eli5: Why does Broadway slice through Manhattan like that, and is that why it’s so famous?
In: 1
Broadway predates any European settlements on Manhattan – it was originally a trail used by the Native Americans. The Dutch settlers turned it into a wider road from the southern tip of Manhattan (which they named New Amsterdam), up into the mainland. When the British took it over (and it later became part of the new America), it was renamed New York.
Most of the island was sparsely populated though, with only the southern end of the island fully developed. In 1811 there was a famous Commissioner’s Plan, which began development on the rest of Manhattan island, north of Houston street. This is why if you’re south of Houston, downtown New York is much more haphazard – the streets have names instead of numbers, they cross at odd angles, etc. This was the old city. North of Houston, they started with 1st street, and created the gridiron that Manhattan is famous for.
But since Broadway was already there, and since it was such a major thoroughfare, they left it as is. So it slices through the grid because it predates the grid by a few hundred years.
It’s famous for being one of the biggest streets of New York, but it’s also famous because the Theater District formed in Midtown, centered around the major thoroughfare of Broadway. New York’s biggest theaters are still called Broadway theaters to this day, and major musicals that come from New York are called Broadway shows, even though most of the major theaters aren’t technically *on* Broadway. I think there are something like 40 “Broadway theaters” in New York, most of them clustered in the theater district/Times Square area, but only 4-5 of them are on Broadway itself.
Latest Answers