This narrow little passage off Rivington Street between Chrystie Street and the Bowery now attracts well-heeled, hipster New Yorkers looking for a table at retro Freemans restaurant, at the end of the alley.
But in 1909, there was a different kind of clientele in Freeman Alley craving a meal—desperate men on a breadline.
The breadline stemmed from the Bowery Mission, which had just relocated to nearby 227 Bowery. That building, a former coffin factory, was remodeled so its rear entrance opened to the back of Freeman Alley. Apparently the alley’s end wasn’t closed at the time.
That’s where Bowery Mission planners wanted the breadline to form. So night after night, men queued up in Freeman Alley, hoping for some food.
Freeman Alley is a bit of a mystery. No one is sure if it honors early 19th century surveyor Uzal Freeman, or if the name refers to the Second African Burial Ground, a cemetery for black New Yorkers on the site of Sara Roosevelt Park that was closed in 1853.
[NYPL Digital Gallery photo of the Bowery Mission Breadline]
Tags: 227 Bowery, Bowery Bums, Bowery Mission, Bowery Mission Breadline, Freeman Alley, Freemans Restaurant, New York in 1909, New York street, Sara Roosevelt Park, Second African Burial Ground, skid row bowery, Uzal Freeman
Ephemeral New York 
February 22, 2011 at 4:42 am |
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sanctuary Suites NYC, Mario Cornejo. Mario Cornejo said: The breadline of hungry men in Freeman Alley: http://t.co/1K5KNnF […]
February 22, 2011 at 6:25 pm |
[…] Alley was the designated area for Bowery Mission breadlines in the early 1900s. And the narrow strip of pavement wasn’t […]
February 23, 2011 at 4:07 am |
This place always gets a lot of complaints at Community Board meetings. I think that little alley is like a sound chamber and the people whose windows face it suffer from it. There is also a sub-plot pertaining to whether it’s a public or private street and what it all means pertaining to neighbors and rights etc.
February 23, 2011 at 4:02 pm |
Interesting about the public vs. private street debate. Freeman shows up on old maps and in news articles, but I don’t think there was a street sign at the entrance of the alley until relatively recently.
February 23, 2011 at 6:49 pm |
[…] When fancy Freeman Alley was filled with breadline men. [ENY] […]
April 5, 2014 at 1:34 pm |
[…] Freeman Alley in Ephemeral New York […]
October 13, 2014 at 7:35 am |
[…] “helping hand for men” was one of many religious missions in the city determined to aid the down and out with food, job training, and lodging via prayer […]
December 10, 2021 at 4:56 am |
[…] This isn’t a street so much as it is a dead-end alleyway on Rivington Street between the Bowery and Chrystie Street. Yes, Freemans restaurant resides there, but at the turn of the 20th century, it was the site of a breadline from the Bowery Mission, according to ephemeralnewyork.com. […]
December 10, 2021 at 4:57 am |
[…] This isn’t a street so much as it is a dead-end alleyway on Rivington Street between the Bowery and Chrystie Street. Yes, Freemans restaurant resides there, but at the turn of the 20th century, it was the site of a breadline from the Bowery Mission, according to ephemeralnewyork.com. […]
January 12, 2022 at 5:06 pm |
[…] This isn’t a street so much as it is a dead-end alleyway on Rivington Street between the Bowery and Chrystie Street. Yes, Freemans restaurant resides there, but at the turn of the 20th century, it was the site of a breadline from the Bowery Mission, according to ephemeralnewyork.com. […]
February 13, 2023 at 3:47 pm |
[…] This isn’t a street so much as it is a dead-end alleyway on Rivington Street between the Bowery and Chrystie Street. Yes, Freemans restaurant resides there, but at the turn of the 20th century, it was the site of a breadline from the Bowery Mission, according to ephemeralnewyork.com. […]