Meatpacking District

The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that runs roughly from West 14th Street south to Horatio Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street, although recently it is sometimes considered to have extended north to West 17th Street and east to Eighth Avenue.HistoryPre-colonialA Native American trading station called "Sapohanikan" was on the riverbank, which, accounting for landfill, was located about where Gansevoort Street meets Washington Street today. The footpath that led from Sapohanikan inland to the east became the foundation for Gansevoort Street, which by accident or design aligns, within one degree, to the spring and autumnal equinoxes. In recognition of this history, petitions were made to call the 14th Street Park "Saphohanikan Park" although it appears no formal recognition was given.Initial developmentThe earliest development of the area now known as the Meatpacking District came in the mid-19th century. Before that it was the location of Fort Gansevoort and of the upper extension of Greenwich Village, which had been a vacation spot until overtaken by the northward movement of New York City. The irregular street patterns in the area resulted from the clash of the Greenwich Village street system with that of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which sought to impose a regular grid on the undeveloped part of Manhattan island.