Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of "Alphabet City, Manhattan"

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⭐ Core Definition: Houston Street (Manhattan)

Houston Street (/ˈhstən/ HOW-stən) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in the west. The street is divided into west and east sections by Broadway.

Houston Street generally serves as the boundary between neighborhoods on the East Side of Manhattan—Alphabet City, the East Village, NoHo, Greenwich Village, and the West Village to the north; and the Lower East Side, most of the Bowery, Nolita, and SoHo to the south. The numeric street-naming grid in Manhattan, created as part of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, begins immediately north of Houston Street with 1st Street at Avenue A.

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👉 Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of Alphabet City, Manhattan

Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names. It is bounded by Houston Street to the south and 14th Street to the north, and extends roughly from Avenue A to the East River. Some famous landmarks include Tompkins Square Park, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and the Charlie Parker Residence.

The neighborhood has a long history, serving as a cultural center and ethnic enclave for Manhattan's German, Polish, Hispanic, and immigrants of Jewish descent. However, there is much dispute over the borders of the Lower East Side, Alphabet City, and East Village. Historically, Manhattan's Lower East Side was bounded by 14th Street at the northern end, on the east by the East River and on the west by First Avenue; today, that same area is sometimes referred to as Alphabet City, with Houston Street as the southern boundary. The area's German presence in the early 20th century, in decline, virtually ended after the General Slocum disaster in 1904.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of First Avenue (Manhattan)

First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound to 127th Street. At 125th Street, most traffic continues onto the Willis Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River, which continues into the Bronx. South of Houston Street, the roadway continues as Allen Street south to Division Street. Traffic on First Avenue runs northbound (uptown) only.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of Allen Street (Manhattan)

Allen Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan which runs north-south through the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of Chinatown and the Lower East Side. It is continued north of Houston Street as First Avenue. South of Division Street, it is known as Pike Street to its southern terminus at South Street. The northbound and southbound roadways are separated by a meridian mall, which has two bike lanes located outside the meridian mall; each bike lane is unidirectional. The street's namesake was Master Commandant William Henry Allen, the youngest person to command a Navy ship in the War of 1812. He was killed in action at the age of 28. His exploits included the capture of the British ship HMS Macedonian.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, south of 14th Street, and north of Houston Street. The East Village contains three subsections: Alphabet City, in reference to the single-letter-named avenues east of First Avenue; Little Ukraine, near Second Avenue and 6th and 7th Streets; and the Bowery, located around the street of the same name.

The present-day East Village was originally occupied by the Lenape Native people, and was then divided into plantations by Dutch settlers. During the early 19th century, the East Village contained many of the city's most opulent estates. By the middle of the century, it grew to include a large immigrant population – including what was once referred to as Manhattan's Little Germany – and was considered part of the nearby Lower East Side. By the late 1960s, many artists, musicians, students and hippies began to move into the area, and the East Village gained its own identity. Since at least the 2000s, gentrification has changed the character of the neighborhood.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of Nolita

40°43′21″N 73°59′43″W / 40.722542°N 73.9951515°W / 40.722542; -73.9951515

Nolita, sometimes written as NoLIta and deriving from "Northern Little Italy", is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Nolita is situated in Lower Manhattan, bounded on the north by Houston Street, on the east by the Bowery, on the south roughly by Broome Street, and on the west by Lafayette Street. It lies east of SoHo, south of NoHo, west of the Lower East Side, and north of Little Italy and Chinatown.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of Avenue C (Manhattan)

Avenue C is a north-south avenue located in the Alphabet City area of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, east of Avenue B and west of Avenue D. It is also known as Loisaida Avenue. It starts at South Street, proceeding north as Montgomery Street and Pitt Street, before intersecting East Houston Street and assuming its proper name. Avenue C ends at 23rd Street, running nearly underneath the FDR Drive from 18th Street. North of 14th Street, the road forms the eastern boundary of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of Washington Street (Manhattan)

Washington Street is a north–south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs in several distinct pieces, from its northernmost end at 14th Street in the Meatpacking District to its southern end at Battery Place in Battery Park City. Washington Street is, for most of its length, the westernmost street in lower Manhattan other than West Street. The exceptions are a one-block segment in the West Village where Weehawken Street lies between West and Washington Streets, and in Battery Park City.

Main east–west streets crossed include (from north to south) Christopher Street, Houston Street and Canal Street; neighborhoods traversed include the Meatpacking District, the West Village, Hudson Square and Tribeca. At points north of Canal Street, traffic on Washington Street travels south; at points south of Canal Street, it travels north.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of Varick Street

Varick Street runs north–south primarily in the Hudson Square district of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. Varick Street's northern terminus is in the West Village, where it is a continuation of Seventh Avenue South south of Clarkson Street. It continues downtown through Hudson Square and TriBeCa until it reaches Leonard Street, where it merges with West Broadway. Motor traffic is one-way southbound. Major east–west streets crossed include Houston Street and Canal Street. Approaching Broome Street, the two rightmost lanes of Varick Street are reserved for traffic entering the Holland Tunnel, where backups often occur at rush hour.

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Houston Street (Manhattan) in the context of West Broadway

West Broadway is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, separated into two parts by Tribeca Park. The northern part begins at Tribeca Park, near the intersection of Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), Walker Street and Beach Street in Tribeca. It runs northbound as a one-way street past Canal Street and becomes two-way at the intersection with Grand Street one block farther north. West Broadway then operates as a main north-south thoroughfare through SoHo until its northern end at Houston Street, on the border between SoHo and Greenwich Village. North of Houston Street, it is designated as LaGuardia Place, which continues until Washington Square South.

The southern part of West Broadway runs southbound from Tribeca Park through the TriBeCa neighborhood, ending at Park Place. Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, West Broadway continued southward into the World Trade Center site, ending at Vesey Street. It was once considered "Rotten Row".

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