74th Street (Manhattan)
Coordinates: 40°46′13″N 73°57′27″W / 40.770239°N 73.957393°W 74th Street is an east-west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the neighborhoods of the Upper East Side (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East 74th Street) and the Upper West Side (in ZIP code 10023, where it is known as West 74th Street), on both sides of Central Park.
In 1639, Colony's Sawmill stood at the corner of East 74th Street and Second Avenue, in the Dutch village of New Amsterdam, at which African laborers cut lumber.
In 1664, the English took over Manhattan and the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam from the Dutch. English colonial Governor Richard Nicolls made 74th Street, beginning at the East River, the southern border patent line (which was called the "Harlem Line") of the village of Nieuw Haarlem (later, the village of Harlem); the British also renamed the village "Lancaster".
That same year Jan van Bonnel built a saw mill on East 74th Street and the East River, where a 13,710-meter long creek or stream that began in the north of today’s Central Park, which became known as the Saw Kill or Saw Kill Creek, emptied into the river. Later owners of the property George Elphinstone and Abraham Shotwell replaced the sawmill with a leather mill in 1677. The Saw Kill Bridge was built, and since at least 1806 was known as "The Kissing Bridge" because its surrounding beautiful landscape and seclusion made it a favorite spot to kiss in 18th and 19th century Manhattan.
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