Little Syria, Manhattan
Encyclopedia
Little Syria was a neighborhood that existed in the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
from the late 19th century until the 1940s, when the area around Washington Street
was demolished to make way for entrance ramps to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel
. The enclave existed primarily to the south of the eventual site of the World Trade Center
, just blocks away from the proposed site of Cordoba House.
Christian immigrants from present-day Syria
and Lebanon
settled in the area in the late 19th century, escaping religious persecution
and poverty in their homelands then under control of the Ottoman Empire
, and answering the call of American missionaries to escape their difficulties by traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. The overwhelming majority of the residents were Arabic-speaking Christians. The New York Times
estimated that as many as 5% of the area's Arab residents were Muslims, who mostly came from the area of Palestine
. The Christians lived on Washington Street to the south of the site of the World Trade Center, where they established three churches, including St. George Chapel of the Melkite Rite
, which as of 2010 survives as Moran's Ale House and Grill. The small Muslim community was predominantly located to the north of the World Trade Center site. An 1899 article about New York's Syrian Quarter and its 3,000 residents described how the immigrants arriving there didn't "leave all their quaint customs, garments, ways of thinking at home," nor did they become "ordinary American citizens," but instead "just enough of their traits, dress, ideas remain, no matter how long they have been here, to give the colonies they form spice and a touch of novelty." While noting "a number of amazingly pretty girls," the reporter described Little Syria near the turn of the 20th century as a mix of social classes, but said that "the lower class, men and women, have little that is attractive about them. They have been called the dirtiest people in all New York".
The WPA Guide to New York City (1939) mentions the Syrian Quarter of what was then the "Lower West Side," in the market district, siting it "at the foot of Washington Street
from Battery Place
to Rector Street".
In his 2006 book The Arab Americans, Gregory Orfalea described Little Syria as "an enclave in the New World where Arabs first peddled goods, worked in sweatshops, lived in tenements and hung their own signs on stores." Naoum and Salloum Mokarzel created the publication Al-Hoda, adapting the Linotype machine
to produce text in the Arabic alphabet
, which "made possible and immeasurably stimulated the growth of Arabic journalism in the Middle East." By August 1946, residents and business owners on the stretch of Washington Street from Rector Street to Battery Place in what was then the "heart of New York's Arab world" had received condemnation notices, just years before the neighborhood was razed to create entrance ramps needed for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which opened in 1950.
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...
from the late 19th century until the 1940s, when the area around Washington Street
Washington Street (Manhattan)
Washington Street is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Running from 14th Street in the Meatpacking District at its northernmost end to its southern end at Hubert Street in TriBeCa, Washington Street is, for its entire length, the westernmost street in lower Manhattan...
was demolished to make way for entrance ramps to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel
Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel
Interstate 478s entire length consists of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel and its approaches. Its south end is at Interstate 278, and its north end is at NY 9A ....
. The enclave existed primarily to the south of the eventual site of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, just blocks away from the proposed site of Cordoba House.
Christian immigrants from present-day Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
settled in the area in the late 19th century, escaping religious persecution
Dhimmi
A , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
and poverty in their homelands then under control of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, and answering the call of American missionaries to escape their difficulties by traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. The overwhelming majority of the residents were Arabic-speaking Christians. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
estimated that as many as 5% of the area's Arab residents were Muslims, who mostly came from the area of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. The Christians lived on Washington Street to the south of the site of the World Trade Center, where they established three churches, including St. George Chapel of the Melkite Rite
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. The Melkites, Byzantine Rite Catholics of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Syria, of...
, which as of 2010 survives as Moran's Ale House and Grill. The small Muslim community was predominantly located to the north of the World Trade Center site. An 1899 article about New York's Syrian Quarter and its 3,000 residents described how the immigrants arriving there didn't "leave all their quaint customs, garments, ways of thinking at home," nor did they become "ordinary American citizens," but instead "just enough of their traits, dress, ideas remain, no matter how long they have been here, to give the colonies they form spice and a touch of novelty." While noting "a number of amazingly pretty girls," the reporter described Little Syria near the turn of the 20th century as a mix of social classes, but said that "the lower class, men and women, have little that is attractive about them. They have been called the dirtiest people in all New York".
The WPA Guide to New York City (1939) mentions the Syrian Quarter of what was then the "Lower West Side," in the market district, siting it "at the foot of Washington Street
Washington Street (Manhattan)
Washington Street is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Running from 14th Street in the Meatpacking District at its northernmost end to its southern end at Hubert Street in TriBeCa, Washington Street is, for its entire length, the westernmost street in lower Manhattan...
from Battery Place
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
to Rector Street".
In his 2006 book The Arab Americans, Gregory Orfalea described Little Syria as "an enclave in the New World where Arabs first peddled goods, worked in sweatshops, lived in tenements and hung their own signs on stores." Naoum and Salloum Mokarzel created the publication Al-Hoda, adapting the Linotype machine
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
to produce text in the Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
, which "made possible and immeasurably stimulated the growth of Arabic journalism in the Middle East." By August 1946, residents and business owners on the stretch of Washington Street from Rector Street to Battery Place in what was then the "heart of New York's Arab world" had received condemnation notices, just years before the neighborhood was razed to create entrance ramps needed for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which opened in 1950.