I explored a hidden NYC street that was once home to horse stables and artists' studios. Here's what the row of million-dollar houses looks like now.

Washington Mews is a street full of two story buildings that went from horse stables to studios to luxury homes.Joey Hadden/Insider

• New York City has hidden streets lined with mews - homes that were once horse stables.
• Washington Mews is lined with horse stables that were transformed into art studios in the early 1900s.
• New York University now owns the street, and many houses are estimated to be valued in the millions.

Mews are homes that used to be horse stables, and many of them are situated on off-the-beaten-path streets across New York City.

Mews in Brooklyn, New York, in the 20th century and today.      MCNY/Gottscho-Schleisner / Contributor/Joey Hadden/Insider

I recently visited New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood, where I stumbled upon mews on a street that looked like a world away from Manhattan.

Me and the mews.      Joey Hadden/Insider

To get there, I took the M train to West 4 Street.

Washington Square Subway Station.      Joey Hadden/Insider

A short walk away, I found the street - called Washington Mews - behind an open gate between Washington Square and 8 Street.

A gate opening into Washington Mews.      Joey Hadden/Insider

Washington Mews is the name of a cobblestone street that looks like a "retreat" from the city, as an article in The New York Times described it in 1988.

Washington Mews in the 1900s and today.      New York Public Library Digital Collections/Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: The New York Times

The north side of the street is lined with two-story buildings that used to be horse stables, according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

The north side of the street.      Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

By 1916, cars were becoming more popular and replacing horses and carriages, so Sailors' Snug Harbor, which owned the stables, transformed them into studios for artists, according to The New York Times.

Washington Mews homes.      Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: The New York Times

The quaint street became a hub for artists after that, according to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

Washington Mews in the mid-1900s and today.      Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

In 1949, Sailors' Snug Harbor leased the street to New York University, according to the same source. NYU still owns the street, and as of 2018, it was home to its international houses, according to NYU Admissions.

Washington Mews homes.      Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, NYU Admissions/Twitter

Some of the Washington Mews dwellings are worth millions. This two-bedroom home with light-blue shutters is estimated to be worth over $5 million at the time of writing, according to Trulia.

64 Washington Mews.      Joey Hadden/Insider

Source: Trulia