Five Points is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan notoriously known for its gangs, crime, and poverty.
This neighborhood was mostly recognized as an Irish neighborhood in the mid-1800s.
The reputation of the Irish was that they were criminal by nature, and the horrible conditions of the Five Points helped affirm that reputation. Initially a reservoir in the 1700s, Collect Pond was located just north of today’s City Hall.
This pond was the root of spring water for Dutch inhabitants of downtown Manhattan. In the neighborhood of Collect Pond, people began disposing waste in the pond from the tanneries and slaughterhouses that consumed the neighborhood which gave the pond and surrounding areas a filthy stench.
Because of this mess, it was decided to fill in all 48 acres of this …show more content…
These gangs were involved in horrible crimes from prostitution to murder.
Just hearing the names of these gangs could have people trembling. The Dead Rabbits was a very famous gang in Five Points.
The gangs in the neighborhood had always had many little battles with police, but on Independence Day in 1857, it all changed.
On July 4, 1857, some boys believed to be from the Dead Rabbits gang went to an old saloon where a rival gang named the Bowery Boys were, and a small war broke out between the gangs and eventually the police.
This fight killed eight people which did not phase anybody since at this time people were killing each other for no reason. These gangs became notorious in 1928 after being the subject of the classic book Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury.
Martin Scorsese’s movie Gangs of New York, which is also about Five Points, was based on Asbury’s book. This huge building was originally a brewery and now a significant landmark in Five Points.
In the city, the Old Brewery was the most acclaimed building in history.
After becoming so broken-down, it could not be used for its original
This neighborhood was mostly recognized as an Irish neighborhood in the mid-1800s.
The reputation of the Irish was that they were criminal by nature, and the horrible conditions of the Five Points helped affirm that reputation. Initially a reservoir in the 1700s, Collect Pond was located just north of today’s City Hall.
This pond was the root of spring water for Dutch inhabitants of downtown Manhattan. In the neighborhood of Collect Pond, people began disposing waste in the pond from the tanneries and slaughterhouses that consumed the neighborhood which gave the pond and surrounding areas a filthy stench.
Because of this mess, it was decided to fill in all 48 acres of this …show more content…
These gangs were involved in horrible crimes from prostitution to murder.
Just hearing the names of these gangs could have people trembling. The Dead Rabbits was a very famous gang in Five Points.
The gangs in the neighborhood had always had many little battles with police, but on Independence Day in 1857, it all changed.
On July 4, 1857, some boys believed to be from the Dead Rabbits gang went to an old saloon where a rival gang named the Bowery Boys were, and a small war broke out between the gangs and eventually the police.
This fight killed eight people which did not phase anybody since at this time people were killing each other for no reason. These gangs became notorious in 1928 after being the subject of the classic book Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury.
Martin Scorsese’s movie Gangs of New York, which is also about Five Points, was based on Asbury’s book. This huge building was originally a brewery and now a significant landmark in Five Points.
In the city, the Old Brewery was the most acclaimed building in history.
After becoming so broken-down, it could not be used for its original