Several key individuals, organizations, and meeting spaces connected to LGBTQ history were located here, including the headquarters of the country's first national LGBTQ rights organization, and prominent writers, artists, musicians, and performers. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

Several sites with noteworthy histories connected to the Civil War were located here. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

A vast array of people who made a mark in the field of politics had connections to this area, including many notable "firsts" to run for or win office. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

This Italianate style rowhouse was built c. 1853 by philanthropist and bibliophile James Lenox for residential use. For generations, it was home to a family that was among the most important American patrons of the arts of the 19th century, and included significant figures in the fields of science, philanthropy, business, and government. In later years it also housed a prominent publisher, bookseller, and artist studios. Go back and click on the tours the building is featured in for additional information and history.

Many of the most prominent publishers in America and the world were located here, producing some of the most significant works of literature of the last two hundred years. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

In spite of massive waves of commercial construction, tenement building, and later hotel and apartment building construction which swept through this neighborhood, the area retains dozens of rowhouses from its early stages of development, dating from the early 1830s to the early 1850s. They range from modest to grand, most in the Greek Revival or Italianate style. Reflecting the vast forces of change which swept through the area, none remained single family houses, taking on new lives housing commerce, unions, theaters, art galleries, and multiple tenants. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

Some of New York's most prominent and impactful philanthropists, and philanthropic organizations, were located here. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

This altered Arts & Crafts style rowhouse was built c. 1852 by philanthropist and bibliophile James Lenox. It was the home of congressman, conservationist, and Civil War Unionist Robert B. Roosevelt, as well as the groundbreaking Pearson’s Magazine and bookstore. Go back and click on the tours the building is featured in for additional information and history.

Many generations of the Roosevelt family lived here, had significant holdings here, and developed many of the existing buildings here. During this time, they achieved numerous notable accomplishments in the fields of politics, literature, diplomacy, and environmental protection. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

An extraordinary array of significant writers and authors lived or worked here, and great works of literature were produced here. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.

Prominent Irish immigrants and Irish Americans made a mark in the area South of Union Square, especially in the realms of politics, the arts, commerce, and literature.

Born James Thomas Harris (1855-1931), in Galway, Ireland Frank Harris was an Irish immigrant who became a naturalized U.S. citizen during his editorship of Pearson’s Magazine, was a noted author, journalist, editor, publisher, and provocateur. His autobiographical My Life and Loves was banned in the United States and Britain for 40 years due to its sexual content. In addition to publishing this and Pearson’s, Harris wrote two books about Shakespeare and biographies of his friends, the playwright George Bernard Shaw and the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. Wilde, who was found guilty of engaging in acts of “gross indecency” in 1895, became an icon in the emergence of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Harris’ close friendship with Wilde is portrayed in Moises Kaufman’s Gross Indecencies: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, as well as several other literary portrayals of Wilde’s life.

Since at least the 1890s and through the 20th century, this area was the center of the bookselling industry in New York, centered along Fourth Avenue as well as Broadway and University Place, and probably had the highest concentration of booksellers in the world. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square.