In the latter half of the 19th century, Manhattan and Brooklyn became centers of everyday life for thousands of Italian immigrants entering the United States. Their numbers started off small — the 1860 federal census showed just 1,067 Italian-born people living in New York City and Brooklyn — but grew quickly by the end of the century, almost tripling every decade to reach 49,514 in 1890 and 145,433 in 1900.

Little Italy was the first highly visible community for these new immigrants, growing out of the Five Points neighborhood in lower Manhattan (centered around modern-day Columbus Park in Chinatown) as early as the 1850s. But as the second half of the 19th century progresses, Italian-Americans crossed Broadway to find new homes and business opportunities in the South Village, forming a second prominent neighborhood for Italian culture and life.