Broadway, NoHo

Though the map shows Broadway to run through Noho much further north than Great Jones, I consider anything further north to Greenwich Village. Most New Yorkers argue about where one neighborhood ends and another begins; but, I think most New Yorkers would tend to agree with me on this one. Broadway, as it runs through Noho, would be a gorgeous street with a lot of great, old buildings if you could take away all of the people, trash, cars and noise. The problem is that there is never a time when all of those aren't abundant on this street. It's an incredibly busy street.
There's a gorgeous building on the west side of Houston and Broadway that now houses one of the biggest Crate and Barrel outposts I have ever seen on the ground floor. It was built by Stanford White at the end of the 19th century and it is just breath taking. My favorite movie theatre in the city, the Angelika, is also in this building. This block leading up to Bleecker is comprised of massive buildings from the turn of the 20th century that have always been for commercial purposes. They're all really beautiful, but it's kind of weird to see something like a Crunch Fitness in an old, decadent building.
The block extending up from Bleecker is similar to the previous in that it's pretty much all commercial space. But, the buildings are, mostly, from the mid-century and do have residential units above them. The corner of Bleecker and Broadway holds a really stunning brick building that used to be a bank -- it was the site of the 19th century's biggest bank robbery wherein the crooks stole $20 million. It's now a clothing shop on the ground floor. Herman Melville lived at 675 Broadway and James Fenimore Cooper's funeral was held at 675 Broadway (it's now an NYU dorm). The site of the dorm was also once a very popular theatre where Edwin and John Wilkes Booth performed together in Julius Caesar.
The block between Great Jones and 4th is so odd looking because of one eye sore of a modern building. There are all these great, old New York buildings with owl looking gargoyles and lions around the borders of them. And, then there's a luxury building smack in the middle of them where a lot of celebrities have lived (like Britney Spears). It cheapens the block, in my opinion.
I would not want to live on Broadway in any part of town. It's just too busy and way too loud. And, there aren't any great bars or restaurants on pretty much any part of Broadway either -- especially in Noho. But, if you like architecture or you like to shop, this is your street. Plus, you can't avoid Broadway because it's such a major avenue.