Charles Street (Manhattan)

Charles Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It runs east to west from Greenwich Avenue to West Street. The street was named after Charles Christopher Amos, who owned the parcel the street passed through. Amos is also the namesake of Christopher Street, two blocks to the south, and the former Amos Street, which is now West 10th Street.^[1][2] Charles Lane is a one-block alley located between Charles and Perry Streets and Washington and West Streets.^[3] From 1866 to 1936, the section of Charles Street between Bleecker Street and West 4th Street was called Van Ness (sometimes Van Nest) Place after a farm, owned by the Van Ness family, which had occupied the square bounded by Bleecker, West 4th, Charles and Perry Streets until 1865.^[4][5]

131 Charles Street is a New York City landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Abraham Van Nest Residence between Charles and Perry Streets in 1860

Most of Charles Street – from Greenwich Avenue to Washington Street^{[notes 1]} – is part of the Greenwich Village Historic District and Extensions,^[8][9] including the 1834 Federal style house at 131 Charles Street, which is both a New York City landmark (1966) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1972).^[10] Outside the historic district, but a designated city landmark (2007), is 159 Charles Street, the sole survivor of nine Greek revival houses built c.1838 at the former location of Newgate Prison.^[10]

Other buildings of note on Charles Street include the postmodern Memphis Downtown apartments at No. 140, designed by Rothzeid, Kaiserman, Thomson & Bee and completed in 1986; an eight-floor 2007 "glass box" apartment building at No. 163, designed by Daniel Goldner; Richard Meier's sixteen-story 165 Charles Street (2006), the third of a trio which includes 173 and 176 Perry Street, all of them glass boxes strung side-by-side along West Street; the 1930 ten-story Greenwich Towers at 726 Greenwich Street, which takes up the block of Greenwich Street between Charles and Perry Streets; and the 1840 brick row houses at 40, 50, and 52-54 Charles, which have been converted to studios.^[11][12][13]

No. 31 Charles Street, the Carolus Apartments, marks the former location of the Charles Street Presbyterian Church, which was founded in 1844 as the Third Associate Presbyterian Church. The Jewish Congregation Darech Amuno settled at 53 Charles Street in 1917, after having had multiple previous locations since its founding in 1838. The synagogue was altered by Somerfield and Steckler from an existing building.^[14]

135 Charles Street, also known as "The Gendarme" or "Le Gendarme," was built in 1896 and served as the 6th Police Precinct until being converted to apartments in 1977. In March 1970, a year after the nearby Stonewall riots, 167 men were arrested following a raid on a gay bar called the Snake Pit and imprisoned at 135 Charles Street. After one of the prisoners, an Argentinian immigrant named Diego Vinales, jumped from the third story and was critically injured, a crowd of 500 marched to the building in protest.^[15]

Notable residents

• Rock musician Jon Bon Jovi bought a condo at 150 Charles Street in 2015.^[16]

References

Informational notes

1. Excluding 677 Washington Street at the southeast corner of the intersection of Washington and Charles Streets.^[6][7]

Citations

1. Ku, Catherine (July 10, 2013). "NYC History of Streets: More than Just Pride & Liberation at Christopher & Gay Streets". uptappedcities.com.
2. Feirstein, Sanna (2001). Naming New York: Manhattan Places & How They Got Their Names. New York: New York University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-8147-2712-6.
3. "Charles Lane, Manhattan" Google Maps. Accessed:April 4, 2017
4. "41 Valuable Lots Comprising the Entire Block Bounded By Bleecker, Fourth, Charles, & Perry Sts". Museum of the City of New York. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
5. "Older Manhattan Greenwich Village". New York Sun. New York. 1911-01-02. Retrieved 2017-05-19.
6. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1. p.50
7. "677 Washington Street" New York City Geographic Information System map. Accessed:April 4, 2017
8. Staff "Greenwich Village Historic District" map New York Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed:April 4, 2017
9. Staff "Greenwich Village Historic District Extension" map New York Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed:April 4, 2017
10. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1. p.58
11. White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7. pp.168,174
12. Hill, John (2011) Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture New York: Norton. pp.64-65. ISBN 978-0-393-73326-6.
13. "726 Greenwich Street" New York City Geographic Information System map. Accessed:April 4, 2017
14. Dunlap, David W. (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12543-7., pp.41,54
15. "6th Police Precinct Station House – NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project". www.nyclgbtsites.org. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
16. Kussin, Zachary (September 10, 2015). "Bon Jovi just bought a rockin' $12.87M NYC pad". New York Post.

External links

• Media related to Charles Street (Manhattan) at Wikimedia Commons