43 MacDougal Street, a landmarked 1846 Greek Revival townhouse, sat vacant for decades in the 1990s and 2000s, a thorn in the side of the neighborhood and Village Preservation. Years of advocacy to try to get it repaired and restored (there were serious concerns about irreparable damage, collapse, or worse) ended mostly in frustration, with […]
On April 6, 1965, the New York City Council approved the bill granting the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission the power to designate and preserve New York City’s landmarks. According to contemporary New York Times accounts, 33 out of 35 City Council members voted in favor (but it was noted that two of the […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
In 2018 as part of a collaborative project with Loisaida Inc. and La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez, Matthew Mottel built two geodesic domes at La Plaza and in the Loisaida Inc. Center courtyard, which served as an interactive art exhibition available to the public. The project invoked the historical legacy of CHARAS, a community […]
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 […]
Village Preservation’s Greek Revival Bicentennial Storymap celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The neighborhood south of Union Square holds a unique place in the history of women’s rights and women’s suffrage movements.
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 (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, […]
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 […]
Irish American figures defined the blocks where Greenwich Village meets the East Village.
It just never stops growing…Village Preservation’s Historic Image Archive, that is. The latest addition is the Pryor Dodge Collection, a collection taken between 1966 and 1967. They provide a wonderful snapshot (pardon the pun) into Greenwich Village and the East Village from this time. Featured are children playing, musicians collaborating, and life on the Bowery. […]
Along with the houses on Washington Square North, Chelsea’s ‘Cushman Row’ at 408-418 West 20th Street is frequently noted as the finest row of Greek Revival residences in New York City.
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. Town Hall and Teach In Tonight Village […]
A newly-released study by Village Preservation shows that the City’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan will make both of these neighborhoods richer, whiter, and more expensive to live in than they are now, and likely create significantly less affordable housing than projected, potentially destroying more affordable housing than it creates. In the fall of 2020, the de Blasio […]
175 MacDougal Street holds far more history than is visible upon first glance.
For more than a quarter century, Rob Mason (the subject of a recent Village Preservation Oral History) operated RPM Studios from his live/work loft at 12 East 12th Street, south of Union Square. RPM was one of the first boutique recording studios in the city during a golden age of music and recording here from 1976-2004. […]
We continue to advocate for small businesses and to add new local independent businesses to our “Small Business/Big History” signage program, in which we are partnering with great local businesses to promote neighborhood history and the wonderful services and products they offer. Go here to learn all about our current Small Business efforts and to get […]
Village Preservation provides an ongoing record of all applications for changes to landmarked properties in our neighborhoods (Greenwich Village, NoHo, Gansevoort Market, the South Village, and the East Village) that require a public hearing before they can be approved. These proposals range from minor alterations to large additions, demolition, and new construction on landmarked sites. […]
We’re proud to share the latest additions to our historic image archive, both donated by photographer Pryor Dodge. The first shows the stunning interiors of 52 West 9th Street, the home and studio of his grandfather, renowned muralist William de Leftwich Dodge. The elder Dodge raised the roof of the house for his studio as so many […]
Today we’re looking at the historic plaques that Village Preservation has placed throughout our neighborhoods commemorating some of the amazing women who have lived, worked, and changed history here. Historic plaques are a great tool to educate the public about the remarkable history of our neighborhoods, and the incredible people, events, and movements connected to sites […]
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating, honoring, and advocating for the important contributions of women in our neighborhoods. And today we’re highlighting the innovative work of women poets in the mid-century mimeograph revolution. As Rona Cran writes in “Space Occupied: Women Poet-Editors and the Mimeograph Revolution in Mid-Century New York City,” the downtown […]
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. Every nook and […]
The singer-songwriter Gone Marshall recently celebrated a bit of vintage Greenwich Village which might be familiar to you, over on the corner of MacDougal and Houston Street. If you’re thinking fondly of some of the old-school neighborhood heroes, you might find meaning in the new song, “Bazooka Joe Don’t Live There Anymore.” Marshall, known for a […]
Plan would likely only create 1/5 of projected Affordable Housing, push out Asian American and lower income residents would likely destroy more Affordable Housing than it creates.
Village Preservations’ highly acclaimed continuing education classes are available online this May, and we are excited to now offer the course at a highly discounted rate to people not acquiring the continuing education credits.
The Police Athletic League Building at 34 1/2 East 12th Street between University Place and Broadway was built in 1855 for the New York City Board of Education, and designated an individual New York City landmark in 1998. The building has an amazing history in relation to the education of women and girls in our […]
Selma Hortense Burke lived and worked at 88 East 10th Street from 1944 until at least 1949.
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re celebrating, honoring, and advocating, and you can too!
In the mid-19th century, Levi Strauss was responsible for bringing one of the world’s most durable clothing items to market: denim blue jeans. Levi Strauss would become a household name as his distinctly American invention — an enduring symbol of cowboy and frontier life in the 1800s, of Beat ‘cool’ in the 1950s, hippies in […]
A lot can happen in ten years — pop culture references grow old, new technology emerges, and the stories we tell continue to evolve. Village Preservation’s blog Off The Grid celebrates a momentous milestone today, thanks in part to all who have contributed to it over the years and our amazing supporters who continue to […]
Nominate your favorite local business, institution, community group, restoration/renovation, or hero!
Judy Holliday, the brilliant star of stage and screen, was a New Yorker through and through. It makes perfect sense that while she was an up-and-coming superstar, she made her home in Greenwich Village in a floor-through apartment at 158 Waverly Place, a gorgeous 1839 Greek Revival townhouse. It is also no surprise that Holliday […]
In 1909, the activist, scholar, educator, writer, editor W.E.B. Du Bois co-founded the NAACP.
Artist, poet, philanthropist, teacher, writer, and inventor Yun Gee (1906-1963) was the first Chinese-American artist to hold an important position in the history of Western contemporary art. Considered one of the great modernist avant-garde painters, Gee enjoys a number of other “firsts.” He was the first Chinese-born artist invited to join the Société des Artistes Indépendants; […]
“I am not a boy, not a girl, I am not gay, not straight, I am not a drag queen, not a transsexual – I am just me, Jackie.” This wonderful declaration of what Jackie was not leaves so much space to explore who Jackie was — Villager, performer, superstar whose praises were sung by […]
As a young filmmaker and a new New Yorker, the legendary filmmaker Miloš Forman lived in an apartment on Leroy Street in Greenwich Village.
On December 14, 1911, four artists assembled to discuss the world of new possibilities open to their field. They resolved to “[organize] a society for the purpose of exhibiting the work of progressive painters,” with the goal of highlighting “both American and foreign [artists]… favoring such work usually neglected by current shows & especially interesting […]
In our new African American History curriculum for middle school students, we explore how Jean-Michel Basquiat’s art also served as a platform for advocacy, addressing some of the most pressing issues of race and discrimination of his (and our) day. Basquiat was already a successful studio artist when, on September 15th, 1983, events transpired in […]
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. Do you wear […]
For over 100 years, the NAACP has been fighting to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons, and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Though their headquarters is now located in Baltimore, Maryland, the organization called our neighborhood home for decades, and held its first public meeting here as well. Founded […]
Webster Hall at 125 East 11th street has a remarkable past. Started as a social club in 1887, it is without a doubt one of New York’s most famous gathering spots. And that long history of bringing people together under one roof had a pretty auspicious start. In February of 1887, the new protected cruiser […]
Historic plaques can be a wonderful way to educate the public about the remarkable history of our neighborhoods, and the incredible people, events, and movements connected to sites all around us. Historic plaques benefit local communities, as well as tourists and visitors, by sparking further interest in local history. Dedication ceremonies, which celebrate the installation […]
Now for sale on our website — Village Preservation’s “Save The Village” face coverings, featuring this iconic 1960 image by Fred W. McDarrah of the demolition of a Greenwich Village artist’s studio covered with the “Save The Village” message. A purchase not only allows you to keep yourself and friends and neighbors safe. It also supports Village Preservation’s […]
Joaquin Alberto Vargas y Chavez (February 9, 1896 — December 30, 1982) was Peruvian-born painter of pin-up girls who would come to be known as the ‘Varga Girls.’ His artwork would appear in magazines, advertisements, calendars and even on the cover of a Cars album in the 1980s. He found the woman who would be […]
On February 8th, 1915, D.W. Griffith’s acutely racist film The Birth of a Nation debuted.
Café Le Metro, now the 13th Step Sports Bar, was located at 149 Second Avenue. A four-story Greek Revival row house, it is the oldest on its block front and currently retains its original stoop, entryway and upper façade. Constructed in 1850 for original owner Joseph Kirnichon, the building was “tenementized,” or converted to house […]
The University Place Book Shop was one of the longest-running “Book Row” shops.
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the United States to receive a medical degree, which she put to great use when she opened in NoHo the first infirmary run by women for women. Born on February 3, 1821, in Bristol England, Blackwell and her family moved to the United States in 1832. Following the […]
On February 2, 1860, a terrible fire broke out in a tenement at 142 Elm Street (today Lafayette Street, just north of Howard Street in SoHo). The building was occupied by 24 families, according to The New York Times account at the time, and the fire started in a bakery in the basement. Ten women […]
The plan to demolish the 172 year old historic former townhouses at 14-16 Fifth Avenue in the Greenwich Village Historic District, and replace them with a high-rise tower, has returned and will be heard before Community Board 2’s Landmarks Committee on Tuesday, February 16 at 6:30pm. You can register for the Zoom meeting here (be sure to click on the […]
Village Preservation’s curriculum on Black history for middle school students focuses on local, citywide, national, and global themes and movements from pre-European settlement through the 21st century. One of the themes we explore is how voting rights and other civil rights evolved and were won by and for African Americans in our city and elsewhere […]
This February is African American History Month, a time to highlight and celebrate the rich history of African American struggle, success, and life in our neighborhoods over the last four hundred years (the first non-Native American settlers of Greenwich Village and the East Village were, in fact, African Americans). It’s also the 200th anniversary of the birth […]
Almost 200 years after it was first published, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven still terrifies and delights. The poem, about a forlorn lover tormented by a mysterious bird as he slowly descends into madness, permeated both critical circles and the popular consciousness, proving that the macabre could and should share a space with literary fiction […]
Influential Abstract Expressionist painter Paul Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming. With his father, a farmer and government surveyor, mother and four brothers, Pollock grew up in Arizona and Chico, California, before moving to Greenwich Village. He lived in several Village apartments before becoming the Jackson Pollock who is considered one of […]
Leontyn Price, the groundbreaking, world-renowned soprano and longtime Greenwich Village resident, made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on January 27, 1961. Ms. Price was one of the first internationally recognized African-American opera stars. Her career broke through racial barriers at another time in our history when the United States was experiencing intense racial strife […]
2021 is the year we realize more than ever the need to shop local as much as we can. We know you love to support small, local, independent businesses. And we do too. 2021 is here and Village Preservation continues to add new local independent businesses to our “Small Business/Big History” signage program, in which we […]
The anti-war and civil rights activist Igal Roodenko was a leader in a number of the most significant social movements of the twentieth century.
Just in time for the upcoming Black History Month, Village Preservation has developed a new, four-part course on African American history for middle school students as part of our Children’s Education Program. This remote Zoom course focuses on local, citywide, national, and global themes and movements. It looks at the Dutch origins of slavery in New […]
Our neighborhoods are filled with incredibly rich stories, each door and window a portal into the hidden history of New York City. It is always a surprise to find that, when you dig even deeper, you can find amazing stories hidden in nooks and corners. The stately Village Presbyterian Church once located at 141-145 West […]
Village Preservation shares our oral history collection with the public, highlighting some of the people and stories that make Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo such unique and vibrant neighborhoods. Each includes the experiences and insights of leaders or long-time participants in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life. Michael E. Levine is […]
We have posted a number of times about the origins of the names of various streets in our area, nearly all of which honor men. Bethune Street, barely three blocks in length, deviates from that patriarchal trend. It was named after a woman who was exceptional in her philanthropic and educational work, Joanna Graham Bethune […]
Building Has Tremendous Historic Significance, and Site Is Vulnerable to Supertall Development; Push for Broader Landmarks Protections for Area Continues We are pleased to report that in a surprise move, yesterday the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to calendar, or begin the process of formally considering for landmark designation, 70 Fifth Avenue (2-6 West 13th Street), a site […]
Like the New York branch of the Black Panther Party, the Umbra Poets Workshop started in an unidentified location somewhere in the East Village. Working to establish a Black poetic community counter to the mainstream in the 1960s and ’70s, the collective conducted readings, performances, and festivals, met to collaboratively workshop each others’ writings, contributed […]
“American Pie” is perhaps one of the most compelling, beloved, and cryptic songs in the American songbook. Written by Don McLean in 1970, the song sprang from the Folk Music movement in Greenwich Village. Izzy Young, well known to musicians and music aficionados around the world, whose Greenwich Village shop, the Folklore Center, was the […]
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. Having our clothes […]
Continuing our Cemeteries of the Village series, today we look at the blocks surrounding 2nd Street and Second Avenue. Two landmarked cemeteries still exist here, and four other 19th-century cemeteries once called these blocks home, but little trace of them remains. New York and New York City Marble Cemeteries The New York Marble Cemetery, a […]
We’ve just added our first new oral history of 2021. Michael E. Levine is an urban planner who worked as the NYC Department of City Planning’s Community Board #2 liaison beginning in the 1960s, and was intimately involved in the landmark designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District as well as pioneering zoning and landmark designations for […]
Village Preservation is expanding our “Small Business/Big History” signage project with four new additions in the West and South Village — Love Child Yoga, Cho’s Grocery, Three Lives Bookstore, and Julius’ Bar. Want to know what’s so unique about Horatio Street? What paint-throwing artist got his start on Carmine Street? Why Three Lives’ storefront may be even more famous for art than literature? And why a […]
In 1900, the Social Reform Club hosted a lecture by labor leader Edward King.
We love historic photos of our neighborhoods, many of which appear in our vast historic image archive. A subset of that archive includes artists’ renderings and interpretations. One Village artist whose work we’ve often admired, Bertram Goodman, created a number of works showing Greenwich Village in the mid-20th century with a particularly special quality. Bertram […]
Following the death late last year of Edith O’Hara, the founder of the 13th Street Repertory Theatre, Village Preservation urged the Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider landmark designation of 50 West 13th Street, the more than 170 year old rowhouse which has housed the theater since its founding. The 3 1/2 story house retains distinctive and unusual Greek Revival architectural […]
Born David Robert Jones on January 8th, 1947, the cultural and rock icon David Bowie navigated his way through music, theater, and film like a chameleon. Known for his outlandish though purposeful alter egos, he changed the way audiences viewed art, creating performance pieces, backstories, and personalities that drove his music to become more than […]
Butterfly McQueen — it’s an unusual name, but in many ways perfect for the woman to whom it is attached, as it evokes both flight and royalty. Born in Florida, McQueen was a dancer and actor who was made famous by her role as Prissy in Gone With The Wind — followed by many similar […]
Check out the latest issue of Village Preservation’s newsletter available here.
On January 6 2015, on Three Kings Day, the East Village community and allies rallied on the steps of City Hall on a cold winter day to urge Mayor de Blasio to return the Old PS 64/CHARAS El Bohio Community Center to community use. That was just one of many, many grassroots actions over many […]
In her manuscript for the novel People in Trouble, lesbian author and activist Sarah Schulman tells of a fictionalized AIDS activist organization called JUSTICE. By the time People in Trouble reached the shelves a couple years later, however, the real-life activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) of which Schulman became an active […]
Around 1907, after recovering from a chronic backache, the 24 year old Max Eastman moved to New York City.
If you’ve ever wondered what in the world treacle pudding is, or how one would properly consume marmite, Tea & Sympathy, the British outpost loved by Sarah Jessica Parker, Dame Judi Dench, Kevin Kwan, and none other than David Bowie, has got you covered. Opened on December 23, 1990, this tiny tea room at 108 […]
On December 22, 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian and Jewish descent, was court-martialed, convicted of treason, and sentenced to life in prison at the notorious Devil’s Island prison for allegedly sharing military secrets with the German Embassy in Paris. Two years later, an investigation into the already closed case […]
This has been a year like no other. We lost friends, loved ones, and local small businesses. We had to find new ways to reach our members, the public, and decision-makers. Education programs and fundraisers went virtual. But COVID-19 wasn’t the only source of challenges we faced. The Mayor put forward an unprecedented upzoning plan […]
This has certainly been a challenging year, to say the least. In spite of that, Village Preservation, the Community Boards, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) have continued to review and process permit applications for the landmarked properties in our neighborhoods. Interestingly, in the virtual environment that we have been operating in, […]
Despite all the challenges of the year, Village Preservation proudly hosted 76 programs (most of which were virtual), reaching over 9,000 people in 2020. How does one choose favorites? It’s nearly impossible, especially given that each program represents, at minimum, someone’s research, passion, skill, life’s work, book, or all of the above. So, in wrap-up […]
Throughout history, societies look to the arts to give insight and meaning to events and experiences. And so with good reason, we have been thinking a great deal about our theater artist community in these days and months since the pandemic has closed our beloved cultural institutions. Artists who create theater have been given the […]
On December 5, 2020 at about 5:00am, a fire broke out at 116 Second Avenue, a neo-Grec tenement. The six-alarm blaze spread to the 1892 Middle Collegiate Church next door to the south. Nearly 200 firefighters were dispatched and while four suffered minor injuries, thankfully the human toll did not go beyond that. However, the […]
As 2020 comes to a close, it’s a good time to take stock and look back on our most popular posts of the year. This eclectic mix of culture and history include the 1960s boy band the Monkees, and the oldest residence in Manhattan, 44 Stuyvesant Street. Tellingly, three of the five posts focus on […]
Some of our favorite local small businesses were recently prominently featured in the New York Times. Longtime neighborhood anchors Veselka (‘rainbow’ in Ukrainian) and (the former) Dinosaur Hill were the focus of a long form article that many people shared with me. The latter is closing as a result of a well-earned retirement, while the […]
Small businesses have been on everyone’s mind, and it’s no secret that Village Preservation is working hard to support our local small businesses — from our Small Business/Big History campaign, to our work supporting the ‘Save Our Storefronts’ Legislation for Small Business Relief, to our ongoing Businesses of the Month program, and much more. Recently, […]
Taped into a small notebook are photos of vacant lots on First Street and Second Avenue. Elsewhere there is a photo of flowers and graffiti for Joey Ramone outside the former site of CBGB, on Bleecker and Bowery. Gathered together, these pieces of ephemera constitute contemporary poet Brenda Coultas’ The Bowery Project (published in the […]
From the late nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth century, four elevated rail lines crossed over the streets of our neighborhoods.
Village Preservation is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, and in honor of this momentous milestone, we have created an interactive storymap that charts the historic journey of our organization. Today, we look at the history and future of our Children’s Education program. In 1991, in partnership with the Merchant’s House Museum, we launched our […]
