Hell’s Kitchen in New York City
There was a time when the neighborhood known as Hell’s Kitchen did have fine restaurants or luxury hotels. New York City history is rich with tales of the gritty world of gangsters. This particular neighborhood has been known throughout the history of the city, as the area of the organized crime rings of the Irish/American circles. As with many of the neighborhoods of the city as well, the history and the racial tension that has been part of Hell’s Kitchen’s reputation, is brought to life any time a tiny community theater in any small town puts up the musical “West Side Story”.
Over the last forty years the area has been gradually renovated and gentrified, as it is located close to Midtown and close to the theater district and the Broadway Venues. Many of those who come to the city for the purpose of becoming actors move to the area as this is where the famous Actors Studio is located. And due to the proximity to the theaters, those who are making their living as actors on Broadway, also reside now in Hell’s Kitchen. I have been to this area of the city. It is a strange mix, of architecture, of people, of just an overall feeling. I wasn’t really sure how I felt, I mean, it was a bad feeling or a scary feeling per se.
It was a feeling of being in a place wherein the brutal gangs of the Five Points once resided, while also attending a class at at the Actors Studio, it was a place wherein some of the most famous actors and playwrights throughout history once resided. I went shopping at a Goodwill, and had a coffee from Starbucks all in the hour’s time. And I passed a young boy selling flowers from a cart, and heard an older “gangster” looking man yelling obscenities to someone on his cell phone. As I said, it is a strange and wonderful area of the city and the feeling of those few days I spent there has remained with ever since.
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