Wooster St, SoHo

Wooster has some cool, old buildings, but they all start to blend into each other and into the sea of people so it's hard to separate and enjoy them from the madness that is this neighborhood. There's some shopping on the street much like the rest of Soho, but there aren't a ton of restaurants and there are no neighborhood bars or local haunts. It's a typical Soho street to me: made for tourists and shoppers.
Wooster around Prince is very Soho to me. There's a mix of cast-iron buildings and lofts with storefronts and restaurants that range from mid to high range price points. Camper shoes, Comme des Garcons and Chanel share the block with places like a bakery, a BBQ joint and a deli. The buildings on the west side of the street on this block are a great mix of late 19th and late 20th century. The architecture is so diverse that the block looks a bit like a quilt. And, it makes sense that the commercial spaces are so diverse. Unfortunately, the people in Soho don't follow suit with the buildings. . . it's pretty much just tourists and snooty Euros.
There's a great brownstone at Wooster and Broome that used to be a warehouse and is now a chocolate shop. There are so few brownstones in Soho and this one is really cool. It's a shame it's not residential, but then again, I wouldn't want to fork over the kind of money you have to pay to live in an actual house in Manhattan if I had to live on this block. It's too busy and commercial. There isn't much of a neighborhood feel to Soho because of the enormous amounts of people and traffic. There's a great wine shop across the street from the chocolate shop that sells only wines from New York. There's not much past Grand in the way of shopping (there usually isn't no matter the street), but the buildings are really cool. I wouldn't want to live in them because any street around Grand is a nightmare, but they're fun to look at. There's something about cast iron buildings that always makes me think of the old-timey, Industrial New York. It's like you can almost see clothes hanging out the windows on lines and kids with holes their holes running around the stoops.
Wooster ends at Canal which makes it a solely Soho street. I wouldn't live anywhere in Soho and Wooster is no exception. I would go mad from all of the noise, visitors, and garbage.

This is probably not the place for a diatribe about how America treats its artists, but I think the fact that two independent theaters have operated here for more than 20 years deserves at least a passing nod. The Ohio Theater, barring a miracle, is destined to be no more by the summer of 2010 because of new ownership. The Performing Garage, aka the Wooster Group, is still alive and kicking, though certainly on the endangered species list. Isn't it grotesque that actual, practicing artists who have something to say might be run out of this area by “art” dealerships, the kind where you can get your portrait painted with your favorite breed of dog for a couple of grand? Deitch Projects is an example of a high quality art gallery, also an increasingly rare species here, and a holdout from when the art world used to rule SoHo. Wooster Street is going, going, nearly gone to the lure of commerce. There is nothing to do for it but to shop, or else park your car at the corner with Grand, and then go shop. Too bad, really. The converted industrial buildings, with their enormous windows and gorgeous metal detailing, makes this area distinctly beautiful. It can seem eerily deserted at night.

If you’re an old school b-boy or just like the look of vintage clothes then the Adidas Originals store in Wooster Street is worth the journey alone. I thought the Adidas store in the Gothic area of Barcelona was excellent but this shop had it all to satisfy even the most hardened Adidas fan and with so many products, narrowing your decision down is the hardest choice. The shop inevitably entices a cool clientele so the immediate vicinity is a good place to hang out if you have the time to kill.

Wooster Street, thought lacking in activity, doesn't seem to be lacking in style. I liked this street because of the residential feel and the cleanliness. Something about the village just seems very clean to me. Anyway, there's enough nearby to compensate for Wooster's lack of activity, and it's location is perfect for you foodies or shopaholics.

All in all, I'd say Wooster might just be where it's at.