Some streets in New York seem like they’re right out of a Hollywood film set. Atmospheric and mysterious. One’s imagination can go wild picturing the dramas that can unfold in its hidden corners.
Crooked little Doyers Street here in the heart of Chinatown feels hidden away and secretive and reminds us of a time when Chinatown was filled with opium dens and Chinese gangs called Tongs.
Before 2008 when a high-brow cocktail lounge opened here this street was very well off-the-beaten path. And in a way it kind of still is, with most of the tourists visiting Chinatown staying for the most part close to Mott Street a block away.
Doyers Street 100 years ago (top) and Doyers Street today (bottom)
Headquarters of the On Leong (top) and the Hip Sing (bottom)
When Romancing Manhattan Tours opened back in 1995 this was (and still is today) one of our top 10 favorite places to take our guests. It’s a curious little street with a very violent past, earning it the nickname Bloody Angle. It was written in one of the newspapers of the time that in the year 1899 to 1900 more murders took place on this tiny street than any other street in the country.
Around the corner on Pell Street has been the headquarters of the Hip Sing Association since the 1880s, one of the two Chinese tongs that ruled the neighborhood. The other fiercely rival tong, called the On Leong was headquartered inside the pagoda just a few blocks away at the corner of Mott and Canal Streets. Doyers Street was the site of many battles between the rival Chinese gangs. It was an easy spot to plan an ambush given the angle of the street.
One particularly bloody battle took place in August of 1905 in an old Chinese opera house built here at numbers 5-7 Doyers Street. For a while the opera house was considered a neutral zone and off-limits to fighting.
Old Chinese Opera House
Hip Sing leader (top) & On Leong (bottom) gang leaders
But on this particular summer night the Hip Sing and On Leong gangs were enjoying an evening of theater when members of the Hip Sing gang arose from their front seats turned around and brutally gunned down their rivals sitting right behind them. After many of these battles gang members would often flee their adversaries and the police by escaping through Chinatown’s network of ancient tunnels which still exist today.
If you ever decide to visit this area be sure to stop by the Nam Wah Tea Parlor, new york’s oldest Dim Sum parlor (since 1920). Or if you’re in the mood for a serious cocktail check out Apotheke here on Doyers Street. For some more great food stop by famous Joe’s Shanghai here on adjoining Pell Street for the best pork soup dumplings.
Many a celebrity has eaten at Joe’s. Just be prepared for a wait during busier times since they don’t take reservations and make sure you have some cash on you since they don’t take credit cards.
Joe’s Shanghai (top) and Nam Wah Tea Parlor (bottom)
You can have a great dinner for 2 here for less than $30. Who says New York has to always be so expensive?