The Ladies' Mile Historic District was a prime shopping district in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the end of the 19th century, serving the well-to-do "

carriage trade A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

" of the city. It was designated in May 1989, by the

New York City Landmark Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

to preserve an irregular district of 440 buildings on 28 blocks and parts of blocks, from roughly 15th Street to 24th Street and from

Park Avenue South Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Ave ...

to west of the

Avenue of the Americas Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...

(Sixth Avenue). Community groups such as the Drive to Protect the Ladies' Mile District and the

Historic Districts Council The Historic Districts Council (HDC) is a New York City-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves as the advocate for New York City's historic buildings, neighborhoods, and public spaces. HDC'YouTube channelprovides a large catalog of free w ...

campaigned heavily for the status. The Ladies' Mile Historic District contains mostly multi-story store and loft buildings. These buildings became common after 1899 when laws prohibited combined home and production areas without a permit, causing people who had previously worked at home to seek commercial spaces; the rise of unions which advocated for better working conditions also contributed to the development.

History

Before becoming a shopping district, this area was residential and included rows of identical brownstone townhouses. These townhouses were replaced in the 1860s by department stores. The architectural style of this district shifted to Beaux-Arts,

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

, and Queen Anne. Many of the new buildings used

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

because it was cheap and could be made into any shape for extravagant decorations. The first to make this move was

Arnold Constable Arnold Constable & Company was a department store chain in the New York City metropolitan area. At one point it was the oldest department store in America, operating for over 150 years from its founding in 1825 to its closing in 1975. At the comp ...

in 1868, though other were quick to follow. The area first came to prominence in 1860, when the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

stayed at the

Fifth Avenue Hotel The Fifth Avenue Hotel was a luxury hotel located at 200 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City from 1859 to 1908. It had an entire block of frontage between 23rd Street and 24th Street, at the southwest corner of Madison Square. S ...

, located on the corner of

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

and 23rd Street, signalling to New York's

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

that the neighborhood was acceptable to royalty. Between the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the district was the location of some of New York's most famous department stores and upscale retailers, including B. Altman, Best & Co., Arnold Constable,

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. ...

Gorham Silver The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture. History Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, 1831 by Jabez Gorham, a master craft ...

, W. & J. Sloane,

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

, and Tiffany & Co.Hevesi, Dennis
"When Computer Store Meets Historic District"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (August 3, 2005) The Ladies' Mile also boasted upscale restaurants, booksellers and publishers, and offices and showrooms for piano manufacturers, such as in the

Sohmer Piano Building The Sohmer Piano Building, or Sohmer Building, is a Neo-classical Beaux-Arts building located at 170 Fifth Avenue at East 22nd Street, in the Flatiron District neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, diagonally southwest ...

. Performance venues in the district included the Academy of Music and

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities such ...

; the first location of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

was there as well. All of these attractions brought the rich and celebrities to the area, especially since the safety of the district allowed women to shop without male companions to accompany them. Ethel Barrymore,

Isabella Stewart Gardner Isabella Stewart Gardner (April 14, 1840 – July 17, 1924) was a leading American art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. She founded the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Gardner possessed an energetic intellectual cu ...

Lilly Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isl ...

and

Lillian Russell Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922), was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty ...

were among those who might be found in the opulent shopping district at its zenith. The Ladies' Mile was termed so because women were the target consumers and its popularity made it a safe space for women to wander about without men. The construction of the elevated train known as the El on Sixth Avenue in 1878 made the Ladies' Mile more accessible to lower class consumers. Extravagant shoppers would continue to arrive in carriages. Residents of the area included

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

Samuel F. B. Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

, Emily Post, Edith Wharton and various members of the Roosevelt family. When the district became more commercialized and less elite, many of the well-known residents moved uptown, and the upscale department stores and shops followed them. By the end of World War I, most of the buildings had been converted into warehouses, and lofts for manufacturers, as well as some residences. The majority of the buildings were not torn down, though, and by the 1980s they had started to be renovated and re-converted into large retail stores at street level, and sometimes above, so that the old shopping district is now one once again, albeit one which appeals to a very different clientele. Stores currently in the district include

Bed, Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune ...

Burlington Coat Factory Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, is an American national off-price department store retailer, and a division of Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation with more than 1,000 stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico, with i ...

The Container Store The Container Store Group, Inc. is an American specialty retail chain company that operates The Container Store, which offers storage and organization products, and custom closets. The company has made ''Fortunes list of "100 Best Companies ...

Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. M ...

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerce platform and supported the ret ...

, Staples and

Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...

. A major anchor of the district is Daniel H. Burnham's

Flatiron Building The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a triangular 22-story, steel-framed landmarked building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the eponymous Flatiron District neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Dan ...

, at

and 23rd Street; most of the Ladies' Mile Historic District lies within the Manhattan neighborhood named after that building, the

Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Green ...

. The Ladies' Mile gained the status of Historic District in 1989. This status came after much debate and would not have been possible without the advocacy group The Drive to Protect the Ladies' Mile District. This group was formed by Anthony C. Wood and Jack Taylor. The main opposers to this cause was the Real Estate Board of New York who thought the historic designation would make the lives of property owners too difficult. Margaret Moore and Truman Moore also wrote a book for the cause in 1983 titled End of the Road for Ladies' Mile? Their book contained photographs and essays to share the forgotten history of Ladies' Mile which helped garner support for the cause. This book along with exhibitions and walking tours of Ladies' Mile helped to raise public awareness about the history and significance of Ladies' Mile. Other important influences to the cause was the support of celebrities like

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was a French-American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at ''Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the ...

, and Joseph Papp.

Notable buildings

* Church of the Holy Communion, 49 West 20th Street, 1846 * Arnold Constable Building, 881-887 Broadway, 1868–1877 * B. Altman Dry Goods Store, 621 Sixth Avenue, c.1877 * Gorham Manufacturing Company Building, 889–891 Broadway, 1884 *

Scribner Building The Scribner Building (also known as the Old Scribner Building) is a commercial structure at 155 Fifth Avenue, near 21st Street, in the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Ernest Flagg in the Beaux Arts style, it was c ...

, 155 Fifth Avenue, 1893 * 9–11 East 16th Street, 1895–1896 * Siegel-Cooper Dry Goods Store, 616-632 Sixth Avenue, 1896 *

, 170 Fifth Avenue, 1897–1898 *

, Broadway and Fifth Avenue at East 23rd Street, 1902–03 * Spero Building, 19–27 West 21st Street, 1907–1908 *

Masonic Hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

, 71 West 23rd Street, c. 1910

References

Notes

External links

{{commonscat, Ladies' Mile Historic District
The Ladies' Mile Historic District Papers at the New York Historical Society
Flatiron District Historic districts in Manhattan Historic preservation in the United States New York City designated historic districts New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan