Satan's Circus - The Haymarket

During the late 19th century, West 30th Street near Sixth Avenue was part of the infamous Tenderloin section of Manhattan. Notorious for its seemingly unstoppable lawless activity, this shady stretch ran from about West 23rd to West 42nd Streets, and from Fifth Avenue west to Seventh Avenue.
From about 1860 through 1910, this area was also the Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and entertainment district, which attracted numerous businessmen, tourists, sailors, soldiers, prostitutes, and criminals. For a bribe, many patrolmen would happily look the other way.
John Sloan painted The Haymarket in 1906, showing a troupe of colorful ladies-of-the-night entering. Disguising itself occasionally as a theatre or a dancehall helped The Haymarket to remain open, affording prostitutes a popular place to pick up customers. Located at 66 West 30th Street, on Sixth Avenue, this busy nightspot was prized as sin’s shopping mall. The building was razed in 1911 --- --- and the address no longer exists.
“This was a dying street when I first moved to this block in the early 1970s,” said Mike Lee, who is known as “the Mayor of West 30th,” and who is getting acquainted with his newest next-door neighbor, the Eventi Hotel. “Forty years ago many Jewish people owned the fur factories, and the skilled workforce on this street was mostly Greek or Italian. West 30th has evolved from a tight-knit group of furriers then, to importers and exporters of handbags at the present time.”
There’s a great deal to be said about West 30th Street. So come back and visit often.

Wonderful West 30th Street

There are many reasons why this stretch had been known as "Satan's Circus" and "The Tenderloin" -- and you'll find out about that and other curiosities on this blog, which is focused on a strange and wonderful one-of-a-kind block in midtown Manhattan: West 30th Street.

Initially placed on the city's grid after the Civil War, West 30th stretches from the western side of Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River. The area first became an amalgam of luxurious townhouses and eateries situated between Fifth Avenue and Broadway. These were paved roads at a time when Seventh Avenue was still a dirt highway meant for carriage drivers destined for Central Park.

Stop here soon to see unusual photographs, close-ups, and forgotten archival treats that will punctuate each entry about the buildings and personalities from West 30th Street's notorious past and present life.
To be continued . . .