Doyers Street

Bloody Angle; Murder Alley

Description

Doyers Street is a historic street in Chinatown, New York City. Doyers Street follows the old route of a stream. There are three separate bends on Doyers Street. Doyers Street with Chatham Square, through which gangs or their victims would attempt escapes from violent scenes on Doyers Street. Though part of it was eliminated in the mid-2010s, the Chatham Square side of the tunnel reportedly still exists.

Occupied, 1900

Early in the 1900s, Doyers Street’s bend became known as the “Bloody Angle” for the violent Tong gang wars that raged into the 1930s. Hatchets were often used, giving rise to the term “hatchet man.” Law enforcement later called it the deadliest intersection in the U.S. A 1905 shootout at the Chinese Theater killed three people before a crowd of 400, and further killings, like the 1909 attack tied to rival tongs, cemented its reputation. In 1994, law enforcement officials said that more people died violently at the "Bloody Angle" than at any other street intersection in the United States.

Several old tenements once lined Doyers Street, often plagued by fires. In 1910, four people died at 15–17 Doyers, and in 1939 another blaze at the same building killed seven and injured sixteen. The narrow street hampered firefighting, prompting Mayor La Guardia to remark that Chinatown might someday need to be torn down and rebuilt.

Factoids

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1791 -The street is named for Hendrik Doyers, an 18th-century Dutch immigrant who bought the property facing the Bowery in 1791. He operated a distillery at 6 Doyers Street and the Plough and Harrow tavern near the corner with Bowery.

1906-Chuck Connors, a Tammany Hall boss in Chinatown, ran his Chatham Club at 6 Doyers Street, where a young Irving Berlin got his start. At 18, Berlin worked as a singing waiter at the Pelham Cafe, entertaining guests with improvised parodies. After hours, he taught himself piano, and in 1907 published his first song, Marie from Sunny Italy, under the name “I. Berlin.”

1920-The Nom Wah Tea Parlor, the oldest continuously running restaurant in Chinatown, opened at 13 Doyers Street. The restaurant first opened at 15 Doyers Street and moved to its current location in 1968.

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