11. The neighborhood was the starting point of the NYC Draft Riots
The New York City Draft Riots occurred from July 13-16, 1863 in Lower Manhattan, in which predominantly white working-class men protested the Civil War draft. During the heat of the war, a mob torched the entire block between 45th and 46th Streets in Turtle Bay, starting at a military enlistment office on Third Avenue and 45th Street. Most of the rioters were Irish or of Irish descent and could not afford the $300 fee to hire a substitute for the war. Although originally a draft riot, the unrest eventually grew into race riots, as Irish immigrants attacked free Black residents due to increased competition for jobs. By the time the military was deployed on the second day of the riots, many public buildings, Protestant churches, and Black-owned homes were destroyed, including many in Turtle Bay. The final death toll is estimated to be around 120.
Elsewhere in the city, fighting occurred at sites like The Provost Marshal’s Office, which involved the cutting of telegraph lines, and the Colored Orphans Asylum, the first institution to take in Black children. The James McCune Smith Pharmacy, the first owned by an African American, was also destroyed. Another notable site of rioting took place at the New York Times office, in which owner Henry Raymond told staff to man Gatling guns pointed toward the mob. On the third day, Colonel James Barnet Fry decided to postpone the draft, and by the last day, order began to be restored, despite a deadly confrontation near Gramercy Park.