When I saw the sign on 13 Commerce Street, stating “On this site in 1897 Nothing Happened,” I thought it was a commentary on the rich history of the West Village. It turned out that it’s a popular joke used in various historic neighborhoods all over the country. In response to the sign, I doubt that it’s true, and something must have happened on the site. Also, so much happened on the quiet, sleepy street that the only way to make this site unique is to declare that it was not a happening place.
#11 Commerce Street
Despite the plaque proclaiming that this is the former home of Washington Irving, Jr., the famous 19th-century writer Washington Irving never lived here.
The main giveaway is the name Washington Irving Jr., which implies the existence of Washington Irving Sr. Washington Irving’s father was William Irving, Sr., not Washington Irving Sr.
Also, Washington Irving Jr. could not have been his son, since Washington Irving never had any children.
There is a chance that the house belonged to one of his sisters.
There is also a chance that somebody else by the name of Washington Irving Jr. lived there once.
There is absolutely no chance that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was written here as the book was published in 1820 while the house was built in 1826.
#17 Commerce Street – the “Aaron Burr” house
The reason 17 Commerce Street has a moniker, Aaron Burr’s House, is simple. Aaron Burr, one of the Founding Fathers and a vice-president during Jefferson’s administration, lived here once. Before his personal and political troubles started, Aaron Burr owned a vast estate nearby called Richmond Hill. After his fateful duel with Alexander Hamilton and a trial for treason, even though Aaron Burr was acquitted, his finances were depleted, and he had to sell Richmond Hill. Burr spent some years in a self-imposed exile and only came back to New York in 1812. This house at 17 Commerce Street, built in 1830 on the land still owned by Burr, became his home.
#39 and 41 Commerce Street
Built in 1832, these twin stand-alone houses were joined by a small shared garden. According to an urban legend explaining this unusual construction, the homes belonged to a sea captain with two feuding daughters. The daughters wouldn’t speak to each other, so he built identical houses for them with a shared garden, hoping they would get along again. What a great legend to go with the houses! Alas, it’s not true. In prosaic reality, Peter Huyler of Hackensack, N.J., bought the land in 1830 and, a couple of years later, built the houses as rental properties. Today, these charming 19th-century houses still stand. Hopefully, the owners like each other.
#38 Commerce Street
Now home to The Cherry Lane Theater at 38 Commerce Street was built in 1836 as a brewery. Later, it served as a tobacco warehouse and a factory before becoming a theater. The Cherry Lane Theater was founded by an American poet and playwright, Edna St. Vincent Millay, along with other writers and actors. It opened in 1924 as an edgier alternative to the Provincetown Playhouse. The Cherry Lane Theater is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. Through the decades, the theater produced plays by writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eugene O’Neill, Gertrude Stein, Luigi Pirandello, Samuel Beckett, T. S. Eliot, Jean Anouilh, Tennessee Williams Harold Pinter, Eugène Ionesco, Terrence McNally, Sam Shepard, and David Mamet .
The name for the venue was inspired by London’s Drury Lane. The founders perpetuated the tale of an old map of the Village with a part of Commerce Street marked Cherry Lane, and according to this story, the theater was named after a street with a pretty name.
#46-48 Commerce Street
Constructed in 1844, the houses facing each other where the Commerce Street bends belonged to a department store tycoon, A.T. Stewart.
A.T. Stewart was an Irish immigrant who pioneered the concept of modern-day shopping. He came up with the groundbreaking ideas of ready-to-wear clothes, shop window displays, price tags, fixed prices, and store browsing. He introduced the idea of a “sale” and pioneered the concept of a department store, aka selling many different kinds of merchandise under one roof. A.T. Stewart built the first department stores in the country and became immensely wealthy. Until building himself a palace in the most prestigious area of New York City – the glitzy Fifth Avenue, he resided right here on Commerce Street. He was so wealthy and famous that his life’s adventures didn’t finish after his death, as his corpse was stolen for ransom.
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