On the northeastern edge of the Greenwich Village Historic District, at 21 East 11th Street, just west of University Place, sits an 1848 late Greek Revival townhouse with a wide stoop topped with a transitional Italianate door. The beautifully preserved townhouse bears a red Historic Landmarks Preservation Center Cultural Medallion in honor of trailblazing landscape […]
Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002, She/Her) was a trailblazing advocate for the rights of transgender individuals and LGBTQ+ communities. A vocal opponent of racism and transphobia within the 1970-80s Gay Liberation Movement, Rivera was controversial (to say the least) during her time. While delivering her infamous speech, “Y’all Better Quiet Down!” […]
Truman Streckfus Persons was born on September 30, 1924, in New Orleans. Truman started writing when he was eight years old — as a calling, and also as an answer to a truly difficult childhood. In 1932, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her second husband, José García Capote, […]
Jean-Claude van Itallie (May 25, 1936 – September 9, 2021) was a mainstay of the American avant-garde theater movement. Belgian-born, Mr. van Itallie immigrated to the United States with his family in 1953 and settled in Great Neck, New York. But he found his artistic home in the fertile artistic ground of the East Village […]
Lauren Bacall’s name is iconic, as is her smoldering visage, her dynamic half of the famed Bogie-and-Bacall, her tryst with Frank Sinatra. But her first claim to fame, the windfall that launched her career, was being crowned Miss Greenwich Village of 1942, while she was living in the Village with her mother at 75 Bank […]
Groundbreaking artist, intellectual, and activist Romare Bearden (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was born in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina. When Bearden was about 3 years old, his parents Bessye Johnson Banks Bearden and Richard Howard Bearden moved the family to Harlem in search of a better life as so many other southern African Americans […]
Sitting in Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library’s main branch, tourists and admittedly a few native New Yorkers often marvel at the clear sight they have of the Empire State Building, a rare perspective for midtown Manhattan. Perhaps even rarer is that, within that same view, the iconic tower has some competition in the standout building department from a mere 23-story landmark resplendent in black and gold, one that has a unique connection to Greenwich Village in the last century.
When Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum of American Art opened in September 1966, New York Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable noted that the inverted ziggurat-like Brutalist structure had quickly become “the most disliked building in New York.”
Many artists have been inspired by the scenes of life in New York City, particularly Lower Manhattan. But perhaps no artist captures the feeling of New York during the hot, heavy days of August like the painter John Sloan. Sloan was one of the leading figures of the “Ashcan School,” a loose collection of artists who […]
Cary Grant: a name synonymous with Hollywood glamor in the mid-20th century. He tumbled and swanned, he looked equally incredible in a pristine tuxedo and in Katherine Hepburn’s fur-embellished silk robe in Bringing Up Baby, where he does a little jump and quipping, “I just went gay all of a sudden!” From Holiday to To […]
As with any revolution, there was a spark, which lit the fire fed by years of quieter work and struggle which preceded it. Such is certainly the case with the LGBTQ rights movement, which burst into prominence in our neighborhood on June 28, 1969 with the Stonewall Riots, leading to a new, much more aggressive […]
Riding the A train from Upper Manhattan to Greenwich Village means passing a lot of stations named after the numbered streets directly above them. Starting at 207th Street, you stop at 125th Street in Harlem, 59th Street welcomes you to Midtown, and 14th Street is the station before your final destination. All these stations and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Commanding the northern side of West 36th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway is what seems to be an imposing house of worship built by ancient Romans.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
Village Preservation has long made a priority of celebrating civil rights and social justice history in our neighborhoods.
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 […]
The Greenwich Village Historic District is one of New York City’s oldest historic districts.
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 […]
Few places in America have made more significant contributions to civil rights and social justice struggles.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
175 MacDougal Street holds far more history than is visible upon first glance.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
In 1909, the activist, scholar, educator, writer, editor W.E.B. Du Bois co-founded the NAACP.
As a young filmmaker and a new New Yorker, the legendary filmmaker Miloš Forman lived in an apartment on Leroy Street in Greenwich Village.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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. During that span, we have worked tirelessly to preserve our neighborhoods — no easy feat — and despite being a “child” of the 1980s, our […]
Beginning in 1948, the artists William Baziotes, David Hare, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko held a public lecture series entitled Subjects of the Artist. Regularly attracting a crowd of around one hundred and fifty people, the series eventually disbanded in 1950. It was then that Robert Goodnough, a masters’ candidate in art education at New […]
For more than 70 years, The Brotherhood Synagogue, located at 28 Gramercy Park South, has sought to meet the spiritual and cultural needs of its members in a welcoming, progressive community, while working to make religious brotherhood a living reality.
Lenny Bruce pushed buttons. A regular at the clubs in the Village, he was also, arguably, one of the leaders of the counterculture movement in Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and honed his stand up acts gigging in various Village night clubs. The counterculture movement in our neighborhoods during that time helped numerous comedians evolve more personal […]
A remarkable number of people and places in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo played important roles in the move towards women’s suffrage. These neighborhoods were long centers of political ferment and progressive social change, and women and men here played a prominent part in removing barriers to women voting in New York State […]
In 1754, there was no library in New York. Can you believe it? Today we are taking a wonderful journey through our neighborhoods to trace the beginnings of the New York Public Library which came to light through several important institutions, philanthropists, and buildings. With the help of our new Virtual Village map and its […]
On October 22, 1820, a group of Greenwich Village residents gathered at the home of Catherine Ritter.
Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist whose ideas about the human unconscious had a profound effect on literature, art, and philosophy. While he was a longtime corresponder and collaborator with Sigmund Freud, Jung eventually departed from traditional psychoanalysis to explore and document his own unique vision of the human mind, spirit, and personality. Among […]
Some of the most iconic films in history have used New York City as its backdrop. Sweeping dramas, gut-busting comedies, and action/adventure movies have swung through the streets dozens of times (sometimes destroying the city in the process). Because horror films often focus on the monster or an evil entity itself, the location (other than […]
Over 2.4 million New Yorkers, or nearly one-third of its population, identify as Hispanic or Latino, including myself. National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) is one of many occasions that allows us to reflect on the impact that Hispanic and Latino residents and revolutionaries have had on our neighborhoods for over 400 years. Juan […]
One of my favorite things about our neighborhoods is the history that is under our feet and to our side and yet unknown. Case in point is 49-51 Fifth Avenue. Here is a quiet, refined 1920s apartment building, and yet behind that genteel facade it has some really surprising and interesting history. A new building […]
It’s no secret that we are big fans of the New York City Municipal Archives digital collection of all 720,000 of its tax photos of most building in New York City, taken 1939-1941. An intrepid NYer has created a website that mapped each photo to its location, making finding the location of interest exponentially easier […]
The area south of Union Square is the center of an amazing and dynamic collection of histories.
We at Village Preservation keep tabs on all different types of preservation, including environmental sustainability. So we’ve been really interested to learn about the expanding opportunities in our neighborhoods for urban agriculture, and especially beekeeping. There are millions of bees buzzing around the five boroughs of New York City. From the rooftops of high-rises to […]
The East Village is renowned as a place of great cultural innovation over the years. But two of the least well-known great leaps forward with roots in the neighborhood — which amazingly are rooted in the same building which still stands today — are the invention of the modern roller skate, and the beginning of […]
August 18th is the hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, which prohibited discrimination in voting in the United States based upon sex. It was the culmination of generations of effort by dedicated women and men, many of whom lived, worked, wrote, organized, protested, marched, and lobbied in Greenwich Village, the East Village, […]
We here at Village Preservation are in the business (so to speak) of trying to help ensure historic buildings are preserved and, when necessary, adapted and reused rather than destroyed. Historic buildings lend character and tell stories that newer ones typically cannot. But they’re also good for the environment — there’s a truism that the […]
On May 4, 1912, ten thousand people marched for women’s suffrage along Fifth Avenue.
Today, global economic crises are all too familiar and common. A bad day on Wall Street, or a troubling decision by China or the European Union, can send markets tumbling around the world, with the effects felt swiftly and pervasively. That’s because, in the 21st century, news can reach virtually anywhere almost instantaneously, and our […]
Director Nicholas Ray (August 7th, 1911-June 16, 1979) most noted for his celebrated 1955 film Rebel Without A Cause and a string of celebrated and influential (if not always commercially successful) films, was born in Galesville, Wisconsin as Raymond Nicholas Kienzle, Jr. Though not from Greenwich Village, his professional career both began and ended here, […]
In the late 1880s, Brooklyn-born Sarah Smith Garnet helped found the Equal Suffrage League, a Brooklyn-based club for Black women, which worked with the Niagara Movement, a predecessor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP.). She also served as superintendent of the Suffrage Department of the National Association of Colored Women. […]
Ira Frederick Aldridge is today remembered as one of the most renowned actors of the nineteenth century.
We’re in the midst of battling a global pandemic, with a federal government which often seems disinterested at best in addressing the situation and unwilling to take the steps necessary to stop it. Though very different, it’s not the first time we’ve faced such a situation. In the 1980s and 90s, Greenwich Village, the East […]
This homesick Texan is always on the lookout for a tasty taco…! And while I may miss my home state on occasion (mostly because I miss the Tex-Mex food!), I can tell you that there are plenty of tremendous treats right here in our neighborhoods to choose from. It’s time to head out into the […]
In 1965, Village Voice writer Jonas Mekas — founder of the Anthology Film Archive, Village Awardee, and subject of a Village Preservation oral history — wrote: “It is not very often a new film-maker with so much promise comes on to the scene. There are several things that are good about Goldman. First, the mastery […]
In 1626, Paulo d’Angola arrived to New Amsterdam on the first ship bringing enslaved people to this region.
On July 10, 1925, what would come to be known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial” began in Dayton, Tennessee.
Jackson Square Library, one of New York City’s first free circulating libraries, was a gift of George Washington Vanderbilt, III.
Civil War Major General Daniel E. Sickles had one of history’s most contentious, strange, and multifarious biographies.
The Women’s House of Detention, an eleven-story prison in the center of Greenwich Village, closed on June 13th, 1971.
Uta Thyra Hagen had one of the longest and most impressive acting careers in American theater.
Westbeth photographer Shelley Seccombe has been documenting the Greenwich Village waterfront since 1970.
On the 19th of April in 1860, the New York state legislature passed a bill punishing an act, or omission of an act, that caused pain to animals “unjustifiably.” It was a historic step forward in the nineteenth-century movement toward animal protection. Just a few days before the New York legislature passed the animal-welfare act […]
Dr. Robert Hogan, resident of 175 MacDougal Street, started the Irish Emigrant Society in 1841.
In 1983, Michael Konnon decided to create a dedicated, independent community pharmacy.
Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 — December 10, 1990), American industrialist most closely associated with Occidental Petroleum, was born on the Lower East Side to Russian immigrant parents and raised in the Bronx. He was, by all accounts, an eccentric person, prone to flights of extravagance and exaggeration, and well known for his art collection […]
Part of our blog series Why Isn’t This Landmarked?, where we look at buildings in our area we’re fighting to protect that are worthy of landmark designation but somehow aren’t. 60 Fifth Avenue, the former Macmillan Publishing Company Building/the former Forbes Building This eight-story building on the northwest corner of 12th Street and Fifth Avenue is located […]
Our neighborhoods have been the home of many of history’s most important civil rights and social justice leaders, as documented in Village Preservation’s Civil Rights and Social Justice Map. Three of our lesser-known map locations, however, highlight the under-recognized stories of 19th century Chinese American immigrant-rights activists. Some of these influential individuals, families, and organizations […]
Part of our blog series Why Isn’t This Landmarked?, where we look at buildings in our area we’re fighting to protect that are worthy of landmark designation, but somehow aren’t landmarked. 64-66 Fifth Avenue, on the west side of the street between 12th and 13th Streets, is a striking Romanesque Revival structure that was actually built […]
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. On June 17th, 2020 we will be celebrating nine outstanding awardees at our Annual Village Awards — RSVP here to participate virtually. Idlewild Books is an independent New York bookstore and […]
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. More than ever, […]
An Instagram follower recently asked us for clarification about an image we posted from our historic image archive of the long-demolished former home Our Lady of Pompeii Church. She wanted to know exactly where the church was located, and which streets could be seen in the image. Sounds like a simple enough request, right? But […]
Part of our blog series Why Isn’t This Landmarked?, where we look at buildings in our area we’re fighting to protect that are worthy of landmark designation, but somehow aren’t landmarked. “Devonshire House” is a 13-story residential building designed in 1928 by Emery Roth. The Devonshire House design includes an eclectic mix of Beaux Arts […]
The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously operating off-Broadway theater in New York City. Almost as interesting and drama-filled as the incredible plays produced here is rich and varied history of the theater itself — a history that includes gay discos, Barbra Streisand, and thousands of turtles. Let’s dive in!:
For twenty four years, the entire existence of the organization, the International Workers Order (IWO) was headquartered at 80 Fifth Avenue (southeast corner of 14th Street), an elaborately-detailed Renaissance Revival style office building designed in 1908 by Buchman and Fox. This progressive mutual-benefit fraternal organization was a pioneering force in the U.S. labor movement, which […]
A collective supportive response to health disasters or other struggles is not new to our neighborhoods. “Mutual aid” as it’s often called and mutual aid societies have been a hallmark of the communities we work in for over a century, mostly responding to the needs of recently-arrived immigrant communities. Today we take a look at […]
On January 6, 1918, a young Kenneth Burke (May 5, 1897 – November 19, 1993) wrote a letter to his friend, the emerging writer Malcolm Cowley. In the letter, Burke announced that he had decided to drop out of school at Columbia. The decision was motivated not by a desire to end his education, however; […]
As we continue to work through the reality of this new era in our lives, it’s important to remember the creative people in our world and our neighborhoods. They are striving to make sense out of the constrained circumstances we find ourselves in, and still are finding and creating new ways to keep us thinking […]
For most of us right now, traveling the world to explore places or cultures different from our own is not an option. But fortunately through the works of some great Greenwich Village authors, we can safely explore places (and times) very different than our own, and enjoy a bit of the escape we may not […]
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. Deli is short […]
Rita Mae Brown, New York University alumnus & former Greenwich Village resident, has achieved great success in the fields of LGBTQ activism and writing. Her most popular work, “Rubyfruit Jungle,” was one of the first books published that went against gay stereotypes and showcased a lesbian character in a positive manner. Today we look back […]
