HISTORIC DIVERSITY IN THE EAST VILLAGE —

DUTCH FARM, IRISH ALE HOUSE, AND THE YIDDISH KING LEAR

Peter Stuyvesant, Director General of the New Netherlands, was the first owner of the farmland now known as the East Village. Later, Irish laborers moved into the area to build ships along the East River. Germans also thrived here, until a tragedy resulted in the death of over 1000 of their people. As Germans left the neighborhood, Italian, Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian immigrants moved in, bringing new life, food, and traditions.

Highlights include:
• St. Marks-in-the-Bowery Church
• McSorley’s Old Ale House
• Cooper Union for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences
• The Astor Place Opera riot
• The General Slocum Disaster
• Yiddish Rialto theatres