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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
814 Broadway is a five-story masonry structure built in 1854.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Bob Dylan (born May 24, 1941) began his legendary career in Greenwich Village. The storied clubs and coffee houses in the neighborhood were the incubators for his formidable talent and work. You’ll find some surprises about him and his connections to the Village in our list of 80 Things We Love About Bob Dylan. We […]
Do you get small surprise gifts with your pharmacy prescription deliveries? Neither do I; but I know who does. Read about our Business of the Month and find out more.
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 […]
Since 1911, the majestic main branch of the New York Public Library has been watching over Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, welcoming researchers, scholars, students, and tourists into its hallowed halls by the millions every year.
Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street is one of New York City’s — and the nation’s — most historic locations. Known as the “Birthplace of American Government,” it’s the site where George Washington took the oath of office as our first President. It was also the site of the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Matt Umanov may have closed his shop at 273 Bleecker Street back in 2017, but he didn’t stop working. Umanov is still selling guitars online and providing essential guitar repair services by appointment. Umanov’s work is known far and wide, and his guitars have likely been to every country in the world. But it’s Bleecker […]
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 […]
Dr. Bruce Raymond Voeller, a pioneer of AIDS research and a significant early gay rights activist, was born on May 12, 1934 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s no household name, and his early biography would provide few hints as to why he should be. He graduated from Reed College in 1956, was awarded a five-year fellowship […]
Village Preservation has long made a priority of celebrating civil rights and social justice history in our neighborhoods.
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 […]
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), […]
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 […]
In honor of Small Business Week, we’re delving into the history of Alabaster Books, at 122 Fourth Avenue. Alabaster Books shines as a cultural remnant of Fourth Avenue Book Row and of bookselling in New York City. It continues to provide its patrons and New York with a wide range of wonderful books, both new […]
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 […]
Today, we welcome David Herman to our staff as Communications Manager. David is a graphic designer, editor, and photographer, as well as a longtime activist focusing on livable streets, better biking, and a more equitable built environment in New York City. He is a previous co-chair of Transportation Alternatives’ Brooklyn Activist Committee, where he continues […]
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 […]
The Greenwich Village Historic District is one of New York City’s oldest historic districts.
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 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 […]
Novelist Bernard Malamud is considered by many critics to be one of the finest American novelists of the 20th century. Born on April 26, 1914, in Brooklyn to a poor Russian Jewish immigrant family who ran a small grocery store, he attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, City College of New York, and Columbia for […]
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 […]
Few places in America have made more significant contributions to civil rights and social justice struggles.
One year before the landmark Ninth Street Exhibition, considered the public’s introduction to the work of the New York School Painters, a series of fascinating conversations entitled the Artists’ Sessions at Studio 35 laid the groundwork for the bold artistic explorations to follow. The idea of the Sessions originated in 1948, when the artists William […]
Caravan of Dreams, an organic and vegan restaurant located on East 6th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A, was founded by Spanish ex-pat Angel Moreno in October 1991.
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Our interactive tool “Virtual Village” brings users on unique and unexpected journeys.
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 […]
