Chelsea NYC - America's first Suburb ?

from wikipedia:

A rendering of the Mansion House of the Chelsea estate by Moore's daughter, Mary C. Ogden. made for the first color edition of A Visit from St. Nicholas (1855)

Clement Moore's estate, Chelsea, was on the west side of Manhattan island above Houston Street, where the developed city ended at the time, and was mostly open countryside.  It was once the property of Maj. Thomas Clarke, Clement's maternal grandfather and a retired British veteran of the French and Indian War. Clarke named his house for a hospital in London that served war veterans. The estate was later inherited by Thomas Clarke's daughter, Charity Clarke Moore, and ultimately by grandson Clement and his family.

When New York City laid down the street grid called for in the Commissioner's Plan of 1811, the new Ninth Avenue went through the middle of the estate, causing Moore to write and publish a pamphlet which called on other "Proprietors of Real Estate" to fight the continued development of the city, which he saw as a conspiracy designed to increase political patronage and appease the city's working class. He also decried having to pay taxes for public works such as creating new streets, which he called "a tyranny no monarch in Europe would dare to exercise."

Despite his protests against urban development, eventually Moore began to develop Chelsea, dividing it up into lots along Ninth Avenue and selling them to well-heeled New Yorkers. He was in effect planning the first suburb in the United States and created its first planned community.

He also donated to the Episcopal diocese an apple orchard consisting of 66 tracts for use as a seminary, construction on which began in 1827. This became the General Theological Seminary, where Moore served as the first professor of Oriental Languages. The Seminary still exits and part of it was converted into a hotel - The High Line Hotel.  Together the Seminary and The High Line Hotel occupy most of the block between 20th and 21st Streets and Ninth and Tenth Avenues.

Townhouses in Chelsea; much of this Manhattan neighborhood was originally part of Moore's country estate

A Visit from St. Nicholas 

This poem, that made Clement Moore famous, was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York, Sentinel on December 23, 1823. Moore later acknowledged authorship and the poem was included in an 1844 anthology of his works at the insistence of his children, for whom he wrote it. 

A Visit from St. Nicholas is largely responsible for the conception of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today, including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, and the tradition that he brings toys to children. Prior to the poem, American ideas about St. Nicholas and other Christmastide visitors varied considerably. The poem has influenced ideas about St. Nicholas and Santa Claus beyond the United States to the rest of the English-speaking world and beyond. 

Clement Moore

“Twas the night before …”

Hear those four words.  What happened?  Did you get a flash from your childhood?  Or remember seeing in another child’s face that moment of great joy mixed with almost unbearable anticipation?  Even though you know the rest of the poem by heart, did you relive a moment of uncomplicated urgency and impending joy?

 

You can go there again.

That is the spirit of the Manhattan neighborhood called Chelsea.   It was in this neighborhood that Clement Moore wrote his famous poem.   Chelsea is a neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan bordered by Hell’s Kitchen to the north, the Flatiron District to the east, the Meatpacking District to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. The western area of the neighborhood houses many of New York City’s great art galleries, as well as the famous park The High Line.   Chelsea includes theaters, shops, and several top-rated restaurants and food markets.

“Twas the night before “is a blog dedicated to the distinctive things to do and see in this neighborhood, and how in the midst of all that is Manhattan, it is in Chelsea that you will capture “moments of uncomplicated urgency and impending joy.”

'Twas the night before.'..in Chelsea