9. Much of the Neighborhood Is Landmarked
The Gansevoort Market Historic District makes up a good chunk of the Meatpacking District, roughly bounded by West 16th Street, 9th Avenue and Hudson Street, Gansevoort Street, West Street, and 11th Avenue. It comprises 140 contributing buildings, two contributing structures, the High Line, a lumber yard, and the historic street pattern of the neighborhood.
The oldest extant buildings date back to the 1840s and are the aforementioned Greek Revival rowhouses where merchants set up shops on the ground floor and lived on the upper floors. Other buildings in the historic district have been recognized for architectural elements like the overhangs that once served to protect produce from the harsh sun and rain. Unfortunately, nine landmarked townhouses from the 1840s near the Old Homestead Steakhouse are being partially demolished by a careless (or calculating) real estate developer.
