Birmingham Alley

above from skyshaper
More on Birmingham Alley, which no longer exists but which at one time linked Henry and Madison Street. Shown above is the corner of Madison and Mechanic's Alley (formerly Birmingham)
from Bowery Boogie

Mechanics Alley is one of the skinniest streets in NYC, still running east to west between Cherry and Henry Streets, and north to south between Pike and Market Streets. The section of the alley between Henry and Madison Streets was known as Birmingham Alley. The original Mechanics Alley ran only between Cherry and Monroe Streets directly under the Manhattan Bridge, not just south of it (as it is today, on the path of the old Birmingham Alley). The original Mechanics Alley disappeared after 1905 when the Manhattan Bridge was constructed. There was a Mechanics Place behind 359 Rivington Street between Lewis and Goerck Streets.
Builders who worked as artisans, artificers, craftsmen and tradesmen were once called mechanics. Because they had the skills to build new settlements, mechanics who immigrated to the New World in the 17th century were promised free ship passage, free land, and exemptions from taxes and military service. Carpenters, bricklayers, masons, glaziers, painters and plasterers came to NYC and received great wages as they built and rebuilt the constantly growing city.

on the name origin of Birmingham Alley? The English city name origin:

There are many theories and we will never really know where it came from. However, most people argue that the name 'Birmingham' comes from "Beorma inga ham", "meaning farmstead of the sons (or descendants) of Beorma"
Beorma variously means, in Old English, "fermented", "head of beer", "yeasty" or "frothy",[4] from which the modern English words barm and barmy are derived.[5] The assertion that Beorma was the founder of Birmingham arose from a post-war challenge to the way Anglo-Saxon place-names had been constructed. It was not until 1940 that Eilert Ekwall noted that.

The View From Brooklyn: 2008

from an incredible photographer/artist called Skyshaper that I discovered on Flickr

Overhead View Of Fire At 22 St. James Place

another one from an incredible photographer/artist called Skyshaper that I discover on Flickr
Above I notated, arrow, it to show where the fire took place.
What's special about the locations that are numbered?

Two Bridges: Proposed Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District

above image from an incredible photographer/artist called Skyshaper that I discover on Flickr Knickerbocker Village is viewable on the right
an excerpt from the Villager pf 12/10/08

Victor Papa is on a mission to save Chinatown and Little Italy.
Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, wants to create the Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District as part of the State and National Register of Historic Places.
“We’re concerned development will wipe away the memory of all of this,” Papa said.
The State Historic Preservation Office gave Papa’s cause a lift several weeks ago by determining that the neighborhood is eligible to become a historic district. Both the tenement architecture and the area’s cultural and social history make the proposed district worth preserving, said Dan Keefe, SHiPO spokesperson.
“We’re elated,” Papa said of the state’s preliminary support. But he also couldn’t imagine it being otherwise. “How could it not be a historic district?” he said. “It is already a historic district in the minds of many, many people. It is appropriate that it be designated.”
The proposed district is a narrow rectangle roughly bordered on the north by Houston St., on the west by Mulberry and Baxter Sts., on the south by Worth St. and on the east by Elizabeth St. and the Bowery.
Papa highlighted the coexistence of Chinese and Italian immigrants in the district as a key piece of the city’s history. Italian and Chinese immigrants began settling along Mott and Mulberry Sts. in the mid-1800s. Although the two cultures stayed separate, the early immigrants shopped in each other’s stores and sometimes worshipped in the same churches, according to historian Kerri Culhane-Black, who prepared the proposal for Two Bridges.
Simeon Bankoff, director of the Historic Districts Council, also supports the designation of the district.
“There are definitely very important cultural and architectural buildings down there,” he said. The district would include Columbus Park, the location of the historic Five Points neighborhood. The area is also home to many settlement houses and old social associations, Bankoff said.
Unlike the city’s landmark districts, the state’s designation would not put any burdens on owners, since it does not prohibit demolition of buildings. Instead, property owners would be eligible for tax credits and matching funds to preserve their buildings.
Because it would offer incentives to preserve the district’s buildings, Papa hopes the designation will preserve some affordable housing, as well.

Two Bridges 2

from an incredible photographer/artist called Skyshaper that I found on Flickr
an excerpt from a 2006 ny post piece. I wonder how far down prices have gone since then

WHAT’S to like about Two Bridges, the tiny Manhattan nabe around the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge?
“It’s the only neighborhood left in Manhattan that doesn’t have a Starbucks,” says 39-year-old Guns N’ Roses guitarist and Two Bridges resident Richard Fortus.
Indeed, with its gritty, hidden-in-plain-sight kind of vibe, Two Bridges might just be Manhattan’s last frontier.
But blink and you could miss the bargains. Though the area is dominated by 1880s tenements and low-and middle-income housing projects, numerous new condos are transforming the nabe.
Along with the new housing is an ever-increasing influx of young hipsters, artists, professionals and those being priced out of the rest of Manhattan — all of whom are helping put this once virtually uncharted territory on the map.
“It’s a unique area,” says Barrie Mandel, senior vice president at the Corcoran Group. “It feels like SoHo 10 years ago. It has a great cultural mix.”
And for now — like SoHo 10 years ago — Two Bridges remains relatively cheap.
“The prices in Two Bridges and its fringes are about 10 to 20 percent less than the Lower East Side,” says Rob Gross, senior vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman.
In many cases, however, you get what you pay for.
“Most of the apartments are small walk-ups with not a lot of closet space and, like the Lower East Side, you could have a tub in the kitchen,” Gross says.
The new condos, of course, are changing that. Among the new residences in Two Bridges are 142 Henry St. ($535,000 to $1.8 million) and the Two Bridges condominium at 48 Canal St., with units from $660,000 to $1.6 million. Adding to the gentrified feel is the newly renovated Seward Park and the nearby East River waterfront promenade.
The area is bounded by the East River, the Brook-lyn Bridge, St. James Place, East Broadway and Montgomery Street. (Technically, the neighborhood might more accurately be called Three Bridges; the heart of the area is between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge, but the area also includes part of the space between the Manhattan Bridge and the Williamsburg Bridge.)
The area has historically been a settlement for immigrants, first Jewish and European, then Puerto Rican and Chinese. Now, however, the newest residents are the young professional set.
Gypsy Lovett and her husband, Stephen Coates, a law student, purchased their newly updated three-bedroom co-op three months ago for about $1 million.
“It’s such a great, quiet and diverse neighborhood that isn’t too far, but just set enough away from it all,” says the 30-year-old cookbook publicist.
But because the neighborhood is an up-and-comer, it has its drawbacks.
“I wish there were more conveniences like gyms and bodegas and things open late,” says 32-year-old personal trainer and two-year Two Bridges renter Cindy Sherwin. “It can also be kind of dirty, and I wish there weren’t so many rats. But all in all I love living here.”
But not everyone is happy with the gentrification the neighborhood is seeing.
“Two Bridges is a neighborhood in transition,” says Victor Papa, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council director and lifetime resident. “Part of what attracts people here is its character, but I’m afraid we’re fighting a losing battle.
“Developers are discovering treasures of buildings and converting them to expensive condos,” he adds. “They stop by here all the time and ask if a building is for sale, but I tell them we’re not going anywhere.”
And he might be right —to a certain extent.

Views Of The Bridge: Then And Now

Above from google images hosted by life with added cartoon bubbles. Below from an incredible photographer/artist called Skyshaper that I found on Flickr. Looking at his archives there's a strong possibility that he/she lives near Knickerbocker Village