Although the story of young George Washington, the cherry tree and his father is apocryphal, the first president is associated with cherries. Washington lived for a short time during his presidency at #3 Cherry Street, though the mansion is long gone and so is #3 Cherry Street: it formerly diverged from Pearl Street just north of the Brooklyn Bridge, but that spot is now covered by the Alfred E. Smith Houses. Cherry Street, named for a 17th-century cherry orchard in the area, now runs in two pieces from Catherine Street to Montgomery, and a one-block stretch from Jackson to the FDR Drive.
Cherry Street’s most notable feature is the huge masonry arch of the Manhattan Bridge that runs over it between Market and Pike Streets. A second huge arch can be found at Water Street on the Brooklyn side.
3/15/13