Howard St Between Broadway and Lafayette St

Howard Street offers more of your typical SoHo fare. The old buildings, the layers of paint, the narrow mish-mash of streets – they're all here. It really is always a treat to see layers and layers of history untouched (for the most part). However, whether that history only goes back a few years or a few decades is sometimes hard to tell.

Is it this lack of polish that makes SoHo so popular? Arguably once you enter any of the designer stores in the neighborhood you're greeted with some of the most modern, cutting-edge interior designs in the world.  Is the dichotomy of clean and dirty what makes it so attractive to the masses?  Do they feel safer knowing they can duck into any of these "clean rooms" in a moment's notice? Of course, not every store front shares these characteristics...but it's hard to deny the interesting contrast that is becoming more and more prevalent each year.