__NOTOC__ Varick Street runs north–south primarily in the

Hudson Square Hudson Square is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by Clarkson Street to the north, Canal Street to the south, Varick Street to the east, and the Hudson River to the west. To the north of the neig ...

district of

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

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 ...

, United States. Varick Street's northern terminus is in the

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...

, where it is a continuation of Seventh Avenue South south of Clarkson Street. It continues downtown through

and

TriBeCa Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stre ...

until it reaches

Leonard Street Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' ...

, where it merges with

West Broadway West Broadway is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, separated into two parts by Tribeca Park. The northern part begins at Tribeca Park, near the intersection of Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), Walker Street a ...

. Motor traffic is one-way southbound. Major east–west streets crossed include

Houston Street Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in t ...

and Canal Street. Approaching

Broome Street Broome Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan. It runs nearly the full width of Manhattan island, from Hudson Street in the west to Lewis Street in the east, near the entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge. The street is interrupted in ...

, the two rightmost lanes of Varick Street are reserved for traffic entering the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...

, where backups often occur at rush hour.

History

Varick Street is named for

Richard Varick Richard Varick (March 15, 1753 – July 30, 1831) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who has been referred to as "The Forgotten Founding Father." A major figure in the development of post-Independence New York City and Stat ...

, an early

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

lawmaker and the

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

from 1789 to 1801, who owned property in the area. Varick Street was widened during the southward extension of Seventh Avenue in 1917. A number of old buildings were torn down during the widening project, including St. John's Chapel, which facilitated construction of the

IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line IRT may refer to: Science and technology * Imagery rehearsal therapy, a treatment for nightmare disorders * Immunoreactive trypsinogen, newborn screening test for cystic fibrosis * Infrared thermography * Infrared Telescope (IRT), carried on Spac ...

and opened up a new vehicular route between Midtown and lower Manhattan. The downtown M20 bus route runs the entire length of Varick Street. Additionally, the crosstown M21 bus intersects Varick Street at

in the westbound direction and at

Spring Street Spring Street may refer to: * Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA * Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA * Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia * Spring Street, Singapore * Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website Subway and trolle ...

in the eastbound direction. The

, Canal Street, and Franklin Street subway stations on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line () are located under Varick Street. In 1853, Heinrich Englehard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway) founded the first American

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...

factory in a loft at the back of 85 Varick Street.

References

Notes

External links

7th Avenue With Varick Street: A New York Songline
– virtual walking tour Streets in Manhattan Hudson Square {{NYC-road-stub