- Second Avenue and 10th Street was once the intersection of great theater and great pastrami. Today, a history of food and fame shines beneath your feet.
- In the first half of the 20th century, the stretch of Second Avenue between 14th Street and Houston Street was known as “Yiddish Broadway,” or the “Yiddish Rialto,” owing to the Yiddish-language theaters that lined the street.
- There, Yiddish-language productions of original plays, comedies, and dramas (as well as full-scale productions of Shakespeare – in Yiddish!) wowed audiences and were respected as some of the best performances in New York.
- The history of Yiddish Theater is the history of Theater in New York:
- The Hebrew Actors Union at 31 East 7th Street was the first theatrical union in the United States.
- Principle writers of the great American Song Book, like George and Ira Gershwin and Irving Berlin, grew up in the Yiddish Theater district.
- Today, a Yiddish Theater walk of fame adorns the sidewalk outside of the Chase Bank at 2nd Avenue and 10th street, but it’s not because Chase Bank is a sucker for Fiddler on the Roof…
- It’s because the Chase was once the original home of the beloved 2nd Avenue Deli. Still don’t see the connection?? Read on!
- Founded in 1954 by Abe Lebewohl, the Second Avenue Deli grew into a New York institution, frequented by everyone from mobster John Gotti to Joe DiMaggio.
- Lebewohl was known for his incredible generosity – he fed New Yorkers (from homeless East Villagers to striking union workers to homesick NYU students) for free.
- Lebewohl loved his community and its history. He installed the Yiddish Theater Walk of Fame in front of the Second Avenue Deli to celebrate the history of the neighborhood.
- Sadly, Abe Lebewohl was murdered while depositing his daily receipts at a local bank on March 4, 1996. More than 1,500 mourners attended his funeral at the Community Synagogue on East 6th St.
- The local community created a memorial to him with a tiny triangular park across the street in front of St. Mark’s Church aptly named Abe Lebewohl Park.
- Abe Lebewohl might be gone, but the Second Avenue Deli lives on, still owned by his family, at 2 locations – 162 East 33rd St. and 1442 1st Avenue. The Upper East Side outpost has a fancy somewhat clandestine bar upstairs worth checking out.
GVSHP, or better know as Village Preservation, is one of our favorite organizations focusing on preserving, documenting and maintaining our great city’s history.
For more info on the Yiddish Walk of Fame and Abe Lebewohl, check out their post here.
