Getting Ready for Archtober
Founded in 2011, Archtober is a NYC-based platform that promotes the discovery of architecture and design through experiences and content, culminating in a month-long festival every October. Through collaborations with hundreds of partners, including Village Preservation, Archtober presents tours, lectures, workshops, panels, exhibitions, and more.
Village Preservation also supports and presents architecture-related programs and resources all year long. Below are just a few of our most popular architecture related resources that help help residents, history buffs, and researchers better understand the rich built environment around us:
Guide to Greek Revival Architecture
Characterized by bold porticos, prominent cornices, and symmetry inspired by ancient Athens, Greek Revival was the dominant style for Manhattan rowhouses built during the 1830s and 1840s. Our comprehensive Guide to Greek Revival Architecture online guide breaks down key identification features such as recessed doorways with pilasters, low parlor stoops, and heavy stone lintels. Explore these classic architectural details on famous blocks like Washington Square North and individual landmarks like the Merchants House Museum, Colonnade Row, and the Andrew Norwood House.
Tenement Styles
Familiar throughout many NYC neighborhoods, particularly the East Village and South Village, one must understand tenement architecture to fully understand NYC history. Through our popular post, The Evolution of Tenement Typologies, we explore the evolution of multi-family housing—from pre-law structures and “dumbbell” law tenements to reform housing of the early 20th century. These educational articles detail how light shafts, fire escapes, decorative terra-cotta cornices, and exterior ornamentation reflected changing housing laws, urban immigration patterns, and social reform movements.
East Village Building Blocks
Our interactive building database, East Village Building Blocks, is a researcher’s dream. This digital map and archival tool provides architectural profiles, original construction dates, architects, and historic photos for every single building in the East Village. Whether you want to research your own building’s origins, contribute to its history by posting your own photo or comment, take a guided (virtual) tour, or learning about the history of the East Village and its architecture, this resource puts hundreds of years of neighborhood history at your fingertips.
Historic Image Archive & Neighborhood/Preservation History Archive
For those who want primary source material, our collection of historic neighborhood photos in our Historic Image Archive offers a unique look into the past. You can explore architectural styles, sorting by tags or exploring by keyword.
Our Neighborhood/Preservation History Archive presents various and unique collections including The West Village Committee Collection which documents decades of preservation battles, including for the creation of West Village Houses; The Manhattan Promenade Proposal, a 1979 proposal to build an elevated park on the West Side Elevated Line, decades before The High Line; The Roots of Federal Rowhouse Preservation Effort; and many more!