The district includes parts, but not all, of Charlton, King and Vandam Streets between the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and Varick Street (the southern extension of Seventh Avenue), as well as the block bounded by King, MacDougal and Houston Streets and Sixth Avenue.[7] In its designation report, the NYCLPC emphasized that this area was not a modern creation but had once been part of a larger "distinct and separate neighborhood" that was generally developed between 1820 and 1829 and originally extended from the Hudson River (then at Greenwich Street) to MacDougal Street, and from Vandam Street to King Street.[2]
The Charlton–King–Vandam area was part of the estate of Richmond Hill, a Georgianmansion built in 1767 and said to be one of the most beautiful mansions in Manhattan.[2] It was used by George Washington during the American Revolution as a headquarters and later became John Adams' Vice Presidential Mansion when the new country's capital was New York City. Aaron Burr bought the mansion, and after living in it for a time and using it as the site of lavish parties, it was Burr who, in 1797, mapped the property, dividing it into lots and laying out the grid of three streets, which would become Charlton, King and Vandam.[2] After Burr's duel with Alexander Hamilton, he lost control of the estate to John Jacob Astor, the leading land developer of the time, who paid off Burr in 1817 and proceeded to develop the area.[2]
Astor had the mansion moved from the top of the hill it stood on to the corner of Charlton and Varick, and the hill was levelled; the mansion was subsequently used as a theatre. Builders bought the majority of the lots Astor laid out, so that much of the construction in the neighborhood took place in the early and mid-1820s, although some Greek Revival houses date from the 1840s, replacing houses destroyed by fire.[2] After the mansion was razed in 1849, the neighborhood name "Richmond Hill" fell into disuse.[8]
Architecture
The north sides of Charlton and Vandam Streets display "exceptional examples"[3] of Federal-style architecture, especially #37 and #39 Charlton Street,[9] as well as houses showing elements transitional to the early Greek Revival style.[2] King Street has a more varied mix, including Greek Revival houses, particularly those at #20 and #40-44,[9] and houses in the Federal, Anglo-Italianate and Roman Revival styles.[2] King also includes the former Public School 8, now converted to residences, designed by David Skagg and built in 1886,[9] which has been characterized as a "lively Queen Anne-style building".[3]
