Baxter St, Chinatown

Baxter Street is famous among New York historians (and armchair historian) as the site of the Baxter Street Dudes, a teenaged street gang that ran the Grand Duke's Theatre with an iron fist. Today, Baxter Street is a curious blend of SoHo, Chinatown, and Little Italy. While the street is a stone's throw and a corner away from one of the city's most mouthwatering restaurants, former speakeasy (and Sex and the City set) O'Neals Grand Street, it's also home to a mix of Asian and old-school Italian restaurants: the Vietnamese New Pasteur stands alongside the traditional Forlini, nearby the Museum of Chinese in America vies for your attention alongside the Most Precious Blood Church, consecrated to Neopolitan patron Sn. Gennaro (of the feast day festivities). While there's little that's "trendy" here - you're more likely to sit next to geriatrics than Gen X-ers, this historical street is nevertheless a welcome, if somewhat cramped and crowded, reminder of old New York.

Baxter Street is ugly through and through. It goes through a bit of Little Italy and Chinatown; and, it has, apparently, been synonymous with crime, poverty and filth since its inception hundreds of years ago. But, there are some historical things worth noting on this street. Even if it is horribly ugly. The Police Building at Broome was the police headquarters until the '70's when it was converted into super luxury lofts. Just about every supermodel has owned an apartment in this building. It's kinda weird -- like, did they all get together and decide this? Odd Fellows Hall is a landmark building at Grand that was built in 1847. Most Precious Blood Church is at Baxter and Canal. It's a really Italian Church that has a funny name and they go off with the San Gennaro festivities at this particular parish.
The Tombs is at Baxter and White. It is a jail for those being arraigned for court. Sid Viscious, Puff Daddy and the David kid that killed John Lennon have all stayed here. Directly across the street is Columbus Park. It's an ugly park but noteworthy because it was a park built to break up the 5 points. Where the park is now is where one of the actual five points was. The 5 points was really something else because it was the biggest and most dangerous pretty much anywhere. At one point, police found 15 people living in a tiny room at 39 Baxter in the 1840's. There were also 106 pigs there. On a high note, however, the alleys right in this area were where bowling was invented. People literally bowled in the bowling alley they made. The corner of Worth and Baxter is the only one of the original 5 points still in tact so it's worth looking at.
I'm really into history, so I have made the trek down this street. But, while it's not nearly as ugly as it was 150 years ago. . . it's still not pretty. . . or safe.