Queens Topographical Poem
A Queens topographical poem -- written in 1926 by Ellis Parker Butler -- attempted to easily explain the new street numbering. 3 December 1926, New York Times, pg. 8:VERSE AFFORDS MEANSTO GET ABOUT…
Radio Row or Electronics District (Cortlandt Street)
New York City's "Radio Row" was a collection of electronics retail and repair stores that was located on Manhattan's Cortlandt Street. City Radio opened the first store on…
Ragpickers’ Row (59 Baxter Street)
"Ragpickers' Row" (also called "Ragpicker's Row") was located at 59 Baxter Street, Manhattan, in the mid-19th century. Residents of the neighborhood were so poor that…
Ragtime Rialto (West 28th Street)
"Ragtime Rialto" was another name for what is now called "Tin Pan Alley," where the song publishers assembled on West 28th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The…
Renwick Row or English Terrace 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…
Road Apple
A "horse apple" is horse manure. It's called a "road apple" when it's found in the road. "Road apples, horse dung" was cited in The American Thesaurus of…
Roaring Forties
"The Roaring Forties" represents the Times Square area (42nd Street). This appears to have been coined just after the first World War. "The Roaring Forties" is a 19th century…
Rotten Row (West Broadway)
West Broadway (known as Laurens Street in the 1800s) was called "Rotten Row" since at least 1840. It was a place of dilapidated houses, crime and prostitution. Wikipedia: West…
Rubberneck Row
"Rubberneck Row" was Forty-Fourth Street. Tourist buses used to visit that street around about 1900. Visitor would at attractions from one side of the street to the other. Their necks…
Rules of Eighth Avenue (in Manhattan)
There have been several "Rules of Eighth Avenue." The third Madison Square Garden was located on Eighth Avenue, between 49th and 50th Street in Manhattan, from 1925 to 1968. It hosted…
Seven Sisters’ Row (West 25th Street)
"Sisters' Row" (also called "Seven Sisters' Row) was located on West 25th Street, near Seventh Avenue, and was known for its houses of prostitution. As described in the…
Silicon Alley
"Silicon Alley" was always a name more than a place. It was meant to imitate California's Silicon Valley nickname. Mark Stahlman claims that he coined it and that he had Broadway in…
Snake Hill Road (Richmond Hill Road, Staten Island)
A part of Richmond Hill Road (from LaTourette Golf Course to Arthur Kill Road and Historic Richmond Town) in Staten Island has been called "Snake Hill Road." The road has dangerous,…
Soubrette Row (West 39th Street)
A "soubrette" is what a female stock character in opera and theatre was called in the late 1800s and early 1899s. New York City had a "Soubrette Row," where women employed in…
Sportsmen’s Row (Eighth Avenue, Park Slope)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Daily Racing Forum11/11/2010 2:35PMThe golden era of Brooklyn racingBy Ryan Goldberg(...)On the edge of Gravesend, Avenue U became Trainers’ Row. The moneyed class, like…
Spring Roll Street (Spring Street)
Spring Street runs throw Hudson Square, SoHo and Nolita. A New York (NY) Times article on April 11, 2013, stated "Spring Street, a major east-west artery that friends have nicknamed Spring…
Stable Row
New York has (or had) more than one "stable row." The "stable row" near the famous Dakota building, on Amsterdam Avenue from 75th to 77th Streets, failed to be landmarked in…
Streatery (eatery on a street)
A "streatery" or "streetery" (street + eatery) is a term similar to "parklet." A street parking space is taken over for dining, or the entire street could be closed to…
Street of Dreams (Broadway)
Dream Street (1921) was a film by D. W. Griffith, with the action taking place in London. "Street of Dreams" (1932) was a song by Victor Young, but no specific place is specified in the…
Street of Dreams (Wall Street)
Wall Street is often called "The Street" and sometimes also called the "Street of Dreams." A book by Howard M. Wachtel was titled Street of Dreams: Boulevard of Broken Hearts;…