New York Songlines: Dominick Street

Hudson | Varick | Clark | 6th Ave |

Dominick Street by borwick, on Flickr

Named for Georges Dominick, a refugee from 18th Century France who was a vestryman for Trinity Church, an institution that had a lot of influence over street names in this part of town.



VEVO Launches Premiere Destination for Premium Music Video - Inside by gagaboy2010, on Flickr 275 Hudson Street: Skylight Studio, an 18,000-square-foot gallery/event space





S <===     HUDSON ST     ===> N

South:

The City We Imagined / The City We Made by roccocell, on Flickr

Corner (250 Hudson): This 14-story mid-rise from 1930, designed by William Higginson, is home to Edelman, the world's largest privately owned PR firm, which represents such clients as Microsoft, Walmart, Shell and Starbucks.

38: There was a French restaurant here called Alison on Dominick Street.

32: Was the rectory of Our Lady of Vilnius, a Roman Catholic church serving Lithuanian immigrants.

Corner (121 Varick): A 12-story building from 1929, designed by Victor Mayper

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North:

Corner (282 Hudson): This four-story tenement was home to the Blues Bar, an unlicensed after-hours joint owned by Dan Akroyd where he and John Belushi worked on their Blues Brothers act in 1978-79.













Corner (131 Varick): The New York Times says this "might be New York's most college-dorm-like office building."


S <===     VARICK STREET     ===> N

South:

Corner (114 Varick): Icon Varick Street Parking
























Chelsea Career and Technical High School

Corner (131 6th Ave): Formerly a vocational school, now geared toward college prep--it seems like New York City's school system doesn't really do vocational anymore. Also here--in this building that dates to 1848--is the NYCiSchool, a selective high school that tries to get Regents test prep out of the way so students can concentrate on more creative work.

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North:

Trump Soho

Trump SOHO by Alex (Darth Vader), on Flickr

Corner (246 Spring): A 46-story sky-reflecting glass high-rise completed in 2010--a project of dubious legality that even its owners admit has a lot wrong with it. Some buyers were offered partial refunds if they agreed not to sue.

Human bones were uncovered on the site during construction, which turned out to be 19th Century remains from the burial crypts of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church, a brick building completed in 1836 that burned down in 1963. An earlier church for the fiercely abolitionist congregation was built here in 1811, and destroyed by a racist mob in 1834. "The Name Means Public Spirited" by Asta Bennie, on Flickr

Corner (145 6th Ave): The off- Broadway theater HERE is located, well, here, in what The New York Times called "one of the most unusual arts spaces in New York and possibly the model for the cutting-edge arts spaces of tomorrow." The Vagina Monologues were first performed here in October 1996. There's also a restaurant off the lobby--formerly called 1 Dominick, now the Herb-n-Peach Eatery.


S <===     CLARK STREET     ===> N

Officially, this two-block street has no name, but it was Clark before the 6th Avenue expansion.

Soho Square

NYC - Hudson Square: General José Artigas statue by wallyg, on Flickr A sliver of a park created by the southward extension of Sixth Avenue. (Why do they always call triangular parks in New York City "Such-and-Such Square"? What's wrong with "Such-and-Such Triangle"?) It contains a statue of General Jose Artigas, the hero of Uruguayan independence--one of six statues of Latin American liberators installed along the Avenue of the Americas, from Central Park to Canal Street.




S <===     6TH AVENUE     ===> N

As of 2011, there was a largish vacant lot here going through to Sullivan Street, the former site of a gas station. It's vaguely slated to become (what else) a luxury hotel.





What am I missing on Dominick Street? Write to Jim Naureckas and tell him about it.

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