I don’t know that much about clothing or fabric, but I can say that Manhattan’s Garment District is one of the most interesting parts of the city. Very few other places in the world resemble these canyon-like blocks which are packed with pre-war Gothic lofts built to serve as workshops, fabric wholesalers, and showrooms. It’s a rare neighborhood still overwhelmingly shaped by a single industry and even though the neighborhood is transitioning toward the typical Manhattan uses, it still feels like being backstage at a majestic theater.
So the street-level allure endures with windows showing bolts of fabric, models, and dress forms. And sometimes there are just racks of clothes sitting in the street.
Looking west.
Drop in on Google Maps here.
Engine 26 (1895)
The “Batcave” is a little firehouse that’s dwarfed by some of the larger buildings it serves. Originally built for a volunteer company using horse-drawn carriages, it was later retrofitted to hold modern firetrucks, according to Sideways.nyc (which has some cool photos inside the building).
Over the years, the company has responded to fires across the street, at the Empire State Building and in 9/11 lost members in the World Trade Center.
At the turn of the last century, this was the home of a stray dog that hitched its way to New York after the fire company traveled to Baltimore to put out a massive fire, according to Hatching Cat of Gotham. When they returned to 37th Street, the dog—dubbed “Baltimore”—became the firehouse’s mascot and was presented with a collar of leather and brass.
Nowadays, instead of lil Baltimore, you’ll see the Batman symbol on the windows, the firetrucks, the sidewalk, and anywhere else it will fit.
Some storefronts
221 West 37th Street (1920) & Steinlauf & Stoller
This is a cool little structure with some decorative brickwork dubbed the Co-Ed Building. There isn’t a ton of information about this online, but it’s home to one of the last remnants of the Garment District’s schmatta industry: Steinlauf & Stoller, open since 1947.
Cool brick patterns
This is the place to go if you’re in the market for sewing notions. And if you’re like me and don’t know what that is, that includes the tools and accessories for making clothes: scissons, shoulder pads, buttons, and zippers, according to Sidewalk NYC. Everything but the fabric itself.
Shampam Building, 252 West 37th Street (1924)
One night in October 1980, the police stormed a nightclub in this building for alcohol violations, arresting 35 people and chased partiers off of the dance floor. A book excerpt about the club—The Danceteria—captures one bartender’s experience that night:
“The dance floor was an inch deep in pills and glassine envelopes. I was stupid enough not to get out from behind the bar in time and the cop who arrested me stole my tips, the lowdown scum.”
After opening earlier that year, the club helped lead the charge of clubs moving away from Downtown into the open stretches of Manhattan. It had three floors for patrons to encounter two bands, two DJs and a high-end video lounge for an experimental hybrid of music and video called…the music video. (David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes” premiered here.)
Strung out and hitting an all time low, the team behind the Danceteria moved south to 21st street where it became more of a lynchpin in the music scene, famously hosting Madonna in her early days.
Courier bold
Tucked inside a freight entrance is El Sabroso, a tiny Latin American lunch counter known for its stewed meats and other hearty staples. It’s a working class holdout that gives the perfect fuel for
I poked my head in there but they were getting ready to close. Maybe next time.
Block Rating: 7/10