Chrystie Street is a street onManhattan'sLower East Side andChinatown, running as a continuation ofSecond Avenue fromHouston Street, for seven blocks south toCanal Street. It is bounded on the east for its entirety bySara D. Roosevelt Park, for the creation of which the formerly built-up east side of Chrystie Street (the even numbers) was razed, eliminating among other structures three smallsynagogues.[1] Originally called First Street, it was renamed for Col.John Chrystie, a veteran of theWar of 1812 and a member of thePhilolexian Society ofColumbia University, and a newFirst Street was laid out above Houston Street.
In 1967, theChrystie Street Connection—a major connecting line of theNew York City Subway—opened; it is one of the few connections between lines of the (former)BMT andIND divisions.[2] TheB and D trains of theNew York City Subway can be reached at theGrand Street station.[3]
A protected two-way bike lane along Chrystie Street was built in 2016, replacing two older bike lanes that wove between the parking and travel lanes in each direction. It also directly connected the bike lanes between Second Avenue and theManhattan Bridge.[4]
The second African Burying Ground was located on the west side of First (Chrystie) Street, betweenStanton andRivington Streets, extending to theBowery, after theAfrican Burial Ground nearCollect Pond was declared closed in 1794. In the 1820s St Philip's assumed ownership from the City Council, and when the cemetery was closed in 1853, remains were disinterred and removed toCypress Hills Cemetery.[5]
On June 28, 1776, on the corner of Chrystie andGrand Streets,Thomas Hickey was hung in front of over 20,000 spectators for having participated in a plot to killGeorge Washington.[6]
From 1847 through 1854, New York'sTemple Emanu-El was located at 56 Chrystie Street, the site now part of the Park.[7]
Thesettlement movement maintained a Settlement House there, whereLee Strasberg first became involved in the theater.[8]Dorothy Day'sCatholic Worker Movement continued this concept with one of their hospitality houses there.[9]Michael Harrington frequented it in 1951/52 shortly after he moved to New York.[10]
Dixon Place, a theater that previously occupied several sites in Lower Manhattan since their foundation in 1986, opened on Chrystie Street in 2009.[11]
Thecabaret nightclubThe Box Manhattan, sister club toThe Box Soho in London, is located in Chrystie Street.[12]
Chrystie Street appears in "59 Chrystie Street", the first section of the 15th track on the albumPaul's Boutique by Americanhip hop group theBeastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989. The address in the title refers to an early residence of Beastie Boys group members.[13]
In the mid seventies, an unrefurbished loft at 195 Chrystie Street became the shared home ofChris Frantz,Tina Weymouth andDavid Byrne. This was where they formed and rehearsed the rock/pop groupTalking Heads.[14][15]
In theSpider-Man comic book series,Peter Parker's apartment was at 187 Chrystie Street.[16]
InDC Comics'Doorway to Nightmare,Madame Xanadu (Nimue) lived on Chrystie Street, her doorway visible only to those in need of her services. It was sometimes misspelled "Christy", and was variously described as being inGreenwich Village or theEast Village.[17]
Media related toChrystie Street (Manhattan) at Wikimedia Commons