Waverly Place is a narrow street in the Greenwich Village section of the New York City borough of Manhattan, that runs from Bank Street to Broadway. Waverly changes direction roughly at its midpoint at Christopher Street, turning about 120 degrees from a north/south street to a northwest/southeast street. At Christopher Street, the traffic direction changes as well, from southbound to westbound. At the intersection where this transition occurs, Waverly branches into a Y, creating an intersection of Waverly Place with itself.
The two blocks which form the northern border of Washington Square Park – from MacDougal Street to Fifth Avenue, and from Fifth Avenue to University Place – are called Washington Square North.[1] In the block from Fifth to University, there is a unified line of Greek Revival townhouses, sometimes called "the Row", which are owned and used by New York University. Some of the buildings at the Fifth Avenue end have retained their exterior facades, but are connected together inside to make one larger building.[2]
The street was named after Sir Walter Scott's 1814 novel Waverley in 1833; prior to that it was called Art Street.[3]