Washington Mews

The old stables of the grand houses on Washington Square, turned into a quiet village lane

Local name: Washington Mews

Collection: Greenwich Village and the East Village · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

The cobbled lane and the former stables · Eden, Janine and Jim from New York City, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The story

Before you is Washington Mews, a short cobbled lane lined with low houses. A mews is a lane of stables. In 1829 to 1833 a row of grand town houses went up on the north side of Washington Square. The land belonged to Sailors’ Snug Harbor. Captain Robert Randall had left his farm to provide a home for old sailors, and the charity lived on the rent. Behind the houses this wide lane was laid out for service and stables. So that the houses could keep deep gardens, the first stables were built on the far side of the lane. They went up in 1833, of brick with slate roofs. The families on the square kept their horses and carriages here. In the early twentieth century some of the stables became garages. In 1916 Sailors’ Snug Harbor hired the architects Maynicke and Franke to turn the stables into homes. They were stuccoed and trimmed with tiles to give them a Mediterranean feel. Artists moved in. Soon after the remodeling, the sculptor Paul Manship moved into number forty-two. In 1939 a row of small studio houses was built on the south side. In 1949 New York University leased the lane. Today it holds offices and faculty apartments. Take a look at number sixteen, on the corner of University Place. It is a large brick stable from 1880. The arched window on the second floor replaced the doors of the hayloft. Today the building houses the university’s French House.

Visiting

Enter from Fifth Avenue between Eighth Street and Washington Square, or from University Place. This is a private street belonging to New York University, and people live and work in the houses, so keep your voice down and stay out of the yards. If the gates are closed, you can see the lane well through the railings. Subway: the R or W to 8th Street–NYU.