30. Ferryman

The City of Newcastle Tourism Bureau spent three months and three-quarters of a million dollars branding the V-shaped intersection of Ferryman Avenue and Hamilton Street as “Better than Broadway.” Its hyperbole, sure, but it certainly helped to reinvigorate the ailing arts district known as Ferryman. Home to theaters small and large, the Newcastle Symphony Orchestra, galleries, pre-show bistros, late-night brasseries and a cadre of bums willing to show tourists “the quick way to the Fosse Theater,” Ferryman is on the rise once again, with all the problems that occur in tandem with that: rising crime, rising cost of living and rising tax liability for those who own condos in the neighborhood. It’s bohemian and fashionable and very, very liberal.

Background

The Ferryman neighborhood was once a vaudeville-style neighborhood where inexpensive variety shows played around the clock. The neighborhood went through a long dark period, during which Ferryman was mostly run-down movie theaters and equally run-down peepshow parlors and head shops. Twelve years ago, the mayor threw out the porn-peddlers with some savvy rezoning, and seven years ago, the Tourism Bureau worked its brand magic. Since then, Ferryman’s name has been synonymous with patrons of the arts and urbane wit. It’s also unofficially Newcastle’s “out neighborhood,” as declared by Pride! Magazine and fiercely advocated by the city’s LGBT demographic.

Alternative Name(s)

Theater Circuit

Type

District

Location under

New Castle