In the later years of the 19th century, the area South of Union Square became a hub of consumerism, bringing in department stores like Macy’s to entertain a new wave of capitalism. One of these stores, later featured in the works of artist Isabel Bishop, was Hearn’s Department Store. Established in 1879 by James A. […]
The cultural and artistic ecosystem of Greenwich Village has provided us with no shortage of literary giants to admire, study, and honor. Prominent among them, yet hardly ever mentioned in the canon of 20th century American poets, is José García Villa, an acclaimed Filipino poet lovingly referred to as the “Pope of Greenwich Village.” Villa […]
It is a well-known and celebrated fact that countless visual artists have lived and worked in Greenwich Village over the years. These talented individuals have made the neighborhood their home, drawn to the historic architecture and vibrant culture spurred by fellow creatives. One artist, perhaps lesser known in the mainstream but certainly influential within her […]
Fifty years ago, a groundbreaking movement was born—a movement that would forever change the landscape of LGBTQ+ rights, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This year, we joyfully celebrate the 50th anniversary of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), an organization that has played a pivotal role in supporting, educating, and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and their loved ones. As we reflect on half a century of tireless dedication, unwavering support, and incredible progress, we honor the legacy of PFLAG and its profound impact on countless lives.
One of the East Village’s earliest designated but perhaps least well known landmarks, is the Church of the Immaculate Conception and Clergy House, located at 406–412 East 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, and designed a NYC landmark June 7th, 1966, just 8 months after the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission began designating landmarks, showing how highly they thought of […]
Village Preservation is very proud to honor Yara Arts Group as a Village Awardee in 2023. Join us in recognizing Yara and these other worthy awardees at Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards on Tuesday, June 13. Registration is free and open to all! Established in 1990 by Virlana Tkacz, Wanda Phipps, and Watoku […]
Each year at our Annual Meeting and Village Awards ceremony, Village Preservation presents one unique award: the Regina Kellerman Award, named in honor of Village Preservation’s first Executive Director. Regina was a passionate advocate for historic preservation, and this year’s awardee is a golden example of her vision for preserving the architectural and cultural heritage […]
The Tompkins Square Park bandshell, constructed in 1966, was the center of cultural and political movements in the East Village during the tumultuous decades of the late 20th century. From its use as a backdrop for the founding of the Young Lords Party in 1969, to the Grateful Dead’s first-ever New York City show, the […]
For five seasons, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel had us slapping our knees and laughing from our bellies with its quick-witted humor and whimsical absurdity. Each character seemed to move at a mile a minute through their own struggles and ambitions, set against the backdrop of New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the […]
Not that long ago, someone strolling down one of our neighborhood streets could have been forgiven for not looking up from their iPhone, except perhaps to avoid walking into oncoming traffic. All that started to change 11 years ago, when we launched our historic plaque program. These days, not looking increasingly means missing out on […]
The dance performance of “Strange Fruit” portrays the emotional journey of a white woman as she reacts in horror to the sight of lynching she witnessed and participated in. This dance interpretation of the poem by Abe Meeropol was performed by trailblazing dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist Pearl Primus at Cafe Society in April 1943, only […]
One of the delights of working in the field of historic preservation is getting to regularly dig into old image archives, where unique, wonderful, and fleeting glimpses into the past await, captured from the perspectives of individuals who lived and worked in these neighborhoods. Riccardo Spina, whose family first arrived in Greenwich Village from Italy […]
Humans, anthropocentric as they are, project their emotive capacity onto the inanimate world. If you’re throwing away an old pair of shoes, and you stare at them long enough, they will stare back at you sadly. Those who can make art out of manipulating these transfigurations are almost like magicians. And for years, we were […]
Village Preservation is very proud to honor The Red Door Place as a 2023 Village Awardee. Join us in recognizing The Red Door Place and these five other worthy awardees at Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards on Tuesday, June 13. Registration is free and open to all! The Red Door Place is an […]
Village Preservation is very proud to honor the Monster Bar at 80 Grove Street as a Village Awardee in 2023. Join us in recognizing them and these five other worthy awardees at Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards on Tuesday, June 13 at 6pm at Cooper Union’s Historic Great Hall. Registration is free and open to all! […]
Village Preservation is very proud to honor Dashwood Books as a Village Awardee in 2023. Join us in recognizing Dashwood and these other worthy awardees at Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards on Tuesday, June 13. Registration is free and open to all! Established in September, 2005, Dashwood Books is New York’s only independent […]
Village Preservation is very proud to honor Essex Card Shop as a Village Awardee in 2023. Join us in recognizing Essex Card shop and these other worthy awardees at Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards on Tuesday, June 13th. Registration is free and open to all! Essex Card Shop is an example of so […]
This special two-part post explores the legacy of the energy pioneers who constructed solar collectors and a windmill at 519 East Eleventh Street. In the first installment we explored the origins of the East Village’s renewable energy fixtures and the activists who had the gall to imagine them. This week we will dive into the […]
Honor Our LGBT Elders Day is celebrated each year on May 16th. While every day is a good day to pay tribute to those who have paved the way for the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender) community, it is also fitting to set aside a special day to honor and celebrate the courage, persistence, […]
At the age of 24, after spending a decade building her music career in Nashville, Tennessee, Taylor Swift moved to New York City. Like so many artists before her, Swift was particularly drawn to Greenwich Village, and many of her songs since have paid tribute to the neighborhood. During her early period in New York […]
As spring unfolds, our neighborhoods’ many green spaces become even more enticing. For some, it’s trips to our parks to lay out on the grass; for others, volunteering at one of the many community gardens that dot our streets. Regardless of your preference, having these green spaces available helps make our community vibrant and livable. […]
Focus on your breath. It all begins there. Notice its natural rhythm and let that movement expand into a full-body contraction and release. This will form the basis of a stylized movement vocabulary that will allow you to explore the dynamic tension between the need to vent your passion and the desire for control. Now […]
This special two-part post explores the legacy of the energy pioneers who constructed solar collectors and a windmill at 519 East Eleventh Street. In the first installment we will explore the origins of the East Village’s renewable energy fixtures and the activists who had the gall to imagine them. Next week we will dive into […]
This special two-part series explores Ai Weiwei’s experiences in two different East Villages — one in New York and the other in Beijing — both of which were hubs of artistic experimentation and influence. In the first installment, we explored Ai Weiwei’s formative years in New York, discussing his friendship with Allen Ginsberg and his […]
Coming up the weekend of May 20-21 is the Sacred Sites Open House, a series of programs organized by the New York Landmarks Conservancy to give visitors unique access to an array of religious institutions across the state (Village Preservation is a cosponsor of the event.) Several of those churches stand in the neighborhoods we […]
Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — help us to select the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo: click here to nominate your favorite. Want to help support small businesses? Share this post with friends. Given a choice between switching pharmacies and breaking […]
Pete Seeger: born on the Lower East Side on May 3, 1919.
Going to the movies: One of America’s favorite pastimes. Before the advent of at-home technologies such as VHS, DVDs, and certainly streaming services, often the only way to see a beloved old film, or to discover one you may have missed when it was first released, was at a revival movie house. The earliest of […]
This special two-part series explores Ai Weiwei’s experiences in two different East Villages — one in New York and the other in Beijing — both of which were hubs of artistic experimentation and influence. In the first installment, we will delve into Ai Weiwei’s formative years in New York, where he developed both his career […]
Great Poetry Reading Day is celebrated each year on April 28. Poetry is one of humankind’s oldest art forms. In ancient times, prior to written alphabets and other forms of literary prose, poetry was used to convey historical facts, culture, and traditions from generation to generation. When written language was invented, poetry was one the […]
As a historian, researcher, and photographer active in preservation, Susan De Vries has been a valued contributor to the field for over two decades. Recently, we’ve added some of her photographs to our Historic Image Archive. Within these collections are images of some of the historic buildings we’ve worked to protect over the past few decades. Early in […]
Native American poet Diane Burns was a luminous, integral fixture of the Downtown arts scene beginning in the 1970s until her death in 2006. Her poetic body of work contains achingly earnest descriptions of her personal experiences as a Native American woman to droll, prophetic indictments of early gentrification in the East Village. Born in […]
Village Preservation’s Spring House Tour Benefit is finally making its long-awaited return! The time-honored and much-beloved event heralds the start of spring in our beautiful neighborhoods, and we are pleased and excited to be able to produce our 22nd tour on Sunday, May 7th. While the locations are always a closely kept secret until the […]
If you’re ever on the Upper East Side or just strolling through Central Park and looking to immerse yourself in some literary history, the Grolier Club is the perfect place for that. The Grolier Club’s exhibitions are free to all visitors, making it an accessible space for bibliophiles or anyone itching to check out how literary history has evolved over time.
Walking through the East Village means walking through history. The neighborhood features 30 individual landmarks, one of the highest concentrations in the city, that offer a unique view of our architectural and cultural heritage. Some of those buildings were landmarked in the early days of the Landmarks Preservation Commission in the 1960s, others gained the […]
Art Smith was an influential American jewelry designer who gained popularity in the mid-20th century for his bold and abstract designs. At his studio in Greenwich Village, Smith created unique theatrical pieces, inspired by surrealism and biomorphism. His jewelry was meant for everyday wear, designed to be comfortable enough for daily use but suitably eye-catching […]
Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — help us to select the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo: click here to nominate your favorite. Want to help support small businesses? Share this post with friends. If your evening could use a little kick, […]
Immigrant Heritage Week was established in 2004 and is coordinated by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs as a city-wide celebration that honors the experiences and contributions of immigrants in New York City. The week commemorates April 17th,1909, when 11,747 immigrants entered the U.S. through Ellis Island — more than any other day in history. This citywide celebration honors […]
Today we welcome Dena Tasse-Winter as Village Preservation’s Director of Research and Preservation. A native New Yorker, Dena joins us with a background in architectural and landscape history, archival research and writing expertise, and extensive experience within the governmental and cultural non-profit sectors in both New York City and Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Village […]
There were many facets to the extraordinary life of Otis Kidwell Burger. A West Village native, her experiences in the early preservation battles of our neighborhood were a part of the story of keeping the Village the Village. As the great-granddaughter of abolitionist and National Anti-Slavery Standard editor Sydney Howard Gay, and the granddaughter of […]
Greenwich Village lost one of its most eloquent voices with the passing of food critic and author Mimi Sheraton (1926-2023). She was a champion of her neighborhood, where she lived for almost 80 years, a friend to Village Preservation, collaborating with us on numerous occasions, and a generous font of knowledge and wit to generations […]
April is a wonderful time in New York City, as we transition into spring with flowers blooming and people filling the streets once again. Today we explore April through our Historic Image Archive — a carefully curated collection of nearly 4,000 images of our neighborhoods and New York City from the late 18th through the […]
Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (November 25, 1816 – May 30, 1892) was born in Morrisania, New York to a family who was already a familiar presence in American political history. His grandfather was U.S. Senator John Rutherfurd of New Jersey, whose own father, Lewis Morris, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. By all accounts, […]
From 1939 until 1941, the New York City Department of Taxation collaborated with the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) to take photographs of each building in the five boroughs. Known then as the “Real Property Tax Card Record System for the City of New York,” the initiative started in 1938 when the Department of Taxation […]
There comes a time each spring when one can’t help but marvel at the sights and sounds of our neighborhoods. The blooming magnolias and budding leaves are made even more beautiful by smiles on the faces of New Yorkers who seem to have finally defrosted after a long winter. But if you keep a close […]
April is National Poetry Month! Launched by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, the month of April marks a marvelous opportunity to celebrate the expressiveness, delight, and pure charm of poetry. National Poetry Month reminds us of the integral role of poets and poetry in our culture. It is only fitting to recognize several […]
In the early 1800s, the area around modern-day Christopher Street was suffering from overcrowding, following the migration of residents from lower Manhattan after the yellow fever outbreak of 1822 that helped to create Greenwich Village. A devastating fire in 1835 led to residents calling for open space, and on April 5, 1837, they got their […]
The East Village Eye was only in publication for eight years, but the magazine left a huge mark on the neighborhood it chronicled. The East Village Eye, nicknamed the Eye, was a monthly magazine dedicated to covering the art, music, fashion, and politics of the East Village. At its peak, the magazine had a circulation […]
On March 31, 1943, the classic musical Oklahoma! opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre. It ran for five years, setting a record with its 2,212 performances before closing on May 29, 1948. Oklahoma! was a groundbreaking show in several ways, and one of its stars lived right here in Greenwich Village in the two years […]
108, 110, 112, and 114 Waverly Place are a curious collection of houses. They are all that remain of nine houses built in 1826 for city comptroller Thomas R. Mercein. What were originally federal style houses have all been extensively altered throughout the years, resulting in a diverse spread of architectural styles. Maybe this eclecticism […]
Independent small businesses are one of the cornerstones of our neighborhoods. They don’t just provide services and goods, they respond to the particular tastes and needs of their community. Fashioned as they are after the individual visions of their owners, they also help create a distinctive sense of place. In addition, they often enhance local […]
Founded in 1892, and constructed between 1926 and 1928, Our Lady of Pompeii church has commanded the corner of Bleecker and Carmine Streets for nearly one hundred years. The neoclassical style of the building contains the asymmetrically placed tower that frames the view across what is now Father Demo Square. The construction of this church […]
As we approach the deadline for the 2023 Village Awards, we want to share some past awardees to inspire your nominations for this year! We will celebrate the award winners at our 33rd Annual Village Awards & 43rd Annual Members Meeting 2023 on Tuesday, June 13th at The Cooper Union’s Great Hall!
Why would you want to take the time to nominate your favorite for a Village Award? Here are some great reasons!
The Cherry Lane Theatre opened as the Cherry Lane Playhouse in 1923, and is located within what was designated as the Greenwich Village Historic District in 1969 by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Cherry Lane has the distinction of being New York City’s oldest, continuously operating Off-Broadway theatre. Tucked away from the bustle of the city along […]
Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — help us to select the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo: click here to nominate your favorite. Want to help support small businesses? Share this post with friends. They say: keizoku wa chikara nari; or at […]
For most of its existence, pedestrians were able to freely and joyfully spin the black monolith known as the “Alamo” (more commonly referred to as the Astor Place Cube, or just “the Cube”) that sat between Lafayette Street and Cooper Square. That freedom to rotate came to an end in April 2022, after structural damage […]
In honor of Irish-American Heritage Month, it’s worth remembering the cultural legacy of Sin-é (Gaelic for that’s it), a former music venue and café located at 122 St. Mark’s Place. Sin-é opened its doors in the East Village in 1989 thanks to Irish immigrant Shane Doyle, and early on became a regular fixture for fans […]
Since our founding in 1980, Village Preservation has cultivated a staggering collection of historic research and resources. Among the jewels of this collection are our Historic Image Archive and our Preservation History Archive. The latter capture in images the history of our neighborhoods and other New York landmarks over the last two and a half […]
St. Patrick’s Day is finally upon us! While we deeply appreciate the cultural, political, social, religious, and economic heritage that the Irish have brought to our neighborhoods, let’s not forget the infusion of important gathering places and civic centers that the Irish brought to our shores: The Irish Pub. New York City’s drinking culture has […]
First opened over 200 years ago, the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary was founded by two doctors, Dr. Edward Delafield and Dr. John Kearny Rodgers, with the hope of bringing accessible ophthalmology to the residents of New York. One of the most significant sites of medical history in our city, the New York Eye […]
Jimmy DeSana was a photographer known for his provocative and experimental work during the late 1970s and early 1980s. His unique style of photography captured the raw and rebellious energy of the East Village punk scene and queer subculture, making him a beloved figure of 1970’s counterculture. DeSana’s work challenged traditional notions of beauty and […]
Ada Louise Huxtable (March 14, 1921 – January 7, 2013) was arguably the most formidable critical voice regarding architecture of the second half of the 20th century. Huxtable, who became the New York Times’ first full-time architecture critic in 1963, had the uncanny ability and excellent foresight to analyze architecture in a manner that highlighted the […]
2023 Awards Nominations are Now Open! Each year, Village Preservation honors invaluable local leaders, institutions, business, places and organizations at its Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This fun and free public event highlights and celebrates those that make our neighborhoods some of the most interesting and exceptional in the city. Nominations are now open until […]
Originally broadcast through radio in 1929, the Academy Awards have evolved over time to become one of the most anticipated award ceremonies in the world. A trademark of Hollywood, the event has always been hosted in Los Angeles, California, an area where many of the nominated films were made and nominated actors reside. However, our […]
Today we welcome a new small business to our neighborhoods — help us welcome the next. Tell us which new independent store in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo you’re excited about by emailing us at info@villagepreservation.org. As advocates for local small business, we find great satisfaction in hearing of new independent establishments opening […]
International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Of course we do that all year round as we explore the stories behind the streets, buildings and people of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, which are filled with remarkable women and advocates for the rights of women. Our research […]
Evelyn G. Haynes (1909–2001) was a dedicated preservationist and a member of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission during its earliest days. Her family donated a collection of her records to Village Preservation, which are now available on our website. You can also see her contribution of many beautiful pictures of historic buildings of Lower Manhattan […]
Each year since 1991, Village Presentation has solicited nominations from the public to honor the people, places, businesses, and organizations that represent the spirit of our neighborhoods! We then gather at our Annual Meeting in June to present these amazing people, places, and institutions with a Village Award and celebrate their unparalleled contributions to the […]
Wayne Shorter is a pioneering jazz musician and composer whose innovative work has had a profound impact on the genre. Throughout his career, he pushed the boundaries of jazz and experimented with new sounds, textures, and compositional techniques. He has also been recognized as one of the most influential saxophonists in jazz history, known for his unique sound and lyrical improvisations.
The first commercial art gallery in Greenwich Village was owned by noted gallerist Edith Halpert, and was located at 113 West 13th Street. The first woman to open a commercial art gallery, she acquired the space with her friend, Berthe Goldsmith, in 1926 when she determined her own skills in art insufficient for success. Halpert […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Isabel Bishop, Fourteenth Street, 1932. Image via Radford.edu. Village Preservation’s proposed South of Union Square historic district attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical […]
