New York Songlines: Carmine Street

with Clarkson Street

Carmine was originally Carman Street, named for Nicholas Carman, an official of Trinity Church, which owned land in the Village. Clarkson was named for Matthew Clarkson, a Revolutionary War soldier who became an abolitionist politician, a regent of the State University of New York, and president of both New York Hospital and the Bank of New York. He was also a major general in the New York State militia; this street was originally named for Jacob Morton, another militia leader, but since Clarkson outranked Morton the latter's name was transferred to what was then a less prominent street.

HUDSON RIVER

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Corner (354 West): West World Video, shop named for a science fiction movie featuring Yul Brynner as a killer robot cowboy. I think it may have shifted from specializing in gay porn to specializing in video games--or perhaps it does both.

75: Carousel Cafe used to be Carousel, a disreputable strip club

S <=== WASHINGTON STREET ===> N

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Corner (395 Hudson): Home to Hot 97, the hip-hop radio station whose studios have become a traditional site for inter-artist rivalries to escalate into violence. In February 2001, a feud between Lil' Kim's posse and Foxy Brown's Capone-N-Noreaga crew broke into gunfire, resulting in one injury and a perjury conviction for Lil' Kim. The 50 Cent/The Game beef turned into a shooting here in February 2005. And rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard took a bullet here in April 2006--though it didn't prevent him from giving a previously scheduled on-air interview.

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43: Olatz, super-expensive linen design is owned by Olatz Schnabel, wife of artist Julian Schnabel, whose paintings grace the walls of the opulent showroom.

S <=== HUDSON STREET ===> N

South:

City as School

16: High school that places students in real-world learning situations. One of the best interns I ever had at my day job came from here.

Empire State College

Corner (225 Varick): Metropolitan Center, home to this branch of the SUNY system (not to be confused with Empire State University, Peter Parker's alma mater). Lucy Browne's (formerly Steak Frites, before that Brothers BBQ), Getting Hungry deli are on the ground floor; the deli features a four-ton lion hand-carved from teak in Brazil.

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James J. Walker Park

Originally the Trinity Parish Cemetery, where Edgar Allen Poe liked to wander when he lived in the neighborhood in 1837. Now a park named for NYC's scandal-ridden 1920s mayor.

The Carmine Street Pool here features a mural by Keith Haring.

S <=== VARICK ST / SEVENTH AVE S ===> N

On Clarkson Street near the corner of Varick, William Jones, a black workman, was lynched during the Draft Riots on July 13, 1863. A white mob lit a bonfire under his body after hanging him; a ringleader was indicted but never tried for Jones' murder.

East:

78: Was Chez Vous, Italian restaurant; now Cafe Espanol

60: Sweet Revenge cupcakes was Vinylmania, DJ-oriented record store.

58 (corner): Cho's Grocery

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63: Mr. Dennehy's, Irish pub with a sidewalk cafe

55: Do Hwa, styley Korean

S <=== BEDFORD STREET ===> N

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54 (corner): Was Shopsin's General Store, a Village hangout with over 1,000 items on its menu. The restaurant was wary of strangers: Calvin Trillin wrote about it in The New Yorker, but declined to give its name or address out of fear of being barred. It was earlier on Bedford Street; it's now relocated to the Essex Street Market.

50: Was Cent'Anni, old-school Italian

46: Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollack lived in this building (1932-33) while studying at the Art Students League.

42: Carmine Street Guitars

38-40: Yama, acclaimed sushi mini-chain

34: Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books

32: Downing Street Playgroup, cooperative preschool

26: Numero 26, Italian soccer bar

Corner (232 Bleecker): Trattoria Spaghetto

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43: Was Rockit Scientist Records, which moved to St. Marks Place; also Deborah, jazzed-up comfort food

41: Sonic Groove Records is also gone.

37: Was Evergreen Video, which Time Out called ''the go-to shop for out-of-print and hard-to-find Hollywood classics.'' Killed by Netflix, no doubt.

35: House of Oldies stocks an astounding 1 million vintage rock, soul and R&B records. Opened 1968, this seems to be the sole survivor of what was once a cluster of used and specialty record stores in this neighborhood.

33: The Grey Dog's Coffee, neighborhood hangout opened 1996

27: Society of St. Charles

Our Lady of Pompeii

NYC - Greenwich Village: Our Lady of Pompei Church by wallyg, on Flickr

25 (corner): Catholic Church with mass in Italian, built 1929. It's named for a shrine in Pompeii, Italy, founded by a former Satanist. Mother Cabrini, the first American saint, confessed at an earlier version of this church every Sunday. It's now the center of the Village's remaining Italian neighborhood.

S <=== BLEECKER STREET ===> N

See a 360 degree panorama of this intersection.

East:

Father Demo Square

Named for the pastor (1900- 35) of Our Lady of Pom- peii. Noted for his outreach to immigrants and his rallying to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire victims.

Father Demo Square by Popov2007, on Flickr

Father Demo Square Fountain by Steve and Sara, on Flickr

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West:

15 (corner):
A two- story wood- frame house built in 1822 used to be Joe's Pizza, a beloved local slice joint; Peter Parker worked for Joe's here in the Spider Man movie. It moved down the block, and some say it hasn't been the same. It was replaced by Abitino's, a local pizza chain, and is now an ice cream shop.

13 1/2: Some sources give this address for Edgar Allan Poe's home on Carmine Street, where he moved in 1837; others give it as 113 1/2, a number that can't be placed on the street today, if it ever could. In any case, when Poe lived on Carmine, he wrote "The Gold Bug," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

7: The new location of Joe's Pizza.

5: Beard Papa, Asian cream-puff chain

S <=== 6TH AVENUE ===> N

Is your favorite Carmine or Clarkson Street spot missing? Write to Jim Naureckas and tell him about it.

New York Songlines Home.

Sources for the Songlines.

CarmineStreet.com features descriptions of local businesses.

New York Songlines: Carmine Street

with Clarkson Street

HUDSON RIVER

S <=== WEST STREET ===> N

South:

CLARKSON

North:

S <=== WASHINGTON STREET ===> N

South:

CLARKSON

North:

S <=== GREENWICH STREET ===> N

South:

CLARKSONST

North:

S <=== HUDSON STREET ===> N

South:

City as School

Empire State College

CLARKSONSTREET

North:

James J. Walker Park

S <=== VARICK ST / SEVENTH AVE S ===> N

East:

CARMINESTREET

West:

S <=== BEDFORD STREET ===> N

East:

CARMINESTREET

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Our Lady of Pompeii

S <=== BLEECKER STREET ===> N

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Father Demo Square

CARMINESTREET

West:

S <=== 6TH AVENUE ===> N

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