Editing SoHo, Manhattan (section)

==History==
[[File:Niblo's Garden c.1887.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Niblo's Garden]], seen here around 1887, was an entertainment venue on Broadway near Prince Street from 1823 to 1895]]

===Early years===
During the colonial period, the land that is now SoHo was part of a [[Land of the Blacks (Manhattan)|grant of farmland given to freed slaves]] of the [[Dutch West Indies Company]], and the site of the first free Black settlement on Manhattan island.<ref name=desrep4>Designation Report, p. 4</ref> This land was acquired in the 1660s by Augustine Hermann, and then passed to his brother-in-law, Nicholas Bayard.<ref name=desrep4 /> The estate was confiscated by the state as a result of Bayard's part in [[Leisler's Rebellion]], but was returned to him after the sentence was annulled.<ref name=desrep5>Designation Report, p.5</ref>

In the 18th century natural barriers&nbsp;– streams and hills&nbsp;– impeded the growth of the city northward into the Bayard estate, and the area maintained its rural character.<ref name=desrep5 /> During the [[American Revolution]], the area was the location of numerous [[fortification]]s, [[redoubt]]s and [[breastwork (fortification)|breastwork]]s.<ref name=desrep5 /> After the war, Bayard, who had suffered financially because of it, was forced to mortgage some of the property, which was divided up into lots, but even then there was very little development in the area, aside from some manufacturing at Broadway and Canal Street.<ref name=desrep5 />

Serious development of the area did not begin until the Common Council, answering the complaints of landowners in the area, drained the [[Collect Pond]], which had once been an important source of fresh water for the island, but which had become polluted and rank and a breeding ground for mosquitoes. A canal was built to drain the pond into the Hudson, and the canal and pond were both later filled in using earth from nearby Bayard's Hill.<ref name=desrep5 /> Once Broadway was paved and sidewalks were built there and along Canal Street, more people began to make their homes there, joining earlier arrivals such as [[James Fenimore Cooper]].<ref name=desrep5 />

===<span class="anchor" id="decline"></span> Commerce, entertainment, and decline===
By the mid-19th century, the early [[Federal architecture|Federal]]- and [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]]-style homes were replaced by more-solid structures of masonry and cast iron, and along Broadway, large marble-skinned commercial establishments began to open, such as [[Lord & Taylor]], [[Arnold Constable & Company]] and [[Tiffany & Company]], as well as grand hotels such as the St. Nicholas and the Metropolitan.<ref name=desrep6>Designation Report. p.6</ref> Theatres followed in their wake, and Broadway between Canal and [[Houston Street (Manhattan)|Houston]] Streets became a lively theater and shopping district and the entertainment center of New York;<ref name=desrep6 /> as usual with such areas, it was home to many brothels as well,<ref name="Ephemeral New York">{{Cite web| title = West Broadway: once a slum called 'Rotten Row' | work=Ephemeral New York | date = March 16, 2011 | url = http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/west-broadway-once-a-slum-called-rotten-row/}}</ref> and the side streets off of Broadway became the city's [[red-light district]].<ref name=desrep6 /> As this change in character drove out the middle-class, their place was taken by small manufacturing concerns, including cabinet-makers and the lumberyards that supplied them, brass and copper firms, makers of china and glassware, locksmiths, snuff manufacturers and book publishers.<ref name=desrep7>Designation Report, p.7</ref>

This dramatic shift in the nature of the neighborhood continued to drive out residents, and between 1860 and 1865 the Eighth Ward, which included the SoHo area, lost 25% of its population.<ref name=desrep7 /> After the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] and the [[Panic of 1873]], in the 1880s and 1890s, large manufacturers began to move into the area, especially textile firms, and the area became the mercantile and wholesale dry-goods trade center of the city, and was the subject of significant real-estate speculation.<ref name=desrep7 /> This phase came to an end by the close of the 19th century, and as the center of the city continued to [[March uptown|move uptown]], the quality of the area declined.<ref name=desrep8>Designation Report, p.8</ref>

After [[World War II]], the textile industry largely moved to the South, leaving many large buildings in the district unoccupied. In some buildings they were replaced by warehouses and printing plants, and other buildings were torn down to be replaced by gas stations, auto repair shops and parking lots and garages.<ref name=extdesrep>Betts, Mary Beth (ed.) [http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/sohoextdesignation.pdf "SoHo&nbsp;– Cast-Iron Historic District Extension Designation Report"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204125743/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/sohoextdesignation.pdf |date=February 4, 2017 }}, [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (May 11, 2010) pp.5–6</ref> By the 1950s, the area had become known as '''Hell's Hundred Acres''',<ref name=extdesrep /> an industrial wasteland, full of [[sweatshop]]s and small factories in the daytime, but empty at night. It would not be until the 1960s, when artists began to be interested in the tall ceilings and many windows of the empty manufacturing lofts, that the character of the neighborhood began to change again.<ref name=desrep8 />

===Cast-iron architecture===
[[File:E._V._Haughwout_Building,_1_(cropped).JPG|thumb|The [[E. V. Haughwout Building]] at Broadway and [[Broome Street (Manhattan)|Broome Street]] was built in 1856–57, and has a cast-iron facade by [[Daniel D. Badger]]]]
[[File:28 Greene St, New York City-L1002592.jpg|thumb|Cast iron facade in [[Second Empire style]] of 28 Greene St. The building, known as "The Queen of Greene Street", was built in 1873 to the design of architect Isaac F. Duckworth.]]
SoHo boasts the greatest collection of [[cast-iron architecture]] in the world.<ref name=nycland>{{cite nycland|pages=39-41}}</ref> Approximately 250 cast-iron buildings stand in New York City, and the majority are in SoHo. Cast iron was initially used as a decorative front over a pre-existing building. With the addition of modern, decorative facades, older industrial buildings were able to attract new commercial clients. Most of these facades were constructed during the period from 1840 to 1880.<ref name=enc-nyc /> In addition to revitalizing older structures, buildings in SoHo were later designed to feature the cast iron.

An American architectural innovation, cast iron was cheaper to use for facades than materials such as stone or brick. Molds of ornamentation, prefabricated in foundries, were used interchangeably for many buildings, and a broken piece could be easily recast. The buildings could be erected quickly; some were built in four months. Despite the brief construction period, the quality of the cast-iron designs was not sacrificed. Bronze had previously been the metal most frequently used for architectural detail. Architects found that the relatively inexpensive cast iron could provide intricately designed patterns. Classical French and Italian architectural designs were often used as models for these facades. Because stone was the material associated with architectural masterpieces, cast iron, painted in neutral tints such as beige, was used to simulate stone.

There was a profusion of cast iron foundries in New York, including Badger's Architectural Iron Works, James L. Jackson's Iron Works, and Cornell Iron Works.

Since the iron was pliable and easily molded, sumptuously curved window frames were created, and the strength of the metal allowed these frames considerable height. The once-somber, gas-lit interiors of the industrial district were flooded with sunlight through the enlarged windows. The strength of cast iron permitted high ceilings with sleek supporting columns, and interiors became expansive and functional.

During cast iron's heyday, many architects thought it to be structurally more sound than steel. It was also thought that cast iron would be fire-resistant, and facades were constructed over many interiors built of wood and other flammable materials. When exposed to heat, cast iron buckled, and later cracked under the cold water used to extinguish fire. In 1899, a building code mandating the backing of cast-iron fronts with masonry was passed. Most of the buildings that stand today are constructed in this way. It was the advent of steel as a major construction material that brought an end to the cast iron era.

===Lower Manhattan Expressway===
In the 1960s, the SoHo area was to have been the location of two enormous elevated [[highway]]s that comprised the two branches of the [[Lower Manhattan Expressway]], a [[Robert Moses]] project that was intended to create an [[automobile]] and [[truck]] through-route connecting the [[Manhattan Bridge]] and [[Williamsburg Bridge]] on the east with the [[Holland Tunnel]] on the west.<ref name=enc-nyc /><ref name="nycroads">{{cite web |url=http://www.nycroads.com/roads/lower-manhattan/ |title=Lower Manhattan Expressway (I-78 and I-478, unbuilt) |first=Steve |last=Anderson |work=NYCRoads |access-date=April 29, 2013}}</ref>

The young [[historic preservation]] movement and [[architectural]] critics, stung by the destruction of the original [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|Pennsylvania Station]] in 1963 and the threat to other historic structures, challenged the plans because of the threatened loss of a huge quantity of 19th-century cast-iron buildings.<ref name="NYTimes-RememberingPioneer-2008">{{Cite news|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/remembering-a-pioneer-of-the-preservation-movement/|title=Remembering a Pioneer of the Preservation Movement|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 29, 2008|access-date=October 18, 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Cast-Iron_451-Broome-Street_from_Greene_Street.jpg|thumb|[[Cast-iron architecture]] on Broome Street]]
When [[John V. Lindsay]] became [[Mayors of New York City|mayor of New York City]] in 1966, his initial reaction was to try to push the expressways through, dubbing the project the Lower Manhattan Expressway, depressing some of the proposed highway in residential areas and stressing the importance of the artery to the city. Nevertheless, through the efforts of [[Jane Jacobs]], Tony D'Apolito, [[Margot Gayle]], and other local, civic, and cultural leaders, as well as SoHo artist residents themselves, the project was derailed.<ref name="NYTimes-RememberingPioneer-2008"/>

===Artists move in===
After the abandonment of the highway scheme, the city was left with a large number of historic buildings that were unattractive for the kinds of [[manufacturing]] and [[commerce]] that survived in the city in the 1970s. The upper floors of many of these buildings had been built as commercial [[Manhattan loft]]s, which provided large, unobstructed spaces for manufacturing and other industrial uses. These spaces attracted artists who valued them for their large areas, large windows admitting [[Daylighting (architecture)|natural light]] and low rents. Most of these spaces were also used illegally as living space, despite being neither [[zoning|zoned]] nor equipped for residential use. This widespread zoning violation was ignored for a long period of time, as the artist-occupants were using space for which there was little demand due to the city's poor economy at the time, and would have lain dormant or been abandoned otherwise.<ref name=aia /><ref name=enc-nyc /><ref name=nycland />
[[File:105 Mercer Street.jpg|thumb|left|187px|SoHo also contains former industrial buildings in other architectural styles, and is also dotted with smaller structures like this [[Federal architecture|Federal style]] house built in 1819–20.]]
Nevertheless, as the artist population grew, the city made some attempts to stem the movement, concerned about the occupation of space that did not meet residential building codes, and the possibility that the occupied space might be needed for the return of manufacturing to New York City. Pressured on many sides, including by organizations such as the Artist Tenant Association and later the Soho Artist Association,<ref>[https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/491ZVJcvyoAOFD "Zoning Resolutions: The Soho Artists and the Making of Urban Policy, 1961-1971 (2017)"]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> the city abandoned attempts to keep the district as strictly industrial space, and in 1971, the Zoning Resolution was amended to permit Joint Live-Work Quarters for artists, and the M1-5a and M-5b districting was established to permit visual artists, certified as such by the Department of Cultural Affairs, to live where they worked.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} In 1987, non-artists residing in SoHo and NoHo were permitted to [[Grandfather clause|grandfather]] themselves, but that was the only extension to non-artists and was a one-time agreement.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

The area received landmark designation as the SoHo–Cast Iron Historic District in 1973.<ref name=nycland />

===Gentrification and shopping===
In 2005, the construction of residential buildings on empty lots in the historic district was permitted. Nevertheless, with no enforcement of the new zoning laws by the city, beginning in the 1980s, in a way that would later apply elsewhere, the neighborhood began to draw more affluent residents. Due to rent protection and stability afforded by the [[1982 Loft Law]], in addition to the fact that many of the artists owned their co-ops, many of the original pioneering artists remained despite the popular misconception that gentrification forced them to flee. Many residents have lived in the neighborhood for decades. In the mid-1990s, most of the galleries moved to Chelsea, but several galleries remain as of 2013, including DTR Modern Galleries, William Bennett Gallery, [[Martin Lawrence Galleries]], [[Terrain Gallery]], Franklin Bowles Gallery, and Pop International Gallery.

[[File:428 Broadway.jpg|thumb|right|250px|428 Broadway (428–432) was built in 1888–89 and was designed by [[Samuel A. Warner]] in the [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne style]]]]

SoHo's location, the appeal of lofts as living spaces, its architecture, and its reputation as a haven for artists all contributed to this change. The pattern of [[gentrification]] is typically known as the "SoHo Effect" and has been observed elsewhere in the United States.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/10/arts/artistic-enclave-gets-its-footing-in-rhode-island.html?pagewanted=2 | title = Artistic Enclave Gets Its Footing In Rhode Island | first= Katie | last= Zezima | work = [[The New York Times]] | date =August 10, 2004 | access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0928/p01s01-ussc.html | title= In New England, a city revival built on creativity | first=Sara B. | last=Miller | work = The Christian Science Monitor | date =September 28, 2004 | page = [http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0928/p01s01-ussc.html/(page)/2 2] | access-date=December 27, 2013}}</ref> A backwater of poor artists and small factories in the 1970s, SoHo became a popular tourist destination for people seeking fashionable clothing and exquisite architecture, and home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes| work = [[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/special-report/2012/1016_zip-codes_rank.html|access-date=April 5, 2013}}</ref>

SoHo's chain outlets are clustered in the northern area of the neighborhood, along [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] and Prince and [[Spring Street (Manhattan)|Spring Streets]]. The sidewalks in this area are often crowded with tourists and with vendors selling jewelry, T-shirts, and other works. SoHo is known for its commercialization and eclectic mix of boutiques for shopping – although in 2010, it had twice as many chain stores as boutiques and three times as many boutiques as art galleries.<ref name=sz>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/nyregion/21gentrify.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=A Contrarian's Lament in a Blitz of Gentrification|date=Feb 21, 2010|work=The New York Times|last=Powell|first=Michael}}</ref>

===Rezoning===
Despite the significant change in the neighborhood's character in the previous decades, by the end of the 2010s the area's zoning still reflected its industrial heritage; any new residential development required special permits.<ref name="Gothamist_04_21">{{cite news |last1=Schuerman |first1=Matthew |title=7 Things You Ought To Know About The SoHo/NoHo Rezoning |url=https://gothamist.com/news/7-things-you-ought-know-about-sohonoho-rezoning |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Gothamist]] |date=April 4, 2021 |quote=}}</ref> As such, in 2019 the city began a public consultation process called "Envision SoHo/NoHo" to plan for future growth and manage change, and ultimately to bring land use rules in line with the mainly residential and commercial present-day reality of the neighborhood.<ref name="EnvisionSoHo">{{cite web |title=About the SoHo/NoHo Planning Process |url=https://www.envisionsohonoho.nyc/about-the-sohonoho-planningprocess |website=Envision SoHo/NoHo |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212213/https://www.envisionsohonoho.nyc/about-the-sohonoho-planningprocess |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A coalition of nearly two dozen housing and social organizations, led by pro-housing advocacy group [[Open New York]], and including the [[Citizens Housing and Planning Council]], the [[Regional Plan Association]], and [[Habitat for Humanity]], seized on the idea of a rezoning as a means of alleviating the [[New York City housing shortage|city's housing shortage]].<ref name="Gothamist_04_21"/><ref name="Gothamist_08_19">{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Elizabeth |title=Pro-Development Group Targets Soho & Noho For Affordable Housing |url=https://gothamist.com/news/pro-development-group-targets-soho-noho-for-affordable-housing |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Gothamist]] |date=August 16, 2019}}</ref> In October 2019, the coalition put forward a rezoning plan that would produce 3,400 additional housing units, nearly 700 of which would be affordable, and later that month the city officially proposed a similar plan that envisaged the creation of 3,200 new residential units and up to 800 affordable units.<ref name="NYC_10_20">{{cite news |title=Mayor de Blasio Announces Start of Public Process for SoHo-NoHo Neighborhood Plan |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/699-20/mayor-de-blasio-start-public-process-soho-noho-neighborhood-plan |access-date=20 September 2021 |publisher=[[Government of New York City|City of New York]] |date=October 7, 2020 |format=Press Release}}</ref><ref name="Sun_04_21">{{cite news |last1=Flynn |first1=Gerard |title=Nonprofits behind Soho/Noho rezoning are packed with power players |url=https://thevillagesun.com/nonprofits-behind-soho-noho-rezoning-are-packed-with-power-players |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=Village Sun |date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> Observers suggested that the coalition's campaign for a residential rezoning had spurred a previously reluctant mayor to act, noting that even real estate industry groups like the [[Real Estate Board of New York]] (REBNY), the city's largest real estate trade organization, had shown no interest in a rezoning of SoHo and NoHo.<ref name="Sun_04_21" /> The proposal was immediately contentious; while most major candidates in the [[2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary|Democratic mayoral]] and [[2021 New York City borough president elections#Manhattan|Manhattan borough president]] primaries endorsed the plan, at least in principle, candidates for the [[2021 New York City Council election|city council district]] were more divided.<ref name="VPgar_21">{{cite web |title=Pressing Mayoral and City Council Candidates on Upzoning and SoHo/NoHo |url=https://www.villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/pressing-mayoral-and-city-council-candidates-on-upzoning-and-soho-noho/ |website=Village Preservation |publisher=[[Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation]] |access-date=20 September 2021 |format=Press release |date=April 19, 2021}}</ref><ref name="City_&_State_10_20">{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Rebecca C. |title=SoHo rezoning not a safe bet with Manhattan BP candidates |url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2020/10/soho-rezoning-not-a-safe-bet-with-manhattan-bp-candidates/175552/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[City and State]] |date=October 15, 2020}}</ref><ref name="NY1_07_20">{{cite news |last1=Lucente Sterling |first1=Anna |title=Land use issues in Lower Manhattan at forefront of council race |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/06/07/land-use-issues-in-lower-manhattan-at-forefront-of-council-race |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[NY1]] |date=June 7, 2021}}</ref><ref name="City_09_20">{{cite news |last1=Holliday Smith |first1=Rachel |title=Backyard Politics: These Candidates Want More Housing in New York's Rich Neighborhoods |url=https://www.thecity.nyc/housing/2020/9/24/21455149/candidates-want-more-housing-in-new-yorks-rich-neighborhoods |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[The City (website)|The City]] |date=September 24, 2020}}</ref>

A group of a half-dozen neighborhood groups, led by the [[Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation]], put forth a "community alternative plan" which they claimed would create more affordable housing without any major new development, and a report attacking the city's plan, a claim that was challenged by the city and other civic organizations.<ref name="amny_05_21">{{cite news |last1=Moses |first1=Dean |title=Lower Manhattan groups fight against SoHo and Chinatown rezoning plans |url=https://www.amny.com/news/lower-manhattan-community-groups-fight-against-soho-and-chinatown-rezoning-plans/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[amNY]] |date=May 11, 2021}}</ref> [[Carl Weisbrod]], former chairman of the [[New York City Planning Commission]] said the GVSHP's report was "misleading and disingenuous", and a spokesman for the mayor's office described the "community alternative plan" as "an exercise in magical 
thinking".<ref name="Crains_03_21">{{cite news |last1=Sachmechi |first1=Natalie |title=Experts blast 'misleading' report attacking SoHo rezoning plan |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/residential-real-estate/experts-blast-misleading-report-attacking-soho-rezoning-plan |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Crain's New York Business]] |date=March 9, 2021}}</ref> In July 2021, the area's [[Community boards of Manhattan|community board]] voted to reject the proposal, although the vote was ultimately non-binding. In September 2021, [[Manhattan Borough president]] [[Gale Brewer]] expressed concerns about the plan, particularly the potential for the plan to incentivize commercial development rather than residential, a criticism echoed by some of the housing advocates who had initially pushed for the plan.<ref name="ComObs_09_21">{{cite news |last1=Baird-Remba |first1=Rebecca |title=Manhattan BP Gale Brewer Comes Out Against SoHo Rezoning |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2021/09/manhattan-bp-gale-brewer-comes-out-against-soho-rezoning/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[Commercial Observer]] |date=September 3, 2021}}</ref><ref name="City_Limits_09_21">{{cite news |last1=Brand |first1=David |title=SoHo-NoHo Rezoning Plan Needs Work, BP Brewer Says |url=https://citylimits.org/2021/09/03/soho-noho-rezoning-plan-needs-work-bp-brewer-says/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[City Limits (New York magazine)|City Limits]] |date=September 3, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Berkovitz_08_21">{{cite news |last1=Berkovitz |first1=Casey |title=Opinion: A Truly Equitable SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Should Focus on More Housing, Not Office Space |url=https://citylimits.org/2021/08/17/opinion-a-truly-equitable-soho-noho-rezoning-should-focus-on-more-housing-not-office-space/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=[[City Limits (New York magazine)|City Limits]] |date=August 17, 2021}}</ref>

In 2022, a team of over 2,000 players constructed a recreation of Soho in the sandbox game [[Minecraft]], as part of the COVID-19 [[Build the Earth]] movement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karel |first=Daniel |date=2022-03-10 |title=The 2,731-Person Project to Build New York City in Minecraft |url=https://www.curbed.com/2022/03/global-minecraft-team-building-new-york-city.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Curbed |language=en}}</ref>