MINETTA Street and Minetta Lane in the heart of Greenwich Village are both named for the brook that originally arose in midtown in the Madison Square area (5th Avenue and 20th Street) and meandered southwest through Washington Square and draining into the Hudson River in a marshy area at about Houston Street. In the colonial era, it was known as Richmond Hill; in a grand dwelling built by British Army Major Abraham Mortier, George Washington made his headquarters during the Revolutionary War and John Adams and Aaron Burr later made their homes.
Both Minetta Street, which follows a curved course matching the stream between 6th avenue and Minetta Lane, and Minetta Lane, which runs straight from 6th Avenue to MacDougal Street, were on maps by the 1860s, but they were often rendered with nonstandard spellings like “Minetto” before cartographers settled on the current spelling by 1875 or so. When Minetta Street was first a pathway, the brook may have flowed alongside it and Minetta Lane may have bridged over it, but all of the stream had disappeared underground by the 1860s. Untapped Cities offers a clue for how Minetta Street originated:
Before builders covered the brook with wooden boards for convenience, Black settlers created a path along the stream, which later became known as the “Negroe’s Causeway” (today’s Minetta Street). Of course, the Village is known as the backdrop of the gay pride movement, but who knew that it was also home to a large African American population after slavery was abolished in New York in 1827? Both Minettas are explored on this FNY page from 2016.
As the 1895 map excerpt indicates, there had also been a third Minetta, Minetta Place, a dogleg alley issuing from Minetta Streets west side just north of Bleecker.
Though the construction of #290 6th Avenue (I do not know what year) likely wiped out all trace of Minetta Place, the alley is marked somewhat by this indentation on #290’s back wall, facing Minetta Street, and it’s possible the builders desired to mark the alley in this manner.
Check out the ForgottenBook (HarperCollins, 2006), as well as Forgotten Queens (Arcadia, 2013). I also have a chapter in the anthology “New York Calling: From Blackout to Bloomberg” (Reaktion, 2007). As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
10/12/26