Cross-Roads of the World
Times Square became known as the "Cross-Roads of the World" by about 1923-1924. The nickname had been used before for European cities (London, Paris, Rome) or the Near East. It was soon…
Dead Line
The "deadline" started as a Civil War term, then became the police line at Fulton Street, and then became the police line at Fourteenth Street. The newspaper use of "deadline"…
Dead Man’s Curve
"Dead Man's Curve" is more popularly known today as a song by Jan and Dean, but it was the corner of 14th Street and Broadway. Some find it irony that a statue of Gandhi now stands…
Death Avenue; Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
"Death Avenue" was the nickname of Eleventh Avenue, from about 1890. It got its name from New York Central train accidents. Previously, Fourth Avenue had been "Death Avenue."…
Death Street (Houston Street)
Houston Street in Manhattan has sometimes been called 'Death Street" for bicyclists. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/430576p-363009c.html 28 June 2006, New York Daily News,…
Death’s Thoroughfare (Mulberry Street)
Mulberry Street in Manhattan was called "Death's Thoroughfare" by the Board of Health in the 19th century, but several streets with tenements also deserved the title. The Sun (New…
Delicatessen Drive (Seventh Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets)
The Stage Delicatessen, on 834 Seventh Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets in Manhattan, was opened by Russian immigrant Max Asnas (1898-1968) in 1937. The deli became a favorite with the Broadway…
Designers’ Row
Several streets claim to be "Designers' Row." All three can be justified. The block on East 58th Street (also East 59th Street), between Third and Second Avenues, has an official…
Doctors’ Row (or, Irish Fifth Avenue)
There are three "Doctors' Rows." One is at 122nd Street in Harlem, and the other is at Alexander Avenue (also called "Irish Fifth Avenue") in the Bronx. Both names are…
Dungeon Alley (Dungeon District)
"Dungeon Alley" or "Dungeon District" is the nickname (cited in print since 2007) for a roughly 20-block area of Manhattan (between Chelsea and Midtown) that caters to the sex…
Dutch Broadway (Courtlandt Avenue in the Bronx)
German immigration to New York City was high in the years before World War I. The term "Dutch" was often used for Germans (for "Deutsch"). Courtlandt Avenue in the Bronx had so…
Easy Street
The Historical Dictionary of American Slang defines "easy street" as " a condition of easy and comfort, especially financial success. Also cap." There is no indication if…
English Terrace Row or Renwick Row (West 10th Street, Manhattan)
"English Terrace Row" (or "Renwick Row") in Manhattan is located on West 10th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). The row of houses was…
Forty Deuce (42nd Street)
"Forty Deuce," or "Deuce" for short, is (or was) West 42nd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue. The term dates from the seedy 1960s and 1970s, when the block…
Fraudway; Queerialto; Double-Crossroads of the World
Fraudway (for Broadway) and Queerialto (for Rialto) and Double-Crossroads of the World (for Crossroads of the World) are some of the cynical Broadway nicknames from the 1920s that didn't…
Frozen Zone
A "frozen zone" is a high security area that is off limits ("frozen") to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. A "frozen zone" can be declared after a disaster (such as…
Fukushima Freeway (transport road for nuclear waste)
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011. The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) began a protest of the transportation of nuclear waste, declaring on…
Gapers’ Block
Patrolman Irving Francis ("Irv") Hayden provided rush hour traffic reports on Chicago's WGN radio in the 1960s. He coined the term "gapers' block" (cited in print…
Gateway to Queens (Queens Plaza)
Queens Plaza has been called "the Gateway to Queens." A transportation redesign of Queens Plaza was approved in 2002-2003.…
Gay Boulevard
"Gay Boulevard" is the main street in any city area frequented by gays. At a Manhattan community board meeting in July 2008, board member Allen Roskoff said: "I refer to Eighth Ave.…