Mars Bar Demolition Now Official
In a former post, we took a look at the past and future of the Mars Bar. Today we sadly report that the building’s demolition has been made official…
Historic Landmark Only Partially Damaged After Minivan Attack
Numerous media outlets have reported on the Westchester resident who intentionally drove his van into two narcotics officers standing on the sidewalk outside 73 Washington Place last Friday night. The crime was apparently payback for a past run-in between the targeted officer’s partner and the driver. Fortunately, both officers survived, though one was immediately hospitalized. […]
Abe Lebewohl & His Park
This spring marks the 30th Anniversary of the St. Mark’s Greenmarket and Music at Abe Lebewohl Park. The joint milestone got us a little nostalgic (okay, we know, when are we not nostalgic?) and we decided to take a walk down the memory lane of this neighborhood staples’ home- Abe Lebewohl Park. If you’ve ever […]
A Five Year Milestone for Far West Village Landmarking
As early as 1963, Jane Jacobs urged that a fledgling NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) protect and designate the Greenwich Village waterfront and the Far West Village neighborhood in which she lived. However, in 1969, when the LPC did finally designate the Greenwich Village Historic District, it left out the entire Greenwich Village waterfront and […]
Spot the Shot!
“Spot the Shot” is Off the Grid’s weekly photo guessing game, whereby we post a photo of a building, architectural detail, or site taken in the West Village, East Village, NoHo, or Meatpacking District and ask our readers to guess where it is. New photos are posted on Mondays and answers revealed on Fridays. All […]
Seen and Heard Around the Village: 5.9.11 – 5.13.11
Life After the Amato Opera (EV Grieve) Inauguration of New Organ at Church of the Ascension (NY Times) Birdbath Bakery Now Open on 3rd Avenue (EV Grieve) Wine Shop to Pop Cork on Christopher Street (Crain’s) The End of 35 Cooper (Local EV) Residents Laud Historic District Plan (Local EV) Bankrupt St. Vincent’s Pays Millions […]
Spot the Shot – Revealed!
No one was able to guess the location of this week’s Spot the Shot, but it was indeed a tricky one. The tiny man shown in the picture is carved into the Neo-Romanesque style Shenandoah apartment building at 10 Sheridan Square, built in 1928-29 by the prominent architect Emory Roth. Check back on Monday for […]
Second Avenue Mansions of Yesteryear
Woah! Can you believe the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue once looked like this? Our survey of the history of every single building in the East Village has turned up photos of some of the mansions that once lined Second Avenue – the neighborhood’s prime residential thoroughfare in the first half of […]
Fake Ivy Continues to Flourish in Greenwich Village
It’s now been almost a year since the owners of Nos. 47 West 8th Street and 62 West 9th Street illegally installed fake ivy on their buildings. Because both buildings sit well within the boundaries of the Greenwich Village Historic District, any changes made to their facades are subject to the rules and regulations of […]
In Memoriam: Doric Wilson
On May 7, 2011, at the age of 72, Doric Wilson passed away, bestowing immense sadness on the Village and beyond. Doric was a rare gem who wore many hats, tipping them successfully with each role he played. One of the original pioneers of Off-Off-Broadway, Mr. Wilson was a playwright, director, producer, designer, critic, and […]
Gansevoort Plaza Designs Revealed
Last night, Community Board 2’s Traffic & Transportation Committee reviewed proposed revised design elements and street furniture for Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District. The Meatpacking Improvement Association (which will be responsible for maintaining the public plazas) has been working with the Department of Transportation (DOT) on the proposal, which can be seen below:
Former Macy’s Building Proposed for Landmark Designation!
Did you know that the iconic department store Macy’s actually started out right here in the Village on the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue & 14th Street? Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission payed homage to this past by voting to calendar the lovely Neo-Classical building at 56 West 14th Street – part of the original […]
Spot the Shot!
“Spot the Shot” is Off the Grid’s weekly photo guessing game, whereby we post a photo of a building, architectural detail, or site taken in the West Village, East Village, NoHo, or Meatpacking District and ask our readers to guess where it is. New photos are posted on Mondays and answers revealed on Fridays. All […]
Seen and Heard Around the Village: 5.2.11 – 5.6.11
The St. Mark’s Greenmarket kicked off its 30th year on Tuesday! Historic Designation Sought for East Village (NY 1) Two open-air drinking establishments to open on the Highline (Gothamist) Remembering Kiev (Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY) Westbeth Worries About Transition to Rent Regulation (The Villager) Best coffee in the East Village (Serious Eats) Mars Bar Prepares to […]
Spot the Shot – Revealed!
This week’s Spot the Shot is indeed – congratulations Stephanie! – the Merchant’s House Museum at 29 East 4th Street. The style of architecture is late Federal. Built in 1832, the museum is Manhattan’s only 19th Century family home preserved completely intact on both the interior and the exterior, and thus, according to museum’s website, […]
Save Chelsea Market — Hearing tonight, and history
Those wanting to fight the plan to build massive additions atop the historic Chelsea Market complex might be interested in an important community meeting tonight, and some history about this unique set of buildings.
A Beautiful Benefit!
On Sunday, GVSHP held it’s 13th annual House Tour Benefit in Greenwich Village. The sun was shining and the turnout could not have been better. Attendees were able to tour the interiors of seven diverse but equally exquisite homes, ranging from a 350-square-foot carriage house to a large restored Greek Revival/Italianate home. Each dwelling […]
Spot the Shot!
Each Monday we’ll be a featuring a “Spot the Shot” post containing a photo of a building, architectural detail, or site around the Village. All featured photos will be taken by our phenomenal photographer Bob Estremera. We’ll be asking our readers to guess where each photo was taken, and revealing the answer each Friday. First […]
See You on Sunday at the House Tour!
Ever taken refuge in a treehouse in the middle of a bustling New York City neighborhood? Or climbed through a narrow horsewalk into a private, secret courtyard? Or been in the former townhouse of a rock-and-roll legend, or prominent literary figure? This weekend, you can! It’s not too late to purchase tickets for our spring […]
Seen and Heard Around the Village: 4.25.11 – 4.29.11
Village Bookstores Survive as Borders Dies (NearSay) New York State Landmark Board to Review NYU Expansion Plans (Washington Square News) Then & Now: One Block Of Broome Street (Gothamist) An Early HOWL! This Year (EV Grieve) Goodwill Opens a Curated Vintage Shop in Greenwich Village (Racked) Second Phase of High Line Construction Nears Completion (Washington […]
Seinfeld’s Off the Grid Anniversary
The Brooklyn-born, Long Island-raised, Queens College-educated comedian Jerry Seinfeld was born on April 29, 1954. While no doubt many Off the Grid readers are Seinfeld fans, the following day is another Seinfeld anniversary which strikes even a little nearer and dearer to the heart of this blog.
Which Building is Greenest?
We are all becoming increasingly “green” minded – we recycle, reuse and buy local. Yet, when it comes to the built environment many believe that building new is a better alternative than the adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of historic buildings. So, which building is greenest? A new documentary, “The Greenest Building,” seeks to answer that […]
Proposed East Village Historic District Maps Revealed!
Last night, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) revealed maps of their two proposed historic districts in the East Village. The larger of the two proposed districts is composed of sections of blocks on and around lower Second Avenue: The smaller of the districts encompasses the entire blockfront on the north side of East 10th Street […]
Stranger’s Hospital: 143-145 Avenue D, Part 4
This is post #4 in a series devoted to our ongoing research of 143-145 Ave D, documenting all of the detours & discoveries uncovered along the way (for background, see parts one, two and three) It’s been a while since we’ve shown some love to one of our favorite buildings over at 143-145 Avenue D, […]
A Look Back at the Beatnik Riot
On Sunday, April 9, 1961, what has come to be known as the Beatnik Riot, or Washington Square Folk Riot, took place (see the flashback in the Villager). Since the 1940’s Washington Square Park had been an epicenter for folk music – a public gathering spot where the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and […]
Happy Earth Day from GVSHP!
Preservation is a very vital component of sustainability, so it is no surprise that GVSHP’s office is in an historic building with a strong commitment to being green. The Neighborhood Preservation Center is housed in the historic Ernest Flagg Rectory of St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery. NPC, as it’s called, is dedicated to facilitating […]
Seen and Heard Around the Village: 4.18.11 – 4.22.11
City to Consider East Village Historic District Containing Nearly 300 Buildings (DNA Info) Up Next: House Tour (Manhattan Users Guide) ‘Last’ Mafia hangout now dainty tea shop (NY Post) Piece of NYC Restaurant History Could be Yours for $250 (Eater) Alpha-bite City ((NY Post) Take a Stroll Down Monument Lane (Daily Candy) East 7th Street […]
The Church of the Nativity & Landmarking the East Village!
Speaking of the firm Town, Davis & Dakin (which as you’ll recall from yesterday’s post built NYU’s original main building), we recently came across some great shots of the stately Greek Revival church that once stood at 46-48 Second Avenue. According to the Historic American Buildings Survey, the Second Avenue Presbyterian Church was built by […]
The Past and Future NYU
This week marks the 180th anniversary of the incorporation of New York University, which was chartered in April 1831 as the City University of New York. And it seems the University was a bit pickier with its choice of architects in those early days. Feast your eyes on their spectacular Gothic Revival main building, which […]
Mars Bar — Before & After
A few days ago, the venerable Mars bar on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 1st Street painted “Thanks for the memories, miss you all” over its entrance, in expectation of the much-anticipated demise of the beloved business and the building which housed it. While the actual end date, as well as future plans for the site, […]
18 & 20 Jones Street
Much fuss has been made of the news that the adjacent “sister” houses at 18 & 20 Jones Street are both currently on the market. We’re curious to see if these beautiful Greek Revival homes will be swooped up together, or sold off separately. Only one thing is for sure (big sigh of relief): They’ll […]
Welcome Andito Lloyd, Our Newest Staffer!
Today we are thrilled to welcome Andito Lloyd – our new East Village & Special Projects Director – to the small but mighty GVSHP team! Andito will soon become a very familiar face to many of our readers, as she will be leading the force to preserve the unique, special character of the East Village […]
Seen and Heard Around the Village: 4.11.11 – 4.15.11
Historic District Advocates Make a Stand at C.A.S (The Villager) Video: Old Greenwich Village, Just Like the Suburbs! (Gothamist) Developer Meets on Fate of 35 Cooper (The Local East Village) Veal & Pumping (Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York) And What Happens in 20 Years, After ‘N.Y.U. 2031’? (Downtown Express) Sunday Memories, An Encore in Memory of […]
This Weekend, GVSHP is Going Green!
Tomorrow we’re teaming up with Green Guerillas and the Manhattan Land Trust to host a self-guided walking tour of the East Village’s varied and remarkable community gardens. Today there are over 600 of these in New York City, though the first modern community garden was right here in the East Village. The Liz Christy Community […]
The Village Voice Building Didn’t Always Look This Good
We were very excited yesterday to receive the Museum of the City of New York’s announcement that they had expanded their online photo collection by over 10,000 images. But we were even more captivated when we came across their shocking ca. 1905 photos of a fire at 36 Cooper Square (built in 1894 as a […]
149 Second Avenue
What’s not to love about the charming Greek Revival house at 149 Second Avenue, a throwback to another era in the life of the East Village? The house is the oldest building on its blockfront, Second Avenue between East 9th & East 10th Street, and one of the only early houses on the avenue to […]
837 Washington Street – Not Quite There Yet
As promised in today’s earlier post, we have photos of the revised designs for 837 Washington Street that were presented today at a public meeting of Landmarks Preservation Commission. In response to the concerns raised by the Commission during the last hearing on November 2010, the architect knocked two stories off the proposed addition and […]
837 Washington Street – Is the Fifth Time the Charm?
A revised iteration of the proposal to build a towering addition atop the 1938 Moderne-style building at 837 Washington Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District will be shown today to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Check back this afternoon for photos of the latest plans! This will be fifth time the LPC has seen a […]
NYU’s Twenty Year Expansion Plan, Twenty Years From Now
The Villager/East Villager/Downtown Express newspaper chain recently published an op-ed I submitted regarding the ‘NYU 2031 Plan’ — the university’s blueprint for expansion over the next 20 years, a large part of which requires zoning changes and sale of public land which must be approved by the City Planning Commission and the City Council. Much […]
Rally on Sunday to Save the South Village
This Sunday at 1:00pm, GVSHP will be holding a rally to urge the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the remainder of the South Village Historic District. We hope you will join us! Details can be found here. The crowd will convene in front of the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) on Sullivan Street between Bleecker and […]
43 MacDougal Street: Even Worse Than We Thought
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse at 43 MacDougal Street, after reading Monday’s post on the building an anonymous neighbor sent us the following photos, which are taken from above. The space between the plywood and the building is filled to the brim with trash. Here’s a close-up:
Cornell Edwards of The Flower Stall, 1932-2011
We were extremely saddened to read on EV Grieve this morning that Cornell Edwards, owner of the Flower Stall at 143 E. 13th St, has passed away. Cornell opened The Flower Stall in 1967, and since that time was not only a devoted small business owner, but also a wonderful steward of the neighborhood and […]
The 2010 Census — Highs and Lows
The recently released 2010 census figures for New York City have certainly stirred some controversy, with their finding of only a modest overall population increase in the city, coupled with mysterious decreases in population in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens. Of course these findings are being challenged, though changes in final census numbers are […]
43 MacDougal Street – Demolition by Neglect?
By all accounts it looks like we’re in for a rainy week, which doesn’t bode well for 43 MacDougal Street, the neglected and badly deteriorating 1846 house on the corner of King Street in the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District that we’ve been urging the City for years to step in and save. April showers mean increased […]
Purchase your tickets for GVSHP’s Annual House Tour!
Spring means many wonderful things for Greenwich Village: Wisteria is in full bloom, Washington Square Park is full of life, and during our annual house tour several lucky people get an inside peek at some of the most beautiful and creative homes this side of 14th Street. This year’s tour is on Sunday, May 1st, […]
Edward Hopper’s Drug Store
We’ll be the first to admit it: We have Edward Hopper fever. Those who were present at our recent lecture on the artist’s work know the extent of the research we have put into locating the subjects of Nighthawks at the Diner and Early Sunday Morning, two of Hopper’s most iconic Village paintings. But these […]
The Second Avenue El
The New York Public Library’s digital gallery contains some fun photos of the Second Avenue elevated train, which began operation in 1880 and cast shadows upon the street for more than 60 years. We know what you’re thinking: Isn’t this a photo of First Avenue? Yes indeed. Despite its name, the elevated actually ran along […]
The Decline of the Dry Dock District: 143-145 Avenue D, Part 3
This is post #3 in a series devoted to our research of the fascinating building at 143-145 Avenue D. Those of you who have been following our research on 143-145 Avenue D – the oldest extant building in Alphabet City (for background, see parts one and two) – are now well-versed in the building’s connection […]
A Successful Centennial
Friday, March 25, 2011, marked the 100 year anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. The Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, among countless other groups, had arranged events all weekend to commemorate this horrific event. The lineup kicked off with the Workers United Centennial Commemoration, held on Washington Place and Greene Street outside of the building […]
Digging Up the Past on 125 MacDougal Street
Part of our work at GVSHP involves handling research requests from the public. Recently, we received an inquiry all the way from Italy. Not surprisingly, the building in question was in the South Village, known for its Italian-American heritage. Several years ago, GVSHP compiled historic research on every building in the area as part of […]
A Sense of Place circa 1950
Nat Kaufman was a Villager and a member of the Village Camera Club. This image of a man with a baby carriage at the Annual Washington Square Art won a prize sponsored by the Art Show and Camera Club. While not the biggest image collection in the GVSHP Preservation Archive and Oral History Project, the […]
In Memoriam: Lucy Cecere
Greenwich Village lost one of its greats this weekend with the passing of Lucy Cecere at the age of 87. Though small in stature, Lucy was a true giant in a neighborhood of outsized personalities — an activist, a pioneer, someone who deeply loved her neighborhood and was willing to fight to preserve it. She was […]
Off the Grid: Minetta Street and Minetta Lane
Today is the 200th anniversary of the official adoption of the Manhattan street grid, an event of enormous importance to New York as a whole, and in a slightly different way, to neighborhoods like the Village, East Village, and NoHo, which have remained in large part defiantly “off the grid.” Perhaps one of the most […]
It Happened Here: Album Covers
The Village and East Village have long been the home of music-makers and music venues; their streets and sites on more than one occasion the inspiration for song-writers and the subject of many a song line. But perhaps nothing has imprinted an image of these neighborhoods in the popular music-consuming consciousness in the same way as their depiction on the […]
Did You Know? – East 7th Street
Did you know that East 7th Street between Avenues C & D was once known as “Political Row”? Neither did we, until during the course of our East Village research we stumbled upon a fascinating New York Times article from 1902 lamenting the end of the street’s glory days. Of course, we had long been […]
Sixth Avenue Extension – Before & After
At last week’s Edward Hopper panel, speaker Linda Yowell’s dramatic slides of the destruction caused by the 1917 extension of Seventh Avenue elicited great interest from the crowd. We thought it would be fun to follow up with some before-and-after shots of the extension of Sixth Avenue, which began in 1925. In conjunction with the […]
The Dry Dock Banking House: 143-145 Avenue D, Part 2
This is post #2 in a series devoted to our ongoing research of 143-145 Ave D, documenting all of the detours & discoveries uncovered along the way. For background, see part one. As we mentioned in our first post in this series, certain elements on the facade of 143-145 Avenue D initially gave us a […]
Mystery on Avenue D: 143-145 Avenue D, Part 1
What follows is first in a series of posts devoted to our research of the fascinating building at 143-145 Avenue D. Early last year, while surveying Alphabet City as part of our research on the history of every single building in the East Village, we became interested in 143-145 Avenue D – at first glance […]
Trains returning to the High Line
Each week we spend a great deal of time tracking applications coming before the Landmarks Preservation Commission for work on historic buildings in our neighborhood (photos and status updates to these applications can always been seen on our Landmarks Applications Webpage). Rarely does one catch our eye – and make us smile – the way […]
Brunswick Apotheke, Englehardt & Huber, Kiehl’s Since 1851
Our survey of every single building in the East Village has left us questioning some of the neighborhood folklore we’ve always taken for granted. For instance, the building at 105-107 Third Avenue, most people assume, has been home to Kiehl’s Since 1851 since, well, 1851. But the building is clearly styled in a late 19th-century fashion. […]
Jane Street Triangle Redesign Update
This past Wednesday, representatives from the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) came before Community Board 2’s Traffic and Transportation Committee to present a revised plan for the Jane Street Triangle redesign. DOT hopes to permanently pedestrianize this small piece of West 4th Street which has been closed to traffic for years. In response to suggestions […]
Save the Date! May 1st is our Annual House Tour
Each year, in anticipation of our annual house tour, we scour the Village in search of its most interesting, fun, and fascinating residential spaces. Some of the history we’ve uncovered is just too good to wait to reveal, so we’re offering a little sneak peek into one of this year’s beautiful homes.
Dates Can be Deceiving
In chipping away at the gargantuan task of researching the history of all the buildings in the East Village, it’s always nice when a building wears its history on its sleeve. We’ve noticed that oodles of buildings throughout the neighborhood supply us with dates, whether on plaques or inscribed in parapets or on cornices. And […]
Celebrating the Beginnings of a Beloved Village Landmark
Today we pause to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of one of the Village’s most beloved landmarks: on March 7th, 1846, Grace Church was consecrated at Broadway and 10th Street. The year 1846 was an exciting year for the Gothic Revival. James Renwick Jr.’s design of Grace Church, along with that of Trinity Church […]
A Slice of East Village History is Destroyed
EV Grieve sends some sad news from the East Village today, where 326 & 328 East 4th Street – the two remarkably intact 1837-41 Greek Revival buildings the City refused to landmark after we tried desperately to save them last fall – are being destroyed after 170 years. Apparently, the developer was not as keen […]
Kintecoying
The Department of Transportation’s plans to pedestrianize portions of Astor Place have caused quite a stir in the neighborhood, as they have the potential to obliterate the historic street configuration that dates back to the earliest settlements in the city. As mentioned in our letter to DOT, Astor Place follows the path of an old […]
Edward Hopper’s Village
The locations of sites around the Village portrayed in Edward Hopper’s works have been hotly debated, especially in light of the MTA’s plans to construct an emergency ventilation plant on Mulry Square (which many people think may have housed the restaurant portrayed in Nighthawks at the Diner). GVSHP will weigh in with our own theories […]
A Fortuitous Exchange
When the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition asked the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation for help locating original building files for the Brown Building at 23-29 Washington Place, the site of the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911, we knew exactly where to look. The New York City Department of Records (aka Municipal […]
Cafe Royal
Researching the history of a building – as we’re doing for thousands in the East Village – can often be an arduous task. So it’s a great gift when sites like the Museum of the City New York’s fantastic new online photo collection become available to us. Browsing through the site, we came across an […]
Suze Rotolo, 1943 – 2011
The New York Times reports that Suze Rotolo, artist, author, teacher, and activist, died this past Friday of lung cancer, at age 67. The author of “A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the 1960’s” (2008), Rotolo was known to millions as the girl walking arm-in-arm with Bob Dylan down Jones Street on the […]
City Proposes Changes to Jane Street, West 4th Street, Astor Place, and Stuyvesant Street
Recent proposals by the City to expand green spaces at the Jane Street Triangle and around Cooper Park and Astor Place would also have an impact on some of our city’s most historic and least-conforming streets. In January the City unveiled its plan for a redesign of Cooper Square and Astor Place which included an […]
It Happened Here: Taxi Driver
The innocuous-looking apartment building at 226 East 13th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, may raise few eyebrows now. But on February 8, 1976, the building became synonymous in the popular imagination with drugs, prostitution, runaways, murder and mayhem, steeped in the urban decay which many saw as defining New York City in the 1970’s.
Welcome to Off the Grid!
Off the Grid will be a great way for GVSHP to share news, commentary, trivia and historic information about the Village, East Village, and NoHo, and to hear from you. We hope you’ll become an avid reader, and share with friends, neighbors, and family. Coincidental with our blog launch, next month is the 200th anniversary […]
