So many remarkable writers lived in New York City at 61 Washington Square South and the adjoining homes that the structures became known as Genius Row. Frank Norris, a writer mostly associated with San Francisco, lived here for a time (as did Willa Cather, O. Henry, and Stephen Crane). His birthday is March 5.

Norris's works include McTeague (1899), The Octopus: A Story of California (1901), and The Pit (1903).

Genius Row was demolished in the 1940s.