Christopher Street -From Merchants to Misfits

A Brief History of Christopher Street

New York City’s Christopher Street is one of the oldest and longest streets in the West Village. Designed as a diagonal road against a rectangular grid, Christopher Street has always been known for its subversive character. A street of merchants and misfits, known for the occasional mob front, it has been home to Beatniks, Bohemians, and homosexuals. Christopher Street, and the West Village neighborhood around it, have built a reputation for celebrating individual freedom. Over the years, its promises of hope made it the chosen destination for those moving to the City in search of openness and acceptance. These are just a few of the stories that inspired the first Charenton Macerations fragrance.

The Story of
Christopher Street

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Map of Christopher Street

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Christopher Street begins at its intersection with 6th Avenue near 9th Street, and originally ran to a ferry landing on the Hudson River.
This original landing was ultimately filled in during construction of West Street.

Weehawken Street

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

In 1829, the old landing was commemorated with the shortest street in the West Village, the block-long Weehawken Street.
Today, Christopher Street ends just a few steps down from Weehawken at West Street, looking out over Pier 40.

Northern Dispensary

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Walking down Christopher Street, one is immediately struck by the unique architecture of buildings like The Northern Dispensary. It is the only building in Manhattan with one side touching two streets (Christopher and Grove) and two sides touching one (Waverly Place).

Edgar Allan Poe

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

The city handed the site over to the titular Northern Dispensary organization when the building was built, under the stipulation that it be used as a clinic for the poor not able to afford a stay in hospital. And that’s how it was operated, serving tens of thousands of the area’s sick – most famously Edgar Allan Poe – up until 1920, when outpatient services began supplanting walk-ins and overnighters. As the city expanded, bigger, better hospitals opened around town, and the Dispensary became used solely as a community dental clinic.

Nails of Clove

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Although the Dispensary is currently vacated, shuttering its doors to the public in the Eighties, neighborhood residents still comment on the eerie scent of clove that sometimes wafts from its barred windows.

McNulty's

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Heading toward the river, one’s senses are awakened as the flavorful aromas of McNulty’s Coffee and Tea spill out onto the street. Since 1895, McNulty’s has been a Christopher Street staple, supplying a wide selection of exotic coffees and teas from around the world.

Inside McNulty's

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Little has changed inside the shop since opening. Antique roasters line the walls; large sacks of beans lay stacked beside chests of fresh leaves. McNulty’s presence conjures up images of Christopher Street’s merchant past: a time when vibrant markets would have lined the street all the way down to the docks.

Harmony Video
(139 Christopher Street)

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

On the corner of Greenwich Street, is 139 Christopher Street, once occupied by a now-shuttered adult video store, Harmony Video. The building has a long history of mob ties, used as a meeting and organizing place during prohibition days.

Dog Day Afternoon

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Most famously, the 139 site is known as the planning location for the Dog Day Afternoon bank robberies in Brooklyn. It stands as a reminder of organized crime’s influence in shaping the surrounding neighborhood.

The Stonewall Inn

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Back at number 53 Christopher St. sits The Stonewall Inn,
site of the "Stonewall Riots,” and symbolic home of the
US Gay Liberation Movement.

The Stonewall Inn 1969

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

In the 1960s, Stonewall was owned by the mob, operating with no official liquor license as a “private club.” Inside were two rooms. A front room was outfitted with a bar, dance floor and jukebox. Behind the bar was a dimly lit back room, a favorite hangout for drag queens.

Inside Stonewall

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

There was no running water behind the bar, no fire exits. Toilets overran consistently. Glasses were run through tubs of still water and immediately reused at the bar. While not known for prostitution, drug sales and other "cash transactions" did take place between the two smoky rooms. Yet, it was the only bar for gays in New York City where dancing was allowed, and that was enough to make Stonewall popular.

Stonewall Uprising

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

On June 28, 1969, NYPD and Alcoholic Beverage Control Board agents entered The Stonewall Inn, allegedly looking for violations of the alcohol control laws. The night was supposed to be a routine raid. Tensions escalated. Instead of quietly slipping away into the night, hustlers, drag queens, students and other patrons decided to fight back.

The Myth of Judy Garland

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Urban myth contends people were especially sensitive that night because of Judy Garland’s recent death.

The Stonewall Riots 1969

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

The police were forced to retreat back inside the bar. Someone uprooted a parking meter and used it to barricade the door, trapping the police inside. Handfuls of pennies were tossed, a reference to the mob’s police payoffs. Rioters continued to wreck the place as the police called in reinforcements. The crowd grew as local residents of the Village joined in. Someone set a fire. More people came. For three days, people protested.

"Gay Liberation'"

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

The riots are commerated in Christopher Park with the installation of George Segal's "Gay Liberation"

First Gay Pride March, 1970

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

One year after the Riots, the local community gathered outside Stonewall to remember and celebrate. Thousands marched from Christopher Street up 6th Avenue, pouring into the Sheep Meadow in Central Park. People lined the streets. Others joined the march. It was the first Gay Pride March in NYC.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Fred W. McDarrah]

Christopher Street Day

FROM MERCHANTS TO MISFITS

Soon, others held events, with Christopher Street Day now celebrated in 30 countries around the world. Every year during the last weekend of June, people return to Stonewall to remember the day that people stood up and fought back.

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A Brief History of Christopher Street

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