Gashouse District
Encyclopedia
The Gashouse District or Gas House District was a name given to an area of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
which was dominated by giant gas storage tanks, or "gashouses", from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. The district was considered to extend from 14th Street
to 27th Street and from Third Avenue
(from 18th to 23rd
streets) and Park Avenue South (from 23rd to 27th streets) to the East River
. The district was largely replaced by the giant Stuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village housing developments – the first buildings of which opened in 1947 – the remainder is now considered to be part of the Gramercy Park
neighborhood.
and other predators who operated in the area. The population was predominantly poor, at first largely Irish, but then Germans and Jews as well; later, Slovaks and other Eastern Euopeans were the dominant ethic groups, including a large population of Armenians who lived in the upper Twenties between First
and Lexington
avenues.
Crime in the district was endemic. When Alexander S. Williams
was promoted to police captain and assigned to the area, he met the gangs' violence with equal force of his own, putting together a brute squad that beat up gangsters with clubs. He commented: "There is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court."
With the construction of the East River Drive
, now the "FDR Drive", the area began to improve. By 1939, all but four tanks were gone and, while shabby, the area was no more blighted than many parts of the city after the years of the Great Depression
.
With the construction of Stuyvesant Town, the eighteen city blocks, with 600 buildings, containing 3,100 families, 500 stores and small factories, three churches, three schools, and two theaters, were razed. As would be repeated in later urban renewal
projects, some 11,000 persons were forced to move from the neighborhood. In 1945, New York Times called the move from the site "the greatest and most significant mass movement of families in New York's history." The last residents of the Gashouse district, the Delman family, moved out in May 1946, allowing demolition to be completed shortly thereafter.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
which was dominated by giant gas storage tanks, or "gashouses", from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. The district was considered to extend from 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
to 27th Street and from Third Avenue
Third Avenue (Manhattan)
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Cooper Square north for over 120 blocks. Third Avenue continues into The Bronx across the Harlem River over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East Fordham Road at...
(from 18th to 23rd
23rd Street (Manhattan)
23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...
streets) and Park Avenue South (from 23rd to 27th streets) to the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
. The district was largely replaced by the giant Stuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village housing developments – the first buildings of which opened in 1947 – the remainder is now considered to be part of the Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park
Gramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...
neighborhood.
History
The first tank was constructed in 1842 at East 23rd Street and the river, and when numerous other tanks quickly joined it, the district received its name. The tanks, which sometimes leaked, made the area undesirable to live in, as did the Gas House GangGas House Gang
The Gas House Gang was a New York street gang during the late nineteenth century.Founded in the 1890s, the Gas House Gang was based in the Gas House district of Manhattan and controlled the area along Third Avenue from 11th to 18th Street...
and other predators who operated in the area. The population was predominantly poor, at first largely Irish, but then Germans and Jews as well; later, Slovaks and other Eastern Euopeans were the dominant ethic groups, including a large population of Armenians who lived in the upper Twenties between First
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and Lexington
Lexington Avenue (Manhattan)
Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated by New Yorkers as "Lex," is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street...
avenues.
Crime in the district was endemic. When Alexander S. Williams
Alexander S. Williams
Alexander S. Williams was an American law enforcement officer and police inspector for the New York City Police Department...
was promoted to police captain and assigned to the area, he met the gangs' violence with equal force of his own, putting together a brute squad that beat up gangsters with clubs. He commented: "There is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court."
With the construction of the East River Drive
Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive
The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
, now the "FDR Drive", the area began to improve. By 1939, all but four tanks were gone and, while shabby, the area was no more blighted than many parts of the city after the years of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
With the construction of Stuyvesant Town, the eighteen city blocks, with 600 buildings, containing 3,100 families, 500 stores and small factories, three churches, three schools, and two theaters, were razed. As would be repeated in later urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
projects, some 11,000 persons were forced to move from the neighborhood. In 1945, New York Times called the move from the site "the greatest and most significant mass movement of families in New York's history." The last residents of the Gashouse district, the Delman family, moved out in May 1946, allowing demolition to be completed shortly thereafter.