Manhattan’s smallest and unluckiest avenue

 Despite holding some prime Meatpacking District real estate, not to mention Hudson River views, few have ever visited Manhattan’s 13th Avenue. 

Located just West of 11th Avenue  — interestingly, 13th Avenue isn’t anywhere near 12th Avenue — between Little West 12th Street and Gansevoort Street, making it the shortest numbered avenue in the city.

However, the little known avenue wasn’t always so small.

Originally the street was built in the 1830s as an access road for shipping piers, ferry terminals, dumping grounds, and factories, according to Untapped Cities. Eventually, it stretched from West 11th Street all the way up to 25th Street.

For more than a century, 13th avenue was home to immigrants, lumbermen, and night watchmen. But by the era of the “luxury liner,” the city needed a wider corridor in the Hudson River and the area was redeveloped for massive new boats. [Untapped Cities] – Christopher Cameron