Five Points Gang - The Five Points

The Five Points

The area of Manhattan where five streets converged was known as "The Five Points". the streets were Mulberry, Anthony (now Worth), Cross (now Park), Orange (now Baxter), and Little Water (extinct). This area lay between Broadway and the Bowery, an area occupied by present-day Chinatown. By the 1820s, this district had been a center of settlement for poor immigrants and was considered a "slum" area.

Gambling dens and brothels were numerous in the Five Points area, and it was considered a dangerous destination, where many people had been mugged, particularly at night. In 1842, Charles Dickens visited the area and was appalled at the poor living conditions in substandard housing. In that decade, various church groups worked to end the vices in the district to help its many poor families who lived there. The Sixth Ward had a reputation as an area with a corrupt political process, more true particularly after the American Civil War. In one election, the total number of ballots filed was higher than the number of registered voters in the area.