Some interesting facts and anecdotes:
Gramercy Park was one of the first planned neighborhoods in NYC thanks to Samuel Ruggles in the 1830s. The name Gramercy was anglicized from the Dutch "Krom Moerasje", meaning "little crooked swamp". And a swampy area it once was. In fact the area was once part of a large farm.
The National Arts Club at Gramercy Park South was established to promote the arts and was one of the few such clubs open to women as well as men. Located in an history 1840s mansion that was once the home of NY State Governor Samuel J. Tilden, the club offers numerous events to the public in the realms of music, visual art , literature and fashion.
The first apartment building in New York City designed for middle class people was the Stuyvesant Apartments, located at 18th Street between Irving Place and 3rd Avenue. It opened in 1870 and was torn down in the 1950's. The building was referred to as "French flats" as a way of distinguishing it from the small tenement apartments that existed in abundance.
Pete's Tavern at 18th Street and Iriving Place, which opened back in 1865, is one of the oldest bars in NYC. During prohibition in the 1920s Pete's disguised itself as a flower shop.
36 Gramercy Park West, built in 1883, is the city's oldest cooperative apartment house. Jimmy Cagney and Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West), have called it home. Jimmy Fallon currently owns several apartments here.
Czech Composer Antonin Dvorak lived for three years at 317 East 17th Street from 1892-95 while serving as the Director of the National Conservatory of Music in America. There is a statue of him in Stuyvesant Square Park.
Theodore Roosevelt (1857-1918), the only U.S. President born and raised in Manhattan, lived at 20 East 20th Street. You can visit and tour the building for free as it is a national historic site.
Did you know? Most days of the year you can walk in unannounced to an opulent 1840's mansion on Gramercy Park South. It's the National Arts Club, which offeries art gallery exhibitions and numerous other events for the public.
The Brotherhood Synagogue on Gramercy Park South was built as a Quaker Meeting house in the 1859. The building also served as a clandestine stop on the Underground Railroad as a safe haven for runaway enslaved persons.
Neighborhood Amenities:
Food Shopping: Union Square Market (M, W, F, Sat): Westside Market,
Morton Williams, D'Agostino's, Eden Gourmet, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's
Public Transportation: 6,N,R,W,L; M23 crosstown, M15, M101, M102.
A Sampling of Restaurants: Gramercy Tavern, Craft, Casa Mono, Barbounia,
Eleni's (Greek), Molly Shabeen's (Irish), Mali Gramercy (Thai), Sathi (Indian), Chito Gvrito (Georgian), and Lady Mendl's Tea Salon
Coffee Culture: Think Coffee, Irving Farm, Blue Bottle, CupSoul Cafe, Starbucks
Cultural Offerings: National Arts Club at Gramercy Park South, Mishkin Gallery at Baruch College, Gramercy Theatre and Irving Place (live music venues), Daryl Roth Theatre (off-Broadway productions in a renovated 1840s bank)
Public Parks and Open Space: Stuyvesant Square, Madison Square, Union Square
The 1870 Stuyvesant Apartments, located at 142 East 18th Streetm demolished in the 1950s.
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