Just west of Cooper Square lies Astor Place , named after John Jacob Astor and, during the 1830s, just before high society moved west to Washington Square, one of the city's most desirable addresses. The old-fashioned kiosk of the Astor Place subway station, bang in the middle of the junction, discreetly remembers Astor on the platforms, its colored mosaic reliefs depicting beavers recalling Astor's first big killings - in the fur trade. The orange-brick Astor Building (housing one of the city's ubiquitous Starbucks on its lower level) with arched windows, is where John Jacob Astor III conducted business. It's currently being converted into $1 million loft apartments, despite intense neighborhood resistance - one indication of the speed of East Village gentrification.

Astor Place

• Astor Place

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