Henry Street is a street in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

of the

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 ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

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 ...

that runs one-way eastbound, except for two small two-way segments west of Pike Street and east of Montgomery Street. It spans from Oliver Street in the west (locally called "south" because it is towards downtown), passing underneath the

Manhattan Bridge The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is long, with the suspension cable ...

and on to Grand Street in the east ("north"). The street is named for Henry Rutgers, a hero of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and prominent philanthropist. Rutgers Street, which intersects with Henry Street, is also named for him. Thanks to Rutgers' generosity a church was constructed at Henry and Oliver Streets to serve sailors from the East River docks. The

Mariner's Temple Mariner's Temple is a Baptist church at 3 Henry Street, in the Two Bridges section of Manhattan, New York City. It is a brownstone building with Ionic columns. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The church was ...

at 3 Henry Street was built in 1845, and continued to serve maritime workers and their families. It is a New York City Landmark, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 263-269 Henry Street

The poor condition of immigrants living in squalid

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

s on Henry Street and the surrounding neighborhood in the late 19th century prompted nurses Lillian Wald and Mary Maud Brewster to found the Henry Street Settlement in 1893. In recent times, Henry Street continues to be an immigrant neighborhood and has been absorbed into an expanding

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

. St. Augustine's Church at 290 Henry Street between Montgomery and Grand Streets was built in 1827–29 as the All Saints' Free Church, and was constructed out of Manhattan schist. The Georgian-Gothic design is credited to architect John Heath. It was designated a

New York City landmark 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 ...

in 1966., p.48, p.92 At the northwest corner of (16–18) Rutgers Street, Henry Street fronts The Roman Catholic Church of St. Theresa, built 1841 for the First Presbyterian Church of New York ( PCUSA). In recognition of Henry Street's multicultural history, the Henry Street School for International Studies opened in 2004 at 220 Henry Street. The Henry Street School lower school (grades 6–8) welcomes a diverse group of students from the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. The school is one of the New York City Department of Education's small schools and is supported by the

Asia Society The Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco) and around the world (Hong Kong, Ma ...

and the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...

References

External links

Images of Henry Street
from the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

Henry Street Settlement
at NYC-Architecture.com {{Lower East Side Streets in Manhattan Lower East Side