Allen Mall One

E Houston St, E Broadway

Manhattan

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This Parks property and the underlying street are named for Navy Captain William Henry Allen (1784-1813). Allen was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Sarah and Major William Allen. Major William Allen had served in the Continental Army throughout the Revolutionary War, and at age 15, William Henry Allen also joined the military. William Henry Allen joined the United States Navy, and during the first twelve years of his career, traveled throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. When the War of 1812 erupted, the Navy made Allen a Lieutenant on the Chesapeake under the celebrated Captain Stephen Decatur. On New Year’s Day, 1813, the crew of the Chesapeake brought the captured British ship Macedonian into New York Harbor and received a hero’s welcome.