Morgan iron works
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The Morgan iron works in Manhattan on the East River was one of the largest works of its kind in the mid-nineteenth century, occupying the easternmost sector of what is now called the East Village.
Originally built by Charles Morgan in 1838, the iron works at its height employed more than a thousand workers.[1] During the American Civil War, the iron works was engaged in a vigorous ship-building effort. Its convenient location right by the Ninth Street dock afforded Morgan a significant advantage over his New York competitors, Etna, Novelty, Allaire, Delamater (partly responsible for USS Monitor), Neptune, Henry Esler & Co. and Fletcher, Harrison & Co. As business declined after the war, Morgan sold the works to John Roach, an owner of Etna, who consolidated the two.[2]
By the 1880s the iron works had been replaced with tenements built for the burgeoning immigrant workforce flocking to the city, turning this heavily industrialized district into an extension of the Lower East Side slum. That extension is now known as Alphabet City, so called for the avenues that run its length, Avenues A, B, C and D. The place of the iron works is now occupied by the Jacob Riis Houses, east of Avenue D to the East River, a series of projects named after the late nineteenth century photojournalist and slum reformer.
[edit] References
- ^ New York Songlines
- ^ Swann, Leonard A., John Roach, Maritime Entrpreneur (New York:Arno Press 1980)
