Centre Street is a north–south street in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, running through the

Civic Center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

, Chinatown (曼哈頓華埠), and

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan. It connects Park Row to the south with Spring Street to the north, where it merges with

Lafayette Street Lafayette Street is a major north-south street in New York City's Lower Manhattan. It originates at the intersection of Reade Street and Centre Street, one block north of Chambers Street. The one-way street then successively runs through Chi ...

. Centre Street carries northbound traffic north of Reade Street and two-way traffic between Reade Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. As late as 1821, there was no Centre Street. The area was previously occupied by the

Collect Pond Collect Pond, or Fresh Water Pond,, p. 250. was a body of fresh water in what is now Chinatown in Lower Manhattan, New York City. For the first two centuries of European settlement in Manhattan, it was the main New York City water supply syste ...

, a body of fresh water that was the nascent city's primary supply of drinking water, covering approximately and running as deep as . The pond was located just north of today's

Foley Square Foley Square, also called Federal Plaza, is a street intersection in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, which contains a small triangular park named Thomas Paine Park. The space is bordered by Worth Street to th ...

and just west of modern Chinatown. It had been drained and the new street grid built over it a decade earlier. However, there was no street built between

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

and Reade Streets. Cross Street (which came over from the nearby area that would several years later be dubbed the " Five Points") ran all the way through to Reade, and a single block ran from Reade to Chambers, and afterwards turned east and ran into Chatham Street (future Park Row). In the previous century, this block, then ending at the Collect Pond, was labeled "Potter's Hill". North of Pearl Street, a separate street occupying the alignment was called "Collect Street". By 1828, it would be renamed Centre Street, but still end at Pearl from the north. As late as 1836, one map would still show this arrangement, but in another the full alignment would be in place. In colloquial usage, "Centre Street" may refer to the several courts or government offices along the street in the vicinity of Foley Square. 1 Centre Street is the

Manhattan Municipal Building The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building (originally the Municipal Building and later known as the Manhattan Municipal Building) is a 40-story, building at 1 Centre Street, east of Chambers Street, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhat ...

, 40 Centre Street is the

Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse (originally the United States Courthouse or the Foley Square Courthouse) is a 37-story courthouse at 40 Centre Street on Foley Square in the Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New Yor ...

(home of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...

), 60 and 80 Centre Street are the civil division of the New York County Supreme Court, and 100 Centre Street is the criminal division of the New York County Supreme Court. That courthouse lent its address to a short-lived TV show of the same name. The courthouse is also home to the office of the

Manhattan District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

, although its entrance is at 1 Hogan Place. 111 Centre Street is the

New York City Civil Court The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part (small claims court) for cases i ...

. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is at 125 Worth Street, at the corner of Centre Street. Farther north,

240 Centre Street 240 Centre Street, formerly the New York City Police Headquarters, is a building between Broome and Grand Streets in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. History It was built in 1905–1909, and was designed by the firm ...

was the headquarters of the New York Police Department from 1909 until 1973, although that building is now residential. Additionally, the

Museum of Chinese in America The Museum of Chinese in America (; abbreviated MOCA) is a museum in New York City which exhibits Chinese American history. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education and cultural institution that presents the living history, heritage, culture, and d ...

is located at 215 Centre Street, in Chinatown. The northbound M1 runs on Centre Street between Grand Street and

. The

BMT Nassau Street Line The BMT Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system in Manhattan. It is a continuation of the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn after crossing the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan; it continues to ...

runs under Centre Street south of

Kenmare Street __NOTOC__ Delancey Street is one of the main thoroughfares of New York City's Lower East Side in Manhattan, running from the street's western terminus at the Bowery to its eastern end at FDR Drive, connecting to the Williamsburg Bridge and Broo ...

, stopping at Canal Street and Chambers Street.

References

External links

A Journey Through Chinatown: Centre Street
photographs

a virtual walking tour {{Streets of Manhattan Streets in Manhattan Five Points, Manhattan