A look at Manhattan’s shortest street(s)

Manhattan may conjure images of vast avenues. But the borough also has its share of back alleys and dead ends. In fact, its shortest street is just 63 feet long.

At 63 feet, Edgar Street in the Financial Discrict — just off of Greenwich Street — is arguably Manhattan’s shortest thoroughfare. The street is named after a 19th Century shipping magnate whose mansion fronted Greenwich Street, according to Ephemeral New York.

However, Ephemeral NY noted some contend that the nearby street Mill Lane is in fact shorter.

“[T]iny Mill Lane in the Financial District appears to be the shortest of them all, coming in a few feet shorter than Edgar Street,” Michele and James Nevius, authors of “Inside the Apple,” wrote in a New York Times interview.

And in the West Village, an old sign on Weehawken Street declares that the one-block lane between West 10th and Christopher streets is the smallest in the city.

Moreover, Gay Street, Moore Street, Jones Street and St. John’s Lane have all tried to claim the superlative. Anyone know a surveyor? [Ephemeral NY] – Christopher Cameron