SOHO is a neighborhood in downtown
Manhattan, a notable for many artists' lofts and art galleries, and
also, more recently SOHO office and loft space has been the home for
fashion, design, technology, marketing and PR firms in addition to the
wide variety of retailers ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of
upscale national and international chain stores. The area's history is
an archetypal example of inner-city regeneration and gentrification,
encompassing socio-economic, cultural, political and architectural
developments.
Almost all of SOHO is included in the Cast Iron Historic District,
which was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation
Commission in 1973. It consists of 26 blocks and approximately 500
buildings, many of them incorporating cast iron architectural elements.
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SOHO's name comes from being "SOuth of HOuston" Street, which has
become a model for the names of new and emerging neighborhoods in New
York such as NOHO, for "NOrth of HOuston Street", TriBeCa ("TRIangle
BElow CAnal Street"), Nolita ("NOrth of Little ITAly"), NoMad ("NOrth
of MADison Square") and DUMBO ("Down Under the Manhattan Bridge
Overpass").
Neighborhood
SoHo as a specifically-zoned neighborhood is bounded roughly by Houston
Street on the northern side, Lafayette Street and Centre Street on the
east, Canal Street on the south, and West Broadway on the west.
Nearby neighborhoods include:
* To the north: Greenwich Village and NoHo
* To the east: NoLIta, Little Italy and Chinatown
* To the west: South Village and Hudson Square
* To the south: TriBeCa
Historic District
The SOHO Cast Iron Historic District is contained within the zoned SOHO
neighborhood. Originally ending in the west at the eastern side of West
Broadway and to the east at the western side of Crosby Street, the
SOHO-Cast Iron Historic District was expanded in 2010 to cover most of
West Broadway and to extend east to Lafayette and Centre Streets. The
boundary lines are not straight, and some block-fronts on West Broadway
and Lafayette are excluded from the District.
SOHO's boutiques and restaurants are clustered in the northern area of the neighborhood, along Broadway and Prince and Spring streets. The sidewalks in this area are often crowded with tourists and with vendors selling jewelry, t-shirts, and other works, sometimes leaving no space for pedestrians. SoHo is known for its commercialization and eclectic mix of different boutiques for shopping, including Prada, A Bathing Ape, G-Star Raw, Bloomingdale's, H&M, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Victoria's Secret, Miu Miu, Puma AG, Dolce & Gabbana, Urban Outfitters, Apple Store, J. Crew and Calvin Klein. Yet, the southern part of the neighborhood, along Grand Street and Canal Street, retains some of the feel of SoHo's earlier days. Canal Street at SoHo's south boundary contrasts with the former's posh shopping district in offering electronics and cheap imitation clothing and accessories.
Some text and images from List of Manhattan Neighborhoods at Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
