Chelsea

Area: 14th St. (6th to nth Ave.) on the south to 25th St. (6th to 8th Ave.) and
30th St. (8th to 13th Ave.) on the north. Map on page 149.

Chelsea is known as a conservative Irish Catholic community despite the
presence of Spanish, French, Scottish, and other national groups. Although
typical Manhattan tenements, small business establishments, and apart-
ment houses make up most of the district, here and there an old theater
or cafe reminds Chelsea of its past as an amusement center in the 1880's,
and a relatively large number of local ancients helps give the neighborhood
a "preserved" quality.

In 1750 Captain Thomas Clarke established his home on what is now
the block from Ninth to Tenth Avenue between Twenty-second and
Twenty-third Streets and named it for a soldiers' hospital (near London)
called Chelsea. The house, which was rebuilt by his widow, Mistress Molly
Clarke, was the birthplace of his grandson, Clement C. Moore (1799-
1863), compiler of the first Hebrew and Greek lexicons published in the
United States, and author of the perennially favorite poem, A Visit from
St. Nicholas. Moore broke up his patrimony, selling it in building lots,
and on the site of the old estate the village of Chelsea grew. In 1831 streets
were cut through.

The English-village character of the neighborhood began to change in
the middle of the nineteenth century. The Hudson River Railroad laid its
tracks along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in 1847. Industrial plants moved
in. People of many nationalities settled here, including a large number of
Irish, many of whom came here as a result of the potato famines of 1845-8
in Ireland. The votes of these immigrants increased Tammany's strength
and Chelsea gave the "Wigwam" a number of leaders including Rich-
ard B. ("Slippery Dick") Connolly, of the Tweed Ring. The neighbor-
hood is still a Tammany stronghold.

Among the immigrants were Spaniards, who gathered in the vicinity of
Fourteenth Street. Since 1920 the Spanish Colony has declined, but
bodegas (grocery stores), carnicerias (butcher shops), Spanish benefit so-
cieties, the Spanish-American Workers Alliance at 349 West Four-
teenth Street, and the Spanish Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe
at 229 West Fourteenth Street still preserve the Iberian flavor.

The National Biscuit Company's Plant on Fourteenth Street near
Tenth Avenue is the largest factory in the neighborhood. It has about
forty-six acres of floor space and employs several thousand workers.