Astor Place

Astor Place is a one-block street in NoHo/East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from Broadway in the west to Lafayette Street, ending at Alamo plaza. "Astor Place" is also sometimes used for the neighborhood around the street. It encompasses two plazas at the intersection with Cooper Square, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue, and Eighth Street – Alamo Plaza and Astor Place Station Plaza. It was named for John Jacob Astor , soon after his death in 1848. A $21 million reconstruction to implement a redesign of Astor Place began in 2013 and was completed in 2016.
Astor Place was once known as Art Street. From 1767 through 1859, Vauxhall Gardens, a country resort, was located on this street. The area belonged to John Jacob Astor, and Astor Place was renamed after him soon after his death, in 1848. In 1826, he carved out an upper-class neighborhood from the site with Lafayette Street bisecting eastern gardens from western homes. Wealthy New Yorkers, including Astor and other members of the family, built mansions along this central thoroughfare. Astor built the Astor Library in the eastern portion of the neighborhood as a donation to the city. Architect Seth Geer designed row houses called LaGrange Terrace for the development, and the area became a fashionable, upper-class residential district. This location made the gardens accessible to the people of both the Broadway and Bowery districts.

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