New York Songlines: Leroy Street

including St. Lukes Place

West St | Washington St | Greenwich St | Hudson St | 7th Avenue South | Bedford St | Bleecker St

There's a legend that the street was named for the Lost Dauphin, son of Louis XVI, who supposedly lived in New York under the name Leroy--for "Le Roi"--and whose gravestone was allegedly found when the Trinity Church graveyard was turned into a playground. In fact, this street included the offices of Jacob Le Roy & Sons, a shipping company that prospered during the War of 1812 by running the British blockade--the street was named for the company (or its owner) by 1807. St. Lukes Place is named for St. Luke's Church, though the church is two blocks away.





HUDSON RIVER

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

South:

Federal Express

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

On July 14, 1863, during the Draft Riots, a black man was stabbed and beaten with a 20-pound rock at this intersection. Rescued by police, he died a few days later at New York Hospital, able only to give his name as "Williams."

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

South:


112: This was the address of St. Veronica's parochial school from 1897-1906; Mayor Jimmy Walker went to school here.

110: Jimmy Walker was born at this address on June 19, 1881.

Corner (421 Hudson): Printing House Apartments

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

South:

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. Note mural by Keith Haring.

The pool in this park was featured in the film Raging Bull as the place where Robert de Niro meets Cathy Moriarty, as well as in the film Kids.





























66: New York Public Library--Hudson Park branch

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North:

1: Sculptor Theodore Roszak lived here.

4: Served as Audrey Hepburn's apartment in Wait Until Dark

5: The houses from here to No. 16 were built 1852-53.

6: Residence of Jazz Age Mayor Jimmy Walker; note mayoral lamps. He left here in 1932 when he resigned and fled to Europe under a cloud of scandal; the house was sold in 1934 for nonpayment of taxes.

10: Exterior for The Cosby Show

11: Masses editor Max Eastman was raided by police here in 1920; psychedelic guru Timothy Leary was raided by police in 1965.

12: Novelist Sherwood Anderson lived here in 1923. Later it was the home of Starr Faithfull, a flapper whose body was discovered in New York Harbor, sparking a mystery that dominated the papers in the summer of 1931.

12 1/2: This was the home of civil rights attorney Leonard Boudin--and of his daughter, Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin.

14: Poet Marianne Moore lived here (1918-1929); in 1925, she became editor of The Dial.

15: Painters Paul Cadmus and Jared French lived here; in 1947, novelist E.M. Forster stayed with them while visiting New York.

16: Novelist Theodore Dreiser began An American Tragedy while living here (1922-23).

17: Journalist Linda Ellerbee has reportedly lived here. This is the last St. Lukes address--the rest of the block, after the bend, has Leroy Street numbering.


S <===             7TH AVE S/BEDFORD ST             ===> N

S <===             BEDFORD ST/7TH AVE S             ===> N

South:

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25: TV host Rachel Maddow lived for c. eight years, until 2011.

13: Actor Will Smith lived here briefly.

7: Federal building dates to c. 1830; Said to be haunted by "Elsbeth," 19th Century ghost



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


What am I missing on Leroy Street and St Lukes Place? Write to Jim Naureckas and tell him about it.

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