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Street map of the Garment DistrictThe Garment District is just one square mile in size, and notable for a number of landmarks, including the Jacob Javits Center, the Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden, to name just a few. The Garment District is located between 34th and 42nd streets, from Fifth Avenue to Ninth Avenue. It is close to Penn Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and Grand Central Station is a few blocks east. -
Statue of a Garment District workerThe Garment District's history reads like a novel, with chapters related to the Industrial Revolution, American slavery, the Civil War and 19th- and 20th-century mob control. Unfortunately, its days as the capital of textile manufacturing are largely over, but the District still attracts fashion designers, textile companies and shoppers looking for a bargain.
New York City first became the center of the country's garment industry by, oddly enough, making clothes for slaves working on Southern plantations, then for sailors and prospectors looking for gold out West. Before the mid-1800s, most Americans had always made their own clothing. But by the 1820s and with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, ready-made clothing was being mass-produced and became industrialized when the sewing machine was invented in the 1850s. Garment District businesses grew during the Civil War, when the country needed mass-produced soldiers' uniforms.
During the 1920s, the beginning of mob control arrived in the District. The United Hebrew Trades Union asked Lepke Buchalter, head of a gangster mob, to bring his 250 union "enforcers" into the city. These gangsters threatened factory owners who tried to produce goods without the union.
Famed mobster Carlo Gambino took control of the Garment District in the 1950s, controlling the unions and taking over trucking companies that served the industry. Gambino's control of trucking companies meant he also had full control over the Garment District. By the 1980s, Gambino controlled more than 90 percent of the trucks that worked with the District, took a huge percentage of the profits and taxed business owners. This practice led to the eventual downfall of the Garment District, when owners could no longer afford to do business there and more than 200,000 jobs were lost.
Today, the Garment District has been transformed as many of the old factories have been converted into condominiums and retail shops. The Fashion Center Business Improvement District was established in 1993 to promote and improve the economic vitality of the District. -
The Farley Post OfficeIf you're visiting the Garment District, you can check out a number of places that fall into the category of tourism. The must-sees in the Garment District neighborhood, exclusive of shopping, include the following places:
The Empire State Building: This is at the top of every visitor's list whether they're spending any other time in the Garment District, and with good reason. The views are out of this world, even though the 102nd-floor observatory is now closed. Take the high-speed elevators up to the 86th-floor observatory, stroll the outdoor promenades on all four sides of the building and use the high-powered binoculars to spot all the landmarks. The observatory is open 365 days a year from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. With those hours, there's no excuse to miss it. Tickets are $17.61 for adults, $15.76 for youths ages 12-17, $12.07 for children ages 6-11 and $15.76 for seniors.
Madison Square Garden: The 125-year-old Garden has a one-hour "All-Access Tour" that takes you behind the scenes of the arena, including team locker rooms, the WaMu Theater and more. Garden tours operate daily on the half hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $17.00 for adults and $12.00 for children. The Garden is at 33rd Street and 7th Avenue.
The James A. Farley Post Office: The Farley Post Office, at 421 Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This huge building, a working post office open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is worth visiting for its architecture and massive lobby. While there are no tours, you can walk by and admire its long stretch of Corinthian columns or walk around the marble lobby. -
The Garment District is a funky mix of residential and commercial properties, not to mention a neighborhood that preservationists want to save and revive. In addition, the mix of wholesale and retail establishments sometimes causes confusion among would-be shoppers trying to spend their hard-earned cash there. For that reason, your best bet is to get some experts to show you the way or even to chaperone you through the Garment District maze.
A first stop for visitors ought to be the Fashion Center Information Kiosk, a glass-enclosed booth near a huge button sculpture, where you can get a list of the latest fabric, button, notions and ribbons stores, and information about designer showrooms. The Kiosk can be reached in advance of your visit by phone at (212) 398-7943 or by email at info@fashioncenter.com.
For an insiders' shopping excursion in the Garment District, two companies offer shopping expeditions that gain entry for participants into designer showrooms and wholesale dressmakers not normally opened to the public. Shop Gotham offers a three-hour "Holiday $50 and Under Gift Tour " that takes you to sample sales and private showrooms for wholesale shopping, where many items are $50 or less. Most of their tours take place during November and December, which are the prime sample-sale months, and you can find designer clothing, accessories and gifts at 50 to 80% below retail. Tickets can be purchased for $58 online at Zerve.com. Once you register, you'll be given meeting location information.
The Elegant Tightwad offers a similar tour, the four-hour "Total New York Designer Discount Shopping Experience," which takes shoppers to private designer clothing and accessories showrooms in the Garment District. Elegant Tightwad claims that you can expect steep discounts in clothing, accessories and gifts, and that the showrooms on the tour are not normally open to the public. This $90 tour can be reserved on theeleganttightwad.com, and plenty of tour dates are available in October, November and December. -
Be sure to either take a subway or walk to the Garment District from your hotel if you plan on visiting. Taking a cab to the Garment District, unless it's a Sunday morning, can be crazy and could take longer than a leisurely walk from Times Square. In addition, you're best off checking online with most establishments you plan on seeing in the Garment District about hours. Many showrooms in the District are closed on weekends and will only do business with you during the week. In addition, major construction is under way at the Farley Post Office, so check online about seeing that building when you visit.
