Hester Street
Encyclopedia
Hester Street is a street in the Lower East Side
of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. The street stretches from Essex Street
to Centre Street
, with a discontinuity between Chrystie Street and Forsyth Street
for Sara Delano Roosevelt Park
.
It has historically been a center for Ashkenazi Jewish
immigrant
culture. The sculptor Jacob Epstein
was raised at 102 Hester Street. More recently, it has been absorbed by Chinatown
, although some kosher and Jewish-owned stores can be found.
As a symbol of the immigrant experience, the street was the title of the 1975 period film Hester Street.
At the east end of Hester Street, an open air market called the Hester Street Fair currently runs on weekends from April through October. The market is on a parcel of land owned by Seward Park Co-op and is run by MTV News
Correspondent SuChin Pak
, her brother Suhyun Pak, Adam Zeller, and Ron Castellano.
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The street stretches from Essex Street
Essex Street (Manhattan)
Essex Street is a north-south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A, and south of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street....
to Centre Street
Centre Street (Manhattan)
Centre Street runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Centre Street runs from Park Row and continues north to Delancey Street where it merges with Lafayette Street....
, with a discontinuity between Chrystie Street and Forsyth Street
Forsyth Street (Manhattan)
Forsyth Street runs from Houston Street south to East Broadway in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street was named in 1817 for Lt. Colonel Benjamin Forsyth....
for Sara Delano Roosevelt Park
Sara Delano Roosevelt Park
Sara Delano Roosevelt Park is a park in the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The park, named after Sara Roosevelt, the mother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, stretches north-south between East Houston Street on the Lower East Side and Canal Street in Chinatown,...
.
It has historically been a center for Ashkenazi Jewish
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
immigrant
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
culture. The sculptor Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...
was raised at 102 Hester Street. More recently, it has been absorbed by Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
, although some kosher and Jewish-owned stores can be found.
As a symbol of the immigrant experience, the street was the title of the 1975 period film Hester Street.
At the east end of Hester Street, an open air market called the Hester Street Fair currently runs on weekends from April through October. The market is on a parcel of land owned by Seward Park Co-op and is run by MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
Correspondent SuChin Pak
SuChin Pak
SuChin Pak is a South Korean-born American television news correspondent, frequently appearing on the cable networks of MTV.SuChin Pak joined the MTV News Team as a correspondent in May 2001. She has covered the MTV Movie Awards, the Sundance Film Festival, and the MTV Video Music Awards. She...
, her brother Suhyun Pak, Adam Zeller, and Ron Castellano.
External links
- picture of Hester Street near Essex
- Panorama of Hester St. c1902
- Hester Street Storefronts - photographs of buildings and stores along Hester St from the Lower East Side through Chinatown and Little Italy.
