The Meatpacking District, officially known as Gansevoort Market,[1] and also known as MePa, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs roughly from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street,[2] although it has extended to the north to West 16th Street and east beyond Hudson Street in recent years.[3]
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History
In 1900, Gansevoort Market was home to 250 slaughterhouses and packing plants,[4] but by the 1980s, it had become known as a center for drug dealing and prostitution, particularly transsexuals. Concurrent with the rise in illicit sexual activity, the sparsely populated industrial area became the locus of the city's burgeoning gay BDSM subculture; loosely embracing the business model of disco impresario David Mancuso, over a dozen sex clubs — including such epochal lodestars as The Anvil, The Manhole, and the heterosexual-friendly Hellfire Club — flourished in the area. At the forefront of the scene was the members-only Mineshaft, situated on Little West 12th Streets. Open around the clock from Wednesday evening to Monday morning, the club boasted a dance floor and several dungeons among its many amenities. A preponderance of these establishments were under the direct control of the Mafia or subjugated to NYPD protection rackets. In 1985, The Mineshaft was forcibly shuttered by the city at the height of AIDS preventionism. [5]
Beginning in the late 1990s, the Meatpacking District went through a transformation. High-end boutiques such as Diane von Furstenberg, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Rubin Chapelle, Scoop, Theory, Ed Hardy, Puma Black Store, Moschino, ADAM by Adam Lippes, the Apple Store, and CALYPSO by Christiane Celle, custom home furnishing boutiques such as Establishment, restaurants such as Pastis and Buddha Bar, and nightclubs such as Tenjune, One, G-Spa, Cielo, APT, Level V, and Kiss and Fly, all have recently opened in order to cater to young professionals and hipsters. In 2004, New York magazine called the Meatpacking District "New York’s most fashionable neighborhood".[1]
Preservation
By 2003, only 35 of the 250 slaughterhouses and packing plants present a century earlier remained in the area.[4]
In September 2003, after three years of lobbying by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) established the Gansevoort Market Historic District.[6] The LPC granted only part of their request: the new district excluded the neighborhood's waterfront, and the restrictions associated with the designation did not apply to the 14-story luxury hotel (the Hotel Gansevoort) which opened in April 2004.[4] In 2007 the Meatpacking District website went live to serve the community and those wanting to know more about the Meatpacking District. The site is intended to provide general news and business information. Also in 2007, GVSHP announced that New York State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash had approved adding the entire Meatpacking District, not just the city-designated Gansevoort Market Historic District, to the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.[7]
References
- ^ a b Steinberg, Jon (August 18, 2004). "Meatpacking District Walking Tour". New York. http://nymag.com/visitorsguide/neighborhoods/meatpacking.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ McPherson, Coco (December 24, 2002). "Close-Up on: The Meatpacking District". Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0252,mcpherson,40756,15.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ Mohney, Chris (September 25, 2006). "Close-Up on: The Meatpacking District". Gawker. http://gawker.com/news/meatpacking-district/hit-piece-meatpacking-district-202992.php. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ a b c New York City Names Gansevoort Market a Historic District, from the website of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
- ^ Bring back the beefcake, and add some flowers too [1] (14 July 2004)
- ^ Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Save Gansevoort Market
- ^ Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Meatpacking District Approved for Listing on State and National Register of Historic Places (11 April 2007)
External links
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Coordinates: 40°44′25″N 74°00′25″W / 40.7404°N 74.0070°W
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