19th St Between 7th Ave and 8th Ave

An unassuming block at first glance, this section of 19th Street ended up being chock full of interesting Chelsea gems. Also known as Jane Wood's Way, there's very little that would give this block away simply by looking down it from a distance. The eastern corner is home to Peter McManus Cafe, a typical, old irish bar with Irish food fare. Immediately after that one will approach a window display which, as it turns out, is for the Rootstein Display Mannequins company. This particular day, they were displaying a line of 'Barbie' licensed mannequins. Creepy. Giant. Dolls.

The block features a mixture of companies (like Rootstein), food (Like McManus), stores (there's some really interesting furniture places and clothing companies), entertainment (The Dance Theater Workshop) and services (the Whynot Men's spa). Almost all of these are concentrated on the north end of the block. The south side appeared to be almost exclusively residential.

It's worth mentioning that when I walked down here a few weeks ago, there was a small storefront which had a pottery studio setup (with spinning tables...not sure what they're called) with people making all sort of ceramic and clay things. When I came back down this week it was all closed up and had a Dept. of buildings sign on the front announcing a renovation. I would have loved to have gone in and asked what that was all about, but the opportunity was missed.

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