Draper’s Observatories: Moongazing Up and Down the Hudson

In the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, a short train ride away from Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, lies a nationally landmarked building known as Observatory Cottage. The charming two-floor cottage was once a residential home, passed down through family generations. In the 1990s, it was bequeathed to a group of local residents interested in preserving the history […]

Can East River Park’s Historic Buildings Be Saved?

John V. Lindsay East River Park is a 57+ acre park that stretches along the East River waterfront from Montgomery Street north to East 12th Street. With the pending closure and rebuilding of the park, several historic structures in the park face likely demolition. Two extant Art Deco gems were constructed in 1938 in advance […]

Welcome Aboard, Anna Marcum

Today Anna Marcum joins Village Preservation as our Director of Research and Preservation. Anna is an architectural historian and preservationist based in Brooklyn who has worked on historic preservation projects in cities across the country, from Boston to New Orleans, Los Angeles to the Texas Gulf Coast. She comes to Village Preservation from the Center […]

    Share Your Photos For Upcoming September 11th 20th Anniversary

    This September will mark 20 years since the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center. Few New Yorkers were left untouched by this devastating assault, which shattered our city, our sense of safety, and our sense of selves. Residents of our neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan were particularly hard hit — from losing loved ones and […]

    Martha Graham

    Martha Graham never considered herself a genius. For her, the measure of a dancer was their passion, and by that metric, Graham was exceptional. In creating 181 ballets and a dance technique that bears her name, Martha Graham was as prolific as she was committed to energizing the spectator into “keener awareness of life through […]

    Mid-Year Appeal: Help Us Do More When It’s Needed Most!

    New York is at a pivot point. We’ll soon have a new Mayor, City Council, and leaders of city agencies. We’re emerging from a pandemic, and charting our future. Big real estate and government leaders are conspiring to strip away rules and regulations that protect our neighborhoods from unmitigated greed and avarice. Now more than […]

      Louise Bryant

      Louise Bryant was always her own person, and always somewhat of a paradox. She was a fearless journalist, activist, suffragist, and talented writer, who was also a study in contradictions — a chronic dissembler who sought the truth, a free love advocate who was prone to fits of jealousy, and a communist who twice married wealthy […]

      Downtown Drag + Performance in the 1990s — the Jillian Jonas Collection

      The Village Preservation Image Archive highlights the history of the people and built environment of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, as well as New York City in general. It has been assembled over the years through generous donations, and consists of thousands of photos in several dozen different collections. Our most recent addition […]

      What’s In a Name?: The Petersfield, 113-119 Fourth Avenue

      Our “What’s In A Name?” series looks at the names behind buildings, streets, parks, or other locations in our neighborhoods which hold more meaning than we may realize.  113-119 Fourth Avenue was completed in 1906. This building has had two names over its lifetime: The Fish Building and The Petersfield. The eight-story Arts & Crafts […]

        Cafe Wha & The Fugs

        Legendary Village Voice photographer Fred W. McDarrah captured so much about life in New York, and especially downtown, in the latter half of the 20th century. One of many examples: this Saturday night shot of Cafe Wha? on the corner of MacDougal Street and Minetta Lane, when the band The Fugs were performing there, taken on June 25, […]

          LGBTQ+ Pride Programs Roundup

          The roots of LGBTQ+ life in our neighborhoods are deeper than we even know. In the documentary PS. Burn This Letter Please, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and was presented at one of Village Preservation’s Pride programs, gay historian George Chauncey spoke about using police records and newspaper articles because personal papers […]

          Huge Turnout for SoHo/NoHo Hearing, Housing/Tenant and Neighborhood Groups United in Opposition

          We had a huge and united turnout on Wednesday at our press conference opposing the Mayor’s outrageous SoHo/NoHo rezoning plan and the Community Board 2 public hearing that followed. We were joined by local, city, and statewide affordable housing/tenant groups, SoHo, NoHo, Chinatown, and Lower East Side groups, and citywide and statewide historic preservation organizations to […]

          New Historic Image Collection Explores Downtown Drag + Performance Scene of the 1990s

          As we approach LGBTQ+ Pride Weekend, Village Preservation is proud to share with you a wonderful new collection in our historic image archive of donated images from Jillian Jonas chronicling the fiery and flamboyant downtown drag performance scene of the 1990s. Jonas, who was the house photographer at the legendary Boy Bar on St. Mark’s Place, also captured […]

          Out of the Broom Closet: Gay Activist & Village Wiccan Leo Martello

          Leo Martello (September 26, 1930 — June 29, 2000) was a noted Wiccan priest, gay rights activist, Greenwich Village resident, and author. He was a founding member of the Strega Tradition, a modern form of Wicca informed by Italian heritage and ancestral teachings. During his life, he published a number of books on such esoteric subjects as […]

          #SouthofUnionSquare — Irish History Tour

          Our South of Union Square map offers an interactive look into this area of Greenwich Village and the East Village which is so rich in history but also so lacking in needed landmark protections. The platform has information on the 200 buildings within the area as well as over forty themed tours that focus on […]

          Talking Points for SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning City Council Public Hearing

          With the City Council’s one and only public hearing for the city’s proposed SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown upzoning on Tuesday Nov. 9, here are talking points we strongly suggest you use for your testimony and comments you submit to the City Council (see link above to register to speak or submit testimony): It’s a giant giveaway to developers, […]

            The Genius of Joan Mitchell

            The story of Abstract Expressionism has heretofore been primarily seen through the prism of the male-dominated world of post-War America.  In that “official” history, the narrative centers around the traditional story of the man as the creator while his female counterpart is the muse.  Fortunately, Joan Mitchell was not your typical female. Mitchell, as well […]

            African-American Music Crosses Genres #SouthOfUnionSquare

            June is named African-American Music Appreciation Month. But insofar as it is hard to conceive of genres of American music that have not been fundamentally shaped or originated by Black musicians, every month should rightfully be African American Music Appreciation Month. Any time, however, is a good time to call attention to a few great […]

              The Empress of Blues, South of Union Square

              Nicknamed “The Empress of Blues,” Bessie Smith was one of the most popular female blues singers of the 1920s and 30s. She influenced many vocalists who followed her, from Janis Joplin to Anita Baker. Her songs spoke to and about working people, African Americans, liberated women, and their (and anyone else’s) everyday troubles. Her “spoken […]

              Research Resource: Surrealism in our Neighborhoods

              Curious about the life and legacy of Surrealist & Dadaist artists in our neighborhoods? Check out this incredible research resource created by Paul McRandle and featured on his blog Surrealist NYC.  This interactive tool maps and explores the studios, homes, and collective social spaces of Surrealist artists who took refuge in Greenwich Village after World War […]

              2021 Village Awardee: NewsBar Café, 107 University Place

              It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]

              127, 129, and 131 MacDougal Street: Architecture, Artists, African Americans, and “Alternative Lifestyles”

              On June 8th, 2004, 127, 129, and 131 MacDougal Street, three 1829 Federal Style houses, were landmarked  — the first three of thirteen Village Preservation and the NY Landmarks Conservancy jointly proposed and campaigned for landmark designation. On December 17, 2013, they were landmarked again as part of the South Village Historic District following a decade of advocacy by Village Preservation. While all three […]

                Fighting for Civil Rights at 80 Fifth Avenue

                For its entire existence over twenty years, the International Worker’s Order’s (IWO) New York City headquarters was located at 80 Fifth Avenue. 80 Fifth Avenue, at 14th Street, is located in the historically rich but endangered area south of Union Square for which Village Preservation is seeking landmark protections. Our ongoing research about the area has […]

                A ‘Strange’ Spot on Bleecker Street

                You’re walking along Bleecker Street in the heart of Greenwich Village when the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. You feel all sorts of magic surrounding you, as if you’re at the nexus of mystical energies coming at you from all corners of the globe. You spy an elegant three-story brownstone […]

                LGBTQ Pride+History Month with Village Preservation

                LGBTQ+ Pride and History Month may be in June, but at Village Preservation, we’re working to document, celebrate, and protect the incredibly rich LGBTQ+ history of our neighborhoods, which played such a unique role in this community’s civil rights struggle, 12 months a year (but maybe a little extra in June!).  Want to celebrate, educate, […]

                2021 NYC Election Guide — Primaries June 22

                Village Preservation has just completed a series of forums with candidates for the three City Council districts that overlap with our neighborhoods. We’ve also sent detailed questionnaires to candidates for each of these offices, asking their views and positions on important local and citywide issues connected to preservation, development, and small businesses. We’ve also been […]

                  Welcome Aboard, Sarah Eccles

                  Today we welcome Sarah Eccles as our new Research and Preservation Associate. Sarah is a historic preservationist with a keen interest in the relationship between communities, people, and the built environment. She is a recent graduate of the Pratt Institute Historic Preservation program. Much of her research dealt with the representation of people in historic […]

                  2021 Village Awardee: Linda Pagan

                  It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]

                  Demographic Deception: de Blasio’s SoHo/NoHo Plan

                  Last week, the City ‘certified,‘ or issued its final proposal for the massive upzoning of SoHo, NoHo, and parts of Chinatown. The voluminous documents contained numerous inaccuracies, falsehoods, and mischaracterizations, designed to sell this obscene real estate giveaway to the Mayor’s real estate benefactors as a boon to social justice and equity. But if you […]

                    2021 Village Awardee: Casa Magazines, 22 Eighth Avenue

                    It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]

                      2021 Village Awardee: Bon Yagi

                      It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]

                      City Council Districts 1 and 2 Candidate Forums June 1 and 2, and More 2021 Election Prep

                      Participating in the 2021 Primary Elections June 22 is more important than ever, and we are here to help you learn about candidates’ positions and records. Join us and fellow preservation organizations for forums with the candidates for City Council District 1 (currently represented by term-limited Councilmember Margaret Chin) and City Council District 2 (currently […]

                        Victory! 70 Fifth Avenue Landmarked; Continue the Fight for South of Union Square

                        Yesterday the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to landmark 70 Fifth Avenue (2-6 West 13th Street), a 1912 Beaux Arts-style office building that is among several critical civil rights sites Village Preservation proposed and campaigned to have landmarked in the area south of Union Square. The building served as headquarters of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest […]

                          2021 Village Awardee: Pangea Restaurant and Carbaret!

                          It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places to live, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This […]

                          2021 Village Award Winner: Mercer Street Books and Records, 206 Mercer Street

                          Each year, Village Preservation honors the invaluable people, businesses, and organizations that make a special contribution to our neighborhoods at our Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This year, on June 16th, 2020 at 6 PM we will be celebrating seven outstanding awardees — RSVP here to participate virtually. The Village Awards is really one of our very […]

                          Coming Up June 16: Our 31st Annual Village Awards and 41st Annual Meeting

                          Each year, Village Preservation honors neighborhood institutions at the Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This fun event highlights and celebrates the invaluable people, places, and organizations that make our neighborhoods some of the most interesting and exceptional in the city. The event also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the last […]

                          Report Shows City’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan Unlikely To Produce Any Affordable Housing

                          Housing and Tenant Activists Slam Mayor’s Plan As Sham, Giveaway To Developers A new study released by Village Preservation today shows that Mayor de Blasio’s SoHo/NoHo Upzoning plan is likely to produce little if any of the promised affordable housing, as it’s structured to make it more profitable for developers to build entirely without affordable […]

                          Meet the Interns, Spring 2021!

                          Village Preservation’s team is a strong one – we’re lucky to have a group of interns who are here to gain experience in historic preservation in a non-profit environment. Internships are paid, and our interns come from all educational and life backgrounds. We work together to tailor internship experiences to fit an intern’s skills and […]

                          #SouthofUnionSquare: More Photographic History In Our Midst — 60-62 East 11th Street

                          We are constantly making new discoveries about the architecturally and culturally rich area south of Union Square, where Greenwich Village meets the East Village. While further researching one building in the area, 60-62 East 11th Street (already identified on our South of Union Square map for its incredible architecture and part of the architectural tour), […]

                          Celebrating Chino García, co-founder of CHARAS/El Bohío

                          In 2015, Village Preservation conducted an oral history with community organizer Carlos “Chino” García, one of the co-founders of the legendary community organization CHARAS. CHARAS for many years occupied the landmarked former P.S. 64 building on East 9th Street in the East Village. That interview gave some unique, first person insights into one of the […]

                          Asian-American History in Greenwich Village and the East Village

                          The Asian-American and Pacific Islander community has a more than 150-year-long history in the United States, dating back to the first wave of Chinese and Japanese immigrants settling on the West Coast. And while nearby neighborhoods like Chinatown or the Lower East Side may have been much more prominent hubs for Asian-Americans, Greenwich Village and […]

                          Roots of Jazz Run Deep in Greenwich Village

                          Greenwich Village is, in some circles, considered the “Capital of Jazz.” As jazz critic, author, and president of the Jazz Journalists Association Howard Mandel put it: “Greenwich Village is the capital of jazz because it has welcomed adventurous thinking, artistic expression, and audiences eager to hear the best of what’s exciting and new.” Some things […]

                          Historic Photo Mysteries from a Newly Donated Collection (and a reminder of what’s at stake with the SoHo/NoHo upzoning proposal)

                          Village Preservation recently shared an incredible new addition to our historic image archive of donated photos of cast-iron New York City landmarks, some destroyed during the late 60s, others threatened but saved, the last time that SoHo and Tribeca faced a threat of widespread demolition. At the time, historic cast-iron buildings were being razed to […]

                            Samuel F.B. Morse: A Brilliant Artist and Inventor With A Complicated, Troubling Legacy

                            Samuel Finley Breese Morse was an artist, inventor, and would-be-politician. While there was much to admire about his legacy and accomplishments, there was also much to condemn and deplore. Reading his biography, one might think (or even wish) that there were actually several different Morses. One was an inventor who helped bring telegraph technology and […]

                            Welcome Aboard, Juan Rivero

                            Today Juan Rivero joins Village Preservation as our new East Village and Special Projects Director. Juan is an urban planner, researcher, and community advocate with experience in government, academia, and not-for-profits. He has most recently been serving on the coordinating committee and board of the City Club of New York, and teaching courses on urban […]

                              Greek Revival Lesson Continued

                              As mentioned before on our blog (here and here), we have an incredible new resource of a Storymap showcasing stories and examples of Greek Revival architecture in our area (and a few beyond). Born out of our young country’s desire to find a style that represented our democratic ideals, the Greek Revival style flourished in […]

                                Edward LaGrassa’s Photos of Cast Iron Architecture of SoHo, Tribeca, and Beyond from 1960s Added to Historic Image Archive

                                Edward LaGrassa was an architecture student in 1969 when he took these photos of cast iron buildings and structures, largely in SoHo and Tribeca, as well as in Harlem and Upper Manhattan. He took the pictures for a school project. At the time LaGrassa took these photos, appreciation of cast iron architecture and the neighborhood […]

                                Remembering Joey Ramone

                                On April 15, 2001, Rock and Roll lost a true legend. On that day, Joey Ramone died of lymphatic cancer. That night, U2’s Bono told the audience at a concert in Portland Oregon how Joey and the Ramones had changed his life. He sang “Amazing Grace” in his honor, and then went into “I Remember […]

                                Gen. George Washington Establishes HQ at Richmond Hill, April, 1776

                                Richmond Hill was a Colonial estate built on a 26-acre parcel of the “King’s Farm” in 1767 by Major Abraham Mortier, paymaster of the British army in the colony. Located southeast of the modern intersection of Varick and Charlton Streets, it served as George Washington’s headquarters in April-May and June-August of 1776, a period of […]

                                Delving into the Past & Future of the Greenwich Village Historic District

                                The Greenwich Village Historic District, which was designated (landmarked) on April 29, 1969, holds some of the loveliest bits of Greenwich Village within its bounds — from Washington Square to Abingdon Square, from the New School to the New York Studio School. Historic houses of worship and historic houses, key sites of immigrant, LGBTQ, African-American […]

                                Ferlinghetti and Rosset: Censorship-Battling Superheroes

                                Our neighborhoods are not only places where great literature was written. It’s also where great literature was published, sometimes at great legal peril, and where tectonic-shifting battles against censorship were led and won. Nowhere is that more true than in the area South of Union Square, where art, commerce, and activism collided. And perhaps no […]

                                “Amended,” a Podcast Going Deeper on Women’s History

                                There are many important takeaways from Village Preservation’s 19th Amendment Centennial StoryMap; there are a remarkable number of people and places in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo who played key roles in the women’s suffrage movement. That these neighborhoods were long centers of political ferment and progressive social change, and people here played […]

                                Samuel ‘Chip’ Delany, Author and Genius

                                Samuel R. (Chip) Delany, born on April 1, 1942, is an acclaimed author of both non-fiction and science fiction. He grew up in Harlem, at 2250 Seventh Ave above his father’s business, Levy & Delany Funeral Home, which appeared in stories by Langston Hughes and other black writers chronicling Harlem in the 1940s and ’50s. His […]

                                Village Award Winners: Past, Present, and Future

                                With the deadline for submitting nominations for the 2021 Village Awards fast approaching (it’s this Friday — submit your nominations HERE), we thought we would take a look at some of the incredible awardees over the past years. Here are a few of my favorites that beautifully represent the wonderful contributions our award winners make […]

                                Sign The Petition to NYC Mayoral Candidates: Our Next Mayor Must Value Preserving Landmarks and Neighborhoods

                                The campaign for Mayor of New York City is in full swing, with primary elections June 22. The next Mayor needs to know that historic preservation makes for a better and more resilient NYC — it encourages investment and economic development, it’s green, it helps preserve, protect, and uplift diverse histories and communities, and makes […]

                                O Pioneers! Two Remarkable Women of Bank Street: Willa Cather and Lucy Sprague Mitchell

                                Women’s History Month gives us yet another opportunity to celebrate the marvelous and groundbreaking women who have lived and worked in our neighborhoods.  Today we look at two pioneering women who lived and worked on Bank Street: Willa Cather and Lucy Sprague Mitchell. Bank Street Many of our streets are beloved by their residents and […]

                                A Guide to the Greek Revival, via Our StoryMap

                                The Greek War of Independence began on March 25, 1821, eventually leading to the formation of Greece as an independent state in 1830, with its borders defined in 1832 and expanded over the decades which followed. How does this chapter of history 5,000 miles away affect our neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and […]

                                  City’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan Would Make Neighborhoods Less Affordable, Wealthier, and Less Diverse

                                  The newly-released study by Village Preservation shows that the City’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan, which includes part of Chinatown, will make the area richer, whiter, and more expensive to live in than now, increase demolition pressures on existing rent regulated units, and potentially destroy more affordable housing than it creates. The city also does not accurately represent […]

                                  The Technological Breakthrough in Our Midst That Allowed Buildings To Grow Tall

                                  On March 23, 1857 the first Otis commercial passenger elevator was installed at 488 Broadway at Broome Street at the E.V. Haughwout Building. This technological breakthrough, along with developments in steel-frame construction, allowed buildings to grow ever taller. The modern era elevator traces its roots to Louis XV’s Versailles palace in 1743. An elevator system […]

                                  Explore Our New Interactive Neighborhood Greek Revival Bicentennial Map

                                  Two hundred years ago this Thursday the Greek War of Independence began. That event, combined with the Latin American Wars of Independence and the Monroe Doctrine, inspired the United States, the first modern democracy, to turn away from colonial and imperial models for architectural expression and look toward the world’s first democracy instead. Thus was […]

                                    Ada Louise Huxtable and More Than A Century of Preservation, Architecture, and Liveable Cities

                                    Ada Louise Huxtable (March 14, 1921 – January 7, 2013) loved architecture, New York and its neighborhoods, preservation, and the gifts to society that built environments shape. It is this love, and her incredible skill as a writer, that earned Huxtable her job at the New York Times as the first-ever architecture critic, her reputation, […]

                                    When the Village was Red: Celebrating the Legacy of the Paris Commune in our Neighborhoods

                                    On March 18, 1871, the Paris Commune began — a three-month-long worker-led insurrection in Paris and experiment in self-governance. On that day, workers, anarchists, communists, and artisans took over the city, and began to re-organize it according to the principles of association, self-determination, and justice for all oppressed members of society. Notably, among the so-called Communards who participated in the uprising, many were […]