On the morning of January 31, 1857 the body of Dr. Harvey Burdell was discovered in his office at 31 Bond Street, strangled and stabbed fifteen times with the walls and doors “besmeared with blood,” according to The New York Times. A search of the building, owned by Dr. Burdell, revealed a bloody towel and […]
As part of NYCLandmarks50, the celebration of this year’s 50th Anniversary of the NYC Landmarks Law, we are taking a look at some of the many and varied individual landmarks in our neighborhood. The Police Athletic League Building at 34 1/2 East 12th Street between University Place and Broadway was built in 1855 for the […]
Last night GVSHP presented a program at the Jefferson Market Library about the history of magic and magicians in our neighborhoods. The speakers were long-time GVSHP supporter Tom Klem and his colleague Richard Cohn. Tom is an artist and historian, and a member of the Society of American Magicians, of which he is the former archivist […]
At this time last year, the Metropolitan Opera was aflame in controversy about an opera production called The Death of Klinghoffer. The eight performances between Oct. 20 and Nov. 15 brought waves of accusation and defense, of every political and artistic variety, over this dramatization of a real-life cruise ship hijacking and murder. In that […]
On October 25, 2011, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted unanimously to landmark Westbeth, following through on a promise made seven years earlier to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) and other community groups working to extend landmark protections in the Far West Village. In 2009, GVSHP’s nomination of Westbeth was accepted […]
Greenwich Village in the early 19th century had a varied mix of racial communities living within its boundaries. As slavery was not formally abolished within New York until 1827, there existed both slave and free black communities, inhabiting an area around the now disappeared Minetta Creek (namesake for Minetta Lane/Minetta Street) known as “Little Africa.” […]
As part of NYCLandmarks50, the celebration of this year’s 50th Anniversary of the adoption of the NYC Landmarks Law in 1965, we took a look at some of the many and varied individual landmarks in our neighborhood. On October 13, 2009 the Ralph and Ann E. Van Wyck Mead House (later Isaac T. Hopper Home […]
This year the city is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Landmarks Law that created the legal framework to preserve for posterity the architectural and scenic treasures that help make our city so aesthetically and culturally rich. In the East Village, two historic cemeteries were designated as individual landmarks in 1969, not long after the […]
Eight years ago today, on October 8, 2007, GVSHP published the report, “The Italians of the South Village” as part of the Historic South Village Preservation Project — you can see and read about the Columbus Day celebration GVSHP held to announce the release of the report here. The purpose of this project was to […]
Our latest examination of honorific street names takes us further into the East Village to 1st Avenue. From 14th Street all the way to Houston, 3 honorifics exist along this avenue: Jodie Lane Place- Located on 11th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A, there is an unfortunately tragic story behind this honorific. Jodie Shonah Lane (1973-2004) […]
The writer we know as Truman Capote was born Truman Streckfus Persons on September 30, 1924 in New Orleans. Although he grew up in the South, he and his family moved to New York in 1933, where he lived until moving to Connecticut in 1939. In 1942 the family returned to New York, and soon […]
The East Village was the first home of the Ferrer Modern School of New York City. First located at 6 St. Marks Place, this school was based on the European model of the Esquela Moderna founded by Catalan educator and anarchist Francisco Ferrer, executed for sedition in 1909. Ferrer espoused education for all regardless of […]
As part of NYCLandmarks50, the celebration of this year’s 50th Anniversary of the NYC Landmarks Law, we are taking a look at some of the many and varied individual landmarks in our neighborhood. The building complex now known as Colonnade Row, first named LaGrange Terrace, was one of the first properties landmarked under the Landmarks Law in […]
As we here at GVSHP have previously discussed, many streets in Greenwich Village bear an honorary secondary name recognizing important people and institutions associated with the Village and its history. These honorary names are given in additional to the street’s standard or existing name, and typically only applies to a specific block. These renamings are implemented by […]
For many people, Labor Day means one last trip to the beach or pool before the unofficial end of summer. Or some need to finish their back-to-school shopping, so it means a day at the stores. How you spend your Labor Day is up to you, but here at Off the Grid we are well […]
On September 1, 1940, Lillian Wald passed away. While not a household name, Wald’s influence on public social services in New York City is exemplary, as she is the founder of the Henry Street Settlement, The Visiting Nurse Services of New York, and is the namesake for the Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D in […]
It’s been over four years since the original It Happened Here: 80’s Music Videos graced the pages of Off The Grid. But like all good sequels, this one hopes to be worth the wait. These last dog days of summer often make one think of their misspent youth; and what better way to see how much […]
Dive bars and dead prostitutes! While these could be plot points in any Hollywood movie, back in the late 19th century these unwholesome characteristics gave the infamous McGurk’s Suicide Hall its name. Originally located at 295 Bowery (between Houston and East 1st Street) and opened in 1893, McGurk’s was the latest in a string of […]
Greenwich Village has long been associated with the arts and countercultural movements. Former publishing house Grove Press in particular exemplifies this history. Founded in 1947 and named for its location on Grove Street in Greenwich Village, Grove Press rose to prominence after it was purchased by Barney Rosset Jr. in 1951. Though the original location is not […]
Last night GVSHP held a public program co-sponsored by The Merchants House Museum; The Merchant’s House Museum – A Tale of Survival, a lecture and slideshow with Michael Devonshire. The Merchants House is one of only a handful of interior and exterior NYC landmarks, and is one of the first designated NYC landmarks. Michael Devonshire is a commissioner at the […]
Here at Off the Grid we are primarily concerned with Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, but tomorrow we will be happy to help our neighbors celebrate an important anniversary. It was on August 14, 1973, that the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District.
The hyped musical “Hamilton” opened on Broadway last weekend to rave reviews. The excitement surrounding the musical and the legacy of Alexander Hamilton, one of the United States’ Founding Fathers, has us reflecting back on Village history and preservation related to the famed New Yorker (and his rival, Aaron Burr). 54 MacDougal Street Located in […]
On this day, 45 years ago, the famous McSorley’s Old Ale House at 15 East 7th Street (just east of Cooper Square) in the East Village admitted its first female patron following a discrimination lawsuit by the National Organization for Women. GVSHP 2015 Village Award Winner Barbara Shaum was the bar’s neighbor and became the bar’s […]
Police brutality, class warfare, gentrification — today these are hot button topics, both nationally and in New York City. But on August 6, 1988, frustrations over these issues converged in the form of protest and riots in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. These protests reflected somewhat the shifting nature of the park and the neighborhood […]
The Ashcan School refers to a loosely knit group of urban realist painters based in New York City during the early 20th century. Founded by artist and teacher Robert Henri in Philadelphia around 1891, the movement attracted a gathering of newspaper illustrators including George Luks, John Sloan, William Glackens*, and Everett Shinn. Artists of the […]
If you have ever noticed the beautiful row houses along MacDougal Street and Sullivan Street between Houston Street and Bleecker Street, these are part of the MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District. There are 22 houses included in the district. The addresses are 74-96 MacDougal Street and 170-188 Sullivan Street. The houses were built in 1844 (MacDougal […]
Twenty years ago today the movie ‘Kids’ was released. The film is about a day in the lives of a group of New York City teenagers. The film received more than its share of negative reviews and accusations of exploiting and sensationalizing its teenage subjects. But unsurprisingly a movie about young people being independent and participating in adult activities […]
Great Jones Street is located between Lafayette Street and the Bowery and is named for Samuel Jones, who was born on July 26th, 1734. Jones was born in what is now Massapequa and educated in Hempstead. He spent part of his youth with the Merchant Marines before deciding to settle down and study law. At the […]
We received several emails from readers asking about the history of their building following our post about Bagatelle. 95 Horatio Street, aka “The West Coast” is a 320-unit rental property that takes up almost a full block from Horatio Street to Gansevoort Street and Washington Street to West Street. This property encompasses nine lots that were […]
Today there are many ways for us to access the news: radio, print, television and internet. However, back in 1899 the only way to get the news besides word-of-mouth was to read it in the newspaper. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, young children (mostly boys – but girls too) called newsies would […]
On July 9th, 1819, Rose Butler was executed in the Potter’s Field located in what is now Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Rose, a nineteen year old black female slave, was convicted of arson. She had set fire to the residence of her owners, though there were no reported injuries or casualties other than […]
Many people know the restaurant Bagatelle located at 1 Little West 12th Street for their lavish brunch parties, where as one recent brunch reviewer stated “I’ve never seen so many bottles of Dom Perignon ordered in my life”. Bagatelle helped changed the face of NYC brunch in 2008 from a laid back Sunday afternoon meal to a […]
Last week’s landmark Supreme Court decision ruling that same-sex couples can marry nationwide occurred nearly 46 years to the day after the famed Stonewall Inn Riot. Supporters continue to show their elation with rainbow colored-everything – from banners and socks to layer cake and even a Facebook app that lets you shade your profile picture […]
There are many reasons to celebrate the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States. Not only did she change the role from passive hostess to active political leader, she also became an outspoken politician in her own right. During her time as First Lady (from 1933 to 1945), Eleanor Roosevelt […]
On May 29th, 1913, the revolutionary musical and dance composition “The Rite of Spring,” by Igor Stravinsky, was first publicly performed at Paris’ Theatre des Champs Elysees. To say the world of music and dance was shaken as a result would be no exaggeration. The composition is considered a landmark of modern, avante-garde classical music, with its […]
On this day, April 30th, in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America. After leading the Continental Army to victory over Britain in the War for Independence, Washington was a popular leader and logical choice. His first inauguration took place right here in New York City, at […]
A friend of mine – and unabashed New York City chauvinist – has been known to observe a street in Manhattan and pronounce something like, “There’s more style on this one block than in all of Ohio.” (Sorry, Ohio.) Well, if that’s true, then Lower East Side History Month, beginning May 1, has more creativity, […]
This past week we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law, but there are many other anniversaries to celebrate this time of year as well. And when spring bursts on the scene with the colorful forsythia, daffodils, and tulips, it feels like the whole city is celebrating something. Today is the […]
Today is the 184th anniversary of the incorporation of NYU. Originally chartered as the “University of the City of New-York”, in 1831 admission was open to all during a time when most universities only admitted members of the privileged classes. The founders of NYU imagined a non-denominational center of higher learning that would be open to all […]
A lot can happen in 50 years, and many of us are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law. It was signed into law on April 19, 1965, by Mayor Robert Wagner after much work by early preservationists, motivated in part by the demolition of the original Penn Station. Since then, […]
Tax Day may not be our favorite day of the year. But it bears an important connection to one of our favorite Far West Village landmarks. Before the U.S. Income Tax was enacted in 1913, the majority of the Federal budget drew its support from custom duties, largely on tariffs from goods imported through U.S. […]
On April 8, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act. This act granted the President the authority to establish programs such as the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration, later renamed the Work Projects Administration) to combat the Great Depression. There are many great examples of the W.P.A.’s efforts throughout the Village and East Village.
The history of Broadway is a diverse one. In our neighborhood, this famous thoroughfare has seen upscale townhouses be replaced by store-and-loft buildings, many of which have since been converted to apartment buildings. For a long period of time, clothing manufacturing was prevalent here. And where there was clothing manufacturing there were always sewing machines. […]
On March 23, 1896, a law introduced by New York State Senator John Raines was passed by the state legislature, making the sale of liquor illegal on Sundays, except at hotels. The law defined a hotel as a place that served food and had at least 10 rooms to let, so rather than shut down, […]
Happy birthday to the Manhattan Street Grid! Hailed by many historians as “the single most important document in New York City’s development,” the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, better known as the original Manhattan Street Grid, was adopted on March 22, 1811! Well before Google Maps navigated our way through the city, the Grid was there […]
It’s easy to see, from the many blogs devoted to the subject, that New Yorkers are fans of our local hawks. These raptors add notes of wildness and grace to our busy days, amidst the city’s manmade grit and tumult. Did you know the hawks themselves are fans of notable architecture, as well? Let’s take […]
Built in 1886, Webster Hall was designated a New York City landmark on a March 18, 2008. According to the Landmarks Designation Report,Webster Hall is “one of New York City’s most historically and culturally significant large nineteenth-century assembly halls.”
GVSHP is marking March, Women’s History Month, with some great public programs. But today I am going to focus on two men who helped to shape the history, geography, and culture of Greenwich Village and the East Village. On March 12, 1922, in Lowell, Massachusetts, Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac, known to us as Jack Kerouac, […]
Free Image from Creative Commons The Jones-Shafroth Act, which conferred United States citizenship upon residents of Puerto Rico and set the stage for the huge migration of Puerto Ricans to NYC following WWII, was enacted on March 2, 1917. In 1945, there were 13,000 Puerto Ricans in New York City. Within 10 years this number […]
It was on March 3, 1967, that Ingrid and Sven Bernhard purchased the lot at 121 Charles Street in the West Village. It was just a vacant lot, but that’s what they needed. You see, the Bernhards had just acquired the house of their dreams, a charming little old wooden farmhouse. You might think I’m […]
I have often noticed these old drinking fountains on historic buildings – there is one at the Jefferson Market Library on the corner of 6th Avenue and 10th Street, one at St. Mark’s Church, on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 10th Street, and one at Judson Memorial Church at the corner of Washington Square […]
We have been busy here at GVSHP! We started the year with a program by art historian Avis Berman about artist William Glackens, a painter who lived most of his life near Washington Square, and who was a member of the so-called “Ashcan School” of painters that included John Sloan and Robert Henri. Then my […]
Today we’d like to wish 203 Prince Street a happy “landmark” birthday. On this day 41 years ago, in 1974, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated 203 Prince Street an individual landmark. The building is located in the South Village, a neighborhood you can learn more about on our Preservation page.
Having recently completed my undergraduate degree in architectural and urban history, I have been exploring options for further education in the discipline. During my research in the academic backgrounds of notable persons in the profession, I was particularly struck by Jane Jacobs’s lack of qualified training in city planning. This revelation sparked a curiosity in […]
Today, the building that houses the Salmagundi Club at 47 Fifth Avenue is a bit of an odd duck. At four-and-a-half stories, the 1853 Italianate style rowhouse is sandwiched by taller apartment buildings on either side. To someone walking by, the stately old brownstone may almost look like the Little House from the Stuart Little […]
In celebration of Black History Month, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation will host several public programs this month with specific focus on the history of the African-American community in Greenwich Village. On Monday, February 9, archivist David Pultz will give an illustrated lecture at the First Presbyterian Church on the unique history of the former […]
(This post is part of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) We don’t usually associate Aaron Burr with the Village. (I personally always associate him with New Jersey, where he was born, where he killed Alexander Hamilton, and […]
(This post is the first of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) 453 6th Avenue is an apparently unremarkable building, now home to a noodle shop. Before being renumbered in the 1920s, this was 145 Sixth Avenue. Murray […]
On April 19, 1965 that the New York City Landmarks Law went into effect. GVSHP and many other organizations are celebrating this 50th anniversary all year long. Visit the website of NYC Landmarks 50 to see more. We have written in the past here on Off the Grid about the demolition of the original Penn […]
This post is the third in a three-part series about holidays held in the Village, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2014 Intro to Public History course. In conjunction with the public program held on Wednesday, December 17th, each group was also tasked with sharing their discoveries with us on Off […]
This post is the first in a three-part series about holidays held in the Village, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2014 Intro to Public History course. In conjunction with the public program held on Wednesday, December 17th, each group was also tasked with sharing their discoveries with us on Off […]
Christopher Street is the place most of us look to when it comes to LGBTQ history in New York. It is the site of the Stonewall Uprising, with the second Stonewall Inn, the Gay Liberation Monument, and the Gay Street photo-op all within a few steps of each other. However, there are also a number […]
Much of the Village Voice from the 1950s to the mid-2000s is available to view online via a Google digitization project. The huge trove of scanned newspapers helps reveal the changes that have occurred over fifty years to the architecture of the neighborhood, to music and culture, to local businesses, to politics, to the concerns […]
For today’s Building Broadway post, we thought we’d take a look at the former McCreery’s Dry Goods Store at the corner of Broadway and 11th Street. Featuring this building is particularly timely because it was one of four “calendared” buildings in our neighborhoods that was, until very recently, scheduled to be “de-calendared” by the Landmarks […]
Union Square is known today as a site of public gathering and for expressions of discontent. This is built upon Union Square’s rich, multi-layered history as a public space in Manhattan. The name of the park comes from its location within the downtown area, placed between, or at the “union,” of the then-Bloomingdale Road and […]
In the 1890s, the Bowery, like Bleecker Street, was a center of ‘gay’ nightlife in New York City. On Bleecker Street, the Black Rabbit and the Slide did business, offering live sex shows and male prostitutes. On the Bowery, Manilla Hall and Little Bucks, like the Slide, served as ‘fairy resorts,’ where male prostitutes waited […]
Since 1988, December 1 has marked a day of awareness for the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS. World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and to commemorate those who have […]
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we thought that we should share a brief history of the original New Yorkers, the Lenape. When the Dutch arrived in New York in 1624, there were approximately 15,000 Lenape Indians living on Manhatta, translated as “the island of many hills.” It was later renamed by the Dutch “Manhattan.” Although […]
With the approach of Thanksgiving this week, we here at Off the Grid are taking stock of all the things we have to be thankful for. For many, the Thanksgiving holiday is a time to share with friends and family. It is also a time for reflection and giving. So I thought I would begin […]
We often hear of historic districts, individual landmarked buildings and State and National Register sites. But did you know that there are sixty-two lampposts and four wall bracket lamps that have also achieved designated landmark status in New York City? (Of course, there are several more that are protected within historic districts or are on […]
An early twentieth-century song entitled ‘The Greenwich Village Epic’ declares: ‘Fairyland’s not far from Washington Square.’ By this time, park police had arrested men for having sex with male partners multiple times in Washington Square Park, as they had in Central Park, Battery Park, Tomkins Square Park, and seemingly just about every other park in […]
Off the Grid has explored the many memorials in the Village dedicated to those who died in wars over the years for both Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Of course Veterans Day is a day of remembrance AND thanks, as it honors all those who have served in the military, wartime or peace. For many […]
Lou Reed’s classic paean to downtown New York and some of the more prominent characters that occupied that space and time, Walk on the Wild Side, was released on November 8, 1972. At the time, Walk on the Wild Side was groundbreaking in many ways — musically, lyrically, thematically. Though it’s now comfortably middle-aged, the song […]
The Village is quiet today, as if enjoying a lull after the storm of elections. After months of predictions telling us the likely outcome, the predictions mostly came true, and it’s over — whether one feels that’s for better or worse. So – a collective sigh. And, in the lull, here’s a gentler look back […]
The tenement at 342 East 11th Street has quite an attractive façade, for those who can will themselves to look up past the delightful display of pastries in the window of Veniero’s, the Italian bakery and café on the ground floor. The building was constructed 1865-66. Because it was built to house multiple families before […]
(This post is the first of a series on the history of the LGBTQ community in Greenwich Village.) It is easy to assume, in the aftermath of the Stonewall riots, that Greenwich Village’s LGBTQ history happened entirely on Christopher Street. Of course, there’s a lot more to LGBTQ history in the Village than Stonewall, just […]
Earlier this month the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved a revised design for a new building at 192 7th Avenue South, corner of West 11th Street. It will replace a one-story structure. This is the second of two new buildings that the LPC has approved on 7th Avenue South this past year, no. 130 being […]
This October, GVSHP is presenting a course that explores historic preservation by examining changing styles of housing, changing housing laws, and urban renewal in the twentieth century. While the course was developed specifically for practicing real estate brokers, I was reminded while sitting in on a recent lecture how much these issues are relevant (and […]
The produce spilling out into the street and the haphazard awnings in the above 1925 photo of Bleecker and Christopher Streets is quite different from the Bleecker Street scene of today. Though the commercial tenants on the street have certainly changed, the corner building, with its interesting window design, has a long history.
Today on “A Tale of Two” I actually have three tenements to share and compare. This group can be found on the south side of East 13th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. If you’re familiar with tenement design and have a tendency to admire buildings like I do, you might have noticed that these […]
Have you ever walked by an unattractive building and thought – or maybe heard an innocent ask – “How could they allow that to be built?” Well, unfortunate edifices are allowed to be built because usually there is no “they” – no arbiter of aesthetics for as-of-right new construction outside of landmarked areas (beyond […]
By the turn of the twentieth century it is estimated that almost 75,000 horses and 4,500 stables could be found in New York City. Before the mass-adoption of the car and truck, horses played a vital role in the transportation economy of the city. Though today horses are largely absent from the city’s streets, their […]
Last night, GVSHP presented a free public program with James & Michelle Nevius, authors of the new book, “Footprints in New York”. James & Michelle are historians and tour guides who offer historic walking tours of many different New York City neighborhoods, but last night’s program focused on people and places of Greenwich Village. At […]
This post is part of the Looking Up series, which explores the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our gaze above the sidewalk, the storefront, and the second floor. The Washington Square Arch is something that many people who live in the neighborhood can easily take for granted. […]
There are only a few seats left for tomorrow evening’s program with photographer Richard Blair and his new book New York 1969. Richard moved from New York to California in 1969 – he was official photographer of Yosemite National Park in the 1970s – but before he left, he photographed street scenes of New York, […]
Much of the Village Voice from the 1950s to the mid-2000s is available to view online via a Google digitization project. The huge trove of scanned newspapers helps reveal the changes that have occurred over fifty years to the architecture of the neighborhood, to music and culture, to local businesses, to politics, to the concerns […]
Labor Day was created as a federal holiday in 1894, and according to the US Department of Labor, is a national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. The first Labor Day celebration took place in New York City in 1882, when workers marched from City […]
I think I’m infatuated with Greenwich Village’s Hudson River waterfront. I can’t seem to get enough of it. Last month our good friend Dr. Robin Nagle spoke about the history of the Hudson River waterfront and its historic and current role in New York City sanitation. In June, one of our Village Award winners was […]
From its days as beer-loving Kleindeutschland to the throngs of SantaCon attendees today, the East Village has been known – for good or ill – as a place where it’s not difficult to find a drink. It’s partly that reputation that resulted in the placement of a unique piece of functional art in the neighborhood’s […]
Today on Map It! we’re unearthing some old maps and photos of Lewis Street, which once ran diagonally from Grand Street to East 8th Street between Avenue D and the East River. It was almost completely de-mapped in the mid-20th century to make way for three public housing complexes: the Jacob Riis Houses (built 1945-49) […]
On July 3, 1981, the New York Times ran a small story with perhaps one of the most foreboding and portentous headlines in modern history: “Rare cancer seen in 41 homosexuals.” Of course this was one of the very first published reports dealing with what has come to be known as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) […]
We have two great birthdays in the world of punk to mark. The two celebrants straddle the East and West Village, and both sides of the Atlantic.
This week we have two milestone anniversaries that relate to my old stomping grounds, Carmine Street. On this date, May 6, in 1908, the public bathhouse that is now the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center opened. Today this is at the 7th Avenue South end of Carmine Street, but in 1908, 7th Avenue South didn’t exist. […]
Forty-five years ago today, mayor John Lindsay was still smarting from the botched cleanup of the February 1969 snowstorm, The 5th Dimension was at the top of the pop charts with Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, and the newly created Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the Greenwich Village Historic District. It also produced a historic district […]
It was almost 150 years ago this evening that President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington. The event was the first assassination of an American president and sent shock waves throughout the nation. A period of mourning set in for weeks, and included viewings of the […]
Tomorrow marks the 103rd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, the 1911 disaster that killed 146 workers and sparked a movement for workplace safety laws and regulations and a new appreciation for the labor union movement. The fire took place in what was then called the Asch Building (now known as the Brown Building) […]
Over the last several weeks GVSHP has been taking a look at the designation report for the new South Village Historic District which we fought ten years to achieve. As February is African-American History Month, now seems like an especially appropriate time to highlight the African-American history of the South Village, the subject of a […]
This post is the first of a four-part series called Everyday Lives, Ordinary People: A History of East Village Immigrants, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2013 Intro to Public History course. Each group of students was tasked with researching the cultural history of everyday people in the East Village between […]
We’re excited to share that the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted today to landmark the South Village Historic District, a two hundred forty-building, thirteen-block section of Greenwich Village south of Washington Square Park, and the second phase of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation’s (GVSHP) proposed South Village Historic District (the first phase […]
The United States Senate’s historic passage yesterday of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, has deep roots in a house in the South Village at 186 Spring Street — a hotbed of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) civil rights activity in the post-Stonewall […]
