West Broadway (Manhattan)

West Broadway

Looking north towards Grand Street
Other name(s)	LaGuardia Place
Owner	City of New York
Maintained by	NYCDOT
Length	1.4 mi (2.3 km)
Postal code	10017, 10013, 10012
Nearest metro station	Chambers Street Franklin Street Canal Street
South end	Vesey Street in Financial District
North end	Washington Square South in Greenwich Village
East	Church Street (south of Canal) Wooster Street (north of Canal)
West	Greenwich Street (south of Chambers) Hudson Street (Chambers to Leonard) Varick Street (Leonard to Canal) Thompson Street (north of Canal)

Route map: Google

West Broadway is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, separated into two parts by Tribeca Park. The northern part begins at Tribeca Park, near the intersection of Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), Walker Street and Beach Street in Tribeca. It runs northbound as a one-way street past Canal Street and becomes two-way at the intersection with Grand Street one block farther north. West Broadway then operates as a main north-south thoroughfare through SoHo until its northern end at Houston Street, on the border between SoHo and Greenwich Village. North of Houston Street, it is designated as LaGuardia Place, which continues until Washington Square South.

The southern part of West Broadway runs southbound from Tribeca Park through the TriBeCa neighborhood, ending at Park Place. Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, West Broadway continued southward into the World Trade Center site, ending at Vesey Street. It was once considered "Rotten Row".

West Broadway was once two streets: Chapel Street below Canal Street, and Laurens Street above it.

In the early 1750s, Trinity Church laid down a street grid on its property, known as King's Farm, between the Hudson River and Broadway in lower Manhattan. About the same time, Trinity founded King's College, now Columbia University, and donated a plot of land bordered by Barclay, Murray, and Church Streets for its campus, to which the school moved in 1760. According to a 1755 map, "Chappel Street" was part of this grid, running from Barkly (Barclay) to just past Warrens (Warren) Street and ending at the palisade which protected the north end of the city. In the 1760s, Trinity Church ceded its streets between Fulton and Reade Streets to the city and Anthony Rutgers' heirs, owners of the land north of Reade Street, mapped their property into streets and lots. In the 1790s, Chapel Street was graded and paved from Murray to Reade Streets and extended to Leonard Street.