1860s Five Points is Star of BBC America’s Copper

City Hall’s in the lower left, and the collect pond formed the unstable ground upon which Five Points was built. /Urbanography
The notorious Irish gangland of 1860s New York, the so-called Five Points, was also known as the Sixth Ward bounded.  Its squalid past has been mined for such works as The Gangs of New York, and will now be the setting for on cable network’s first scripted drama, Copper.  According to BBC America’s press release:

“The series focuses on a rugged young Irish cop who has to navigate the unruly and sometimes violent currents of his immigrant neighborhood, while simultaneously interacting with uptown Manhattan high society and the emerging black community in Harlem. ”

It will begin filming in Toronto (like everything else) this fall, to air next year.  If they get the period and feel right with great stories and acting, it could be a fantastically rich setting for a crime series, don’t you think?

Map image and more great historical information via Urbanography.

Comments

  1. Terrie Farley Moran

    Interesting time and place in New York City history. I look forward to the series. Thank you so much for the link to Urbanography. I read every word and bookmarked the site for future study.

  2. Clare 2e

    Isn’t that site fabulous? There’s so much to know! All of us here at HQ had our ears perked up at the sound of this series, so we’ll definitely be
    keeping informed!

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