corner of 6th Avenue. (A Macy's ad is still visible on the west wall of this building, which dates to c. 1896; a Macy's sign above the door is visible when the building needs painting.)

34-42: Party City, NY Sports Clubs are in the building that housed Hearn's, Macy’s old and bitter rival. Crowds used to smash windows and doors at its annual Washington's Birthday sale, when major appliances would be offered for one cent.

No. 36 was the site of poet Emma Lazarus' childhood home.

No. 34 houses the Legacy School for Integrated Studies (grades 7-12), serving mainly students from Harlem and Chinatown.

24: White Cat Vision

16: V.I.M.

6: Offices of modeling agency Karin.

2: Laila Rowe

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69 (corner): Was The Living Theatre (1956-63), experimental theater co. producing plays by T.S. Eliot, Auden and Gertrude Stein; Martin Sheen's first acting job. Now houses 69 W 14th St. Dance Studios, Capoeira Angola.

55: Was Veg City Diner, "Vegetarian American." (Its successor is Subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz (who is also an outspoken vegetarian) has lived in the apartment building here.

53: This defunct address was once the Scotch Presbyterian Church, founded in 1756 and moving here in 1853.

45: DC 9 Painters & Allied Trades

31: Here were the basement offices of The Little Review, the magazine where Joyce's Ulysses was first published, in installments from 1918 to 1920. Also a venue for writers like Sherwood Anderson, Hart Crane, Djuna Barnes. Edited by Margaret Anderson and jane heap. Now Cosmic Clothing Company.

25: The swanky health club Clay; also Guitar Center, a corporate chain outlet that threatens to drive a lot of independent guitar stores out of business.

11: Universal News USA

9: Union Square Optical; poet e.e. cummings lived at this address when he got out of the army in 1918.

South:

Albert List Academic Center

Corner (65 5th Ave): Graduate faculty of the New School for Social Research, a university founded by John Dewey, Thorstein Veblen et al. in 1919. Became a "University in Exile" for refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Now headed by war criminal Bob Kerrey. On the site of the noted store Lane's.

10: Kidstown

12: Formerly Woolworth's

22: Cast-iron building houses bargain basement Dee & Dee, Eve Bari, New School offices. Was Baumann Bros. furniture store (1881).

38: Strawberry

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Corner (69 5th Ave): Wedgewood House apartments are built on site of Delmonico's third location. Banquets were held here for Charles Dickens, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia and Samuel Morse for inventing the telegraph. The nation's first women's organization, the Sorosis Club, organized here 1868, as well as the Lambs Club in 1874. Before it was Delmonico's, it was the house of Moses Hicks Grinnell, who hosted a breakfast meeting between President-elect Abraham Lincoln and New York business leaders, February 20, 1861.

7: The Victoria apartments; includes Garden of Eden, etc. No. 11, a defunct address, was Biograph Studios (1906), where D.W. Griffith, Mack Sennett, Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore and Lillian Gish all got their starts. Studio had been the Cunard Mansion, and later Steck Hall. No. 17 was once the home of Florence Chandler, who in 1889, as Florence Maybrick, was convicted in England of poisoning her husband James Maybrick. Maybrick, however, was an arsenic addict, and seems to have poisoned himself; the case became a cause celebre and Grover Cleveland and William McKinley both interceded on her behalf. She was released in 1904 and returned to America. The husband, incidentally, has been posthumously accused of being Jack the Ripper.

Lincoln Building

Corner (1 Union Sq W): R.H. Robertson is the architect of this 1890 building. Diesel clothing on ground floor.

South:

40: DSW, Designer Shoe Warehouse, allows you to find your own size without a clerk; Forever 21, frighteningly named designer knockoffs; Whole Foods. Used to be a Bradlees, which used to be May's, and before that Ohrbach's.

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North:

Gandhi Statue

Union Square

The statue of Gandhi at the southwest corner of the square, erected in 1986, commemorates the Union Square tradition of political engagement: 250,000 gathered to support the Union during the Civil War (1861), the largest crowd ever assembled in North America up to that point; the first U.S. labor day parade (1882); Emma Goldman's arrest for telling the unemployed to steal bread (1893); an anarchist bombing that managed to kill only the two bombers (1908); a funeral march for Triangle Shirtwaist Fire victims (1911); protests against Sacco & Vanzetti's execution (1927), and against the Rosenbergs' (1953).

After the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, Union Square became a spontaneous center of grieving and peace vigils.

The south end of the square in particular is one of Manhattan's great public spaces, a haven for political ranters, skateboarders and breakdancers--and for those who want to watch the passing scene. The Critical Mass bicycle rallies gather here on the last Friday of every month. There's a craft fair here every year in December.

George Washington

Statue by John Quincy Ward (1856) was formerly on traffic island next to 4th Avenue, where it supposedly marked the actual spot where Washington greeted the citizens of New York when he liberated the city from British rule after the Revolutionary War, on November 25, 1783.

UNION SQUARE STATION:
Uptown:
6 to 23rd Street
4/5 to City Hall
N/R to 8th Street
Downtown:
6 to Astor Place
4/5 to City Hall
N/R to 8th Street
Crosstown:
L to 6th Avenue
L to 3rd Avenue

South:

106: The site of Huber's Dime Museum, a sideshow-style enterprise that exhibited Dr. Henry S. Tanner, who gained notoriety by surviving a 40-day fast in 1880. Escape artist Harry Houdini performed here in 1891, at the age of 17; he reportedly learned the rope-tie trick from Huber's barker.

University Hall

110: NYU structure built by Davis Brody Bond in 1998. Built on site of Luchow's (1882), famous German restaurant; hangout for music figures from Enrico Caruso to Cole Porter to Leonard Bernstein, as well as writers like Mencken and Dreiser. ASCAP founded here; "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" was written on a Luchow's tablecloth in 1925.

Luchow's building was put up in 1840 and was demolished in 1995; University Cafe now feeds people in its stead.

114: Buildings from here to No. 134 were damaged or destroyed in "one of the fiercest fires on record" at the Hippotheatron on December 24, 1872

116: P.C. Richard is on site of Gramercy Gym, where boxing legend Cus D'Amato trained Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres. Torn down 1993. Note "Cus D'Amato Way" streetsign.

132: Was Grace Chapel, built 1876.

Palladium Hall

140: NYU dorm built by Davis Brody Bond in 2001; The Palladium, popular 1980s dance club, was torn down to build it--along with Julian's, one of the all-time classic pool halls, which shared the building.

Palladium had earlier been the Academy of Music after its previous site across the street closed.

After being vacant for several years, the ground floor of the dorm became a Trader Joe's in 2006, to great hooplah.

Corner: The discount store was Disco Donut, which was where the cabbies hung out in the film Taxi Driver. Upstairs was Carmelita's Reception House, a sketchy club used in the audience-participation play Tony and Tina's Wedding. (New Wave band The B-52s stayed here when they first came to New York.) It was closed down after the 1990 Happyland fire resulted in a safety-code crackdown. The upper floors of the building were removed in a deal that allowed NYU to build Palladium Hall higher--a strange public policy that rewards the creation of squat buildings like this one.

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Zeckendorf Towers

Complex topped by pyramids was built by Davis, Brody & Assocs. in 1987. It seems to have more personality than the firm's later work on this street. Built on site of S. Klein's department store (1921-75; slogan: "On the Square").

71-73: The site of Steinway Hall, built in 1866 by the piano company for performances that would showcase its instruments. Charles Dickens gave several readings here in 1867-68. Demolished 1916.

Con Ed Building

Corner (2 Irving): The former corner address from 1854 to 1926 was the Academy of Music, which early on was the cultural hub of New York's elite, as represented in the first scene of The Age of Innocence. In 1860, it hosted a famous ball for the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. President-elect Lincoln saw Verdi's Masked Ball here in 1861--the only opera he ever saw. In 1870, the literary Lotos Club was founded here. After fashion moved uptown to the Metropolitan Opera House, the Academy presented vaudeville and later silent movies. It had another incarnation across the street that later became the Palladium.

Corner (4 Irving): Apple Bank for Savings is on the ground floor of the Consolidated Edison Building, designed by Henry Hardenbergh, 1914; clock tower added 1926-29. Starting in 1854, No. 4 was the address of the Manhattan Gas Light Co., from which utility companies spread to take over this entire block. In the rear of the building at No. 143 was St. Joseph's Night Shelter, a gaslight-era shelter for homeless women.

145: This was the Con Edison Energy Museum--which is no longer open.

145-147 (corner): East end of Con Ed building and parking lot was Tammany Hall from 1867-1917, when the corrupt political club was at height of power. Hosted 1868 Democratic convention. The ground floor was Tony Pastor's New 14th Street Theatre, popular variety show venue from 1881 until 1908; Harry Houdini played here with his wife Bess in 1895.

South:

SUBWAY: L to 1st Avenue

The climax of the noir classic Pickup on South Street is set here.

202: BFD clothing; ''cheap--really, really cheap''--Voice.

206: Manhattan Sight & Sound; upstairs is Video 206, a well-stocked porn shop.

212: This was the address of Movie Star News, run by "King of Pin-Up" Irving Klaw and his sister Paula, which sold cheesecake and bondage photos featuring burlesque dancers like Blaze Starr, Tempest Storm and Lili St. Cyr, not to mention Bettie Page.

214: The vacant lot here was the entrance to the Jefferson Theatre, a vaudeville venue designed by Thomas Lamb that opened in 1910 and featured acts like the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Jack Benny and Fred Allen. George Burns called it "the toughest house in New York." An RKO cinema from the 1930s to the '60s, it showed horror/kung fu triple features in the 1970s, then hosted an infamous after-hours club in the early 1980s. Demolished 1999, to be replaced so far by nothing.

The Jefferson Bar was here, next door to the theatre --not sure the exact address.

218-220: Was Fresco Market 14, gourmet grocery

222: King's Head Tavern is not a bad bar --the sign is much improved.

226: The Navarre, 1880s apartments named for a Spanish province

230: Ram's Sports Cards is in The Roosevelt, a twin to The Navarre.

242-248 (corner): Temple Courts apartments; includes No. 246, Japanese Gummy Gummy. 244 was once the Russian restaurant Kretchma.

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SUBWAY: L to Union Square

201 (corner): Coral Towers, NYU dorm built (with non-union labor) on site of the Sahara Hotel, a notorious drug den

203: Red House, Chinese take-out

209: Union Square Inn; formerly a flophouse called Regina House.

211: Throb, dance music disks

223: 14th St/Union Square Business Improvement District office, quasi-governmental organization

227: Was Russian Souvenirs; now Amy Downs Hats.

229: The Royal Wigs

231: Beauty Bar, salon-themed saloon. Building used to be Italian Labor Center; note frieze.

233: Daphne, Jamaican restaurant. Note old "Edelstein Bros." pawnshop sign at top.

239: Site of the Eclectic Medical College, founded 1865.

241: Used to be Metro Bicycles.

243: Bambou, a swankier Jamaican. From 1913-1980, this was Hammer's Dairy Restaurant, a kosher eatery frequented by Milton Berle and other vaudeville comedians. Featured in the 1976 film The Front.

Corner (231 2nd Ave): The W.M. Everts [sic], an apartment building built on the site of the home of U.S. Sen. William Maxwell Evarts; Evarts, who was also U.S. secretary of state and attorney general, died in 1901 and his house was torn down about that time. His grandson Maxwell Evarts Perkins, who edited the likes of Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe at Scribner's, was born here on September 20, 1884. The corner restaurant used to be the Lunch Box Cafe.

South:

New York Eye & Ear Infirmary

310 (corner): Hospital founded in 1820, oldest specialist hospital in Western Hemisphere

322: Nowhere, gay bar that has a night for short men and their admirers. Was Briam, Greek restaurant, then City Slickers.

324: Andy Warhol protoge Jackie Curtis died at this address, May 15, 1985.

328-330: Curly's Vegetarian Lunch, a meat-free diner named for a grandparent's restaurant. Formerly Westville East, Johnny Mozzarella's. Note gargoyle heads above windows.

332: In 1939, this was the address of Kavkaz, a Russian restaurant. Now a bicycle shop.

334: Tifereth Israel/Town & Village Conservative Synagogue, named for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. The building was originally a German Baptist church.

338: 14th Street Florist

340: Engine No. 5; founded here 1865; building dates to 1881. Before professionalization, was the "United States" volunteer fire co. Plaques honor fallen colleagues, including Captain David Waters, who died in the 1866 Academy of Music fire, and Manny DelValle, who died in the World Trade Center collapse.

344: The 14th Street Y, formerly known as the Sol Goldman YM-YWHA; originally P.S. 19, which was the alma mater of gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Luciano used to charge his classmates a penny or two a day not to beat them up; one of his victims, who impressed the young thug with his ability to fight back, was future criminal associate Meyer Lansky.

Corner: Was Love Discount Store, one of the last branches of a local drug store chain; earlier First Federal Savings and Loan Association of New York. City Council member Margarita Lopez's offices are in this building.

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North:

301 (corner): New York Eye & Ear Infirmary annex; former bank

307: Knit, coffeehouse that caters to yarnophiles. Upstairs is Jazz on the Town, a hostel.

311: Steve Express Shoe Repair

325: Crocodile Lounge, bar featuring free pizza and SkeeBall. Was briefly the Cellar coffeehouse/lounge; before that Manila Garden, long-shuttered Filipino restaurant

329: Rose Hill apartments. Rose Hill was the name of the estate of Horatio Gates, at what's now 2nd Avenue and 21st. Gates was a Revolutionary general who won the Battle of Saratoga, arguably the most important battle of the war.

331: Was Johnny Air Cargo Phillipine Parcel Service

347: Pizza & Pasta

349: O'Hanlan's, Irish bar opened 1974, recently spruced up.

351: Was New Manila Food Mart

353: 14th Street Deli Grocery Corp boasts the "best prices on 14th St."

Corner: Papaya Dog (formerly 14th Street Papaya) is a Gray's Papaya imitator, offering cheap, tasty hot dogs and frothy tropical fruit drinks.

South:

1ST AVENUE STATION: L to Williamsburg

On this subway platform, on September 15, 1984, Michael Stewart allegedly wrote on the wall with a magic marker--a crime that resulted in his being beaten to death by the NYPD.

402: Painter Larry Rivers' final Manhattan residence was at this defunct address.

404: Poet Allen Ginsberg died here April 5, 1997, in a loft that he had bought the year before. The corporate burger chain on the ground floor provides an ironic touch.

Immaculate Conception Church

406-412: This striking Roman Catholic church was built in 1894-96 as Grace Chapel and Hospital, an Episcopalian mission for Broadway's Grace Church. The chapel did not charge pew rent, which was unusual in those days. Converted to a Catholic church in 1943. (The immaculate conception, by the way, is not the same as the virgin birth; it's the idea that Mary was born without original sin.)

Stuyvesant Post Office (10009)

510: Blarney Cove, old-school Irish bar. (A reader informs me that it is actually an old-school Irish gay bar.)

514: Generation 14 Clothing Center

520: Our Kitchen, tasty Singaporean

532: Yes! This Is Charlie's. The least pretentious store in Manhattan.

538: Was Barmacy, drugstore-turned-bar; now Otto's Shrunken Head, a tiki joint. The retro band Fisherman plays here regularly.

542: Was Stuyvesant Farms.

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600 (corner): Dynasty Coffee Shop; at this corner since c. 1955.

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North:

1ST AVENUE STATION: L to 3rd Avenue

This subway stop is chiefly responsible for making Williamsburg a hip neighborhood-- people could live there and still get to the East Village easily. Now people go from the East Village to Williamsburg in search of something cool to do.

Stuyvesant Town

Built in the late 1940s by Met Life Insurance Co. as affordable housing for World War II vets; now being converted by Met Life to high-priced apartments.

Built on the site of the notorious Gashouse District, where fumes from chemical plants kept out all but the poorest immigrants. The district produced the fearsome Gashouse Gang; since there was little to steal on their own turf, they would travel to other neighborhoods and rob the criminals there.

In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs uses Stuyvesant Town, with its lack of nonresidential development, its scarcity of streets and its repetitive architecture, as an example of how not to fix cities.

South:

Con Edison Plant

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Con Edison Plant

High asthma rates in the neighborhood have been blamed on Con Edison's pollution.

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North:

Con Edison Plant