For the almost three decades, Tea & Sympathy at 108 Greenwich Avenue has been a fixture in Greenwich Village for greeting, meeting, and eating. Serving tea and traditional British comfort food, this iconic and authentic British eatery is beloved by locals and visited by people from all over the world. In June at Village Preservation’s […]
Christopher Park has been a community gathering place and green oasis in the urban landscape of Greenwich Village for 180 years. In recent decades it has also become a hub and focal point for the LGBTQ community. When the park was neglected, the volunteer organization Christopher Park Alliance (CPA) stepped into the breach. Since its […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Check out our year-long activities and celebrations at gvshp.org/GVHD50. Music is an integral part of the cultural legacy and impact of our neighborhoods! In March 2019 we explored the iconic music venues and punk meccas of the East […]
This Sunday, Village Preservation will hold its 21st annual Spring Benefit House Tour. As this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District, all the homes and the reception site are landmarked structures located within the district. The tour is the main annual fundraiser for Village Preservation, allowing us to conduct hundreds […]
Village Preservation’s 21st Annual Spring House Tour on Sunday, May 5th is right around the corner, and this year’s homes are really special. Additionally, they are all in the Greenwich Village Historic District, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Every year, in addition to a selection of fabulous homes, there is always a special […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. In the years leading up to April 29, 1969, when the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the Greenwich Village Historic District, […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Check out our year-long activities and celebrations at gvshp.org/GVHD50. Walking back to the office after a rally for landmarking the interior of the White Horse Tavern, I saw the most delicious architectural pineapples along West 11th Street. You […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. Rounding up each person, place, and moment in the Greenwich Village Historic District’s LGBTQ history would take longer than it does to line up […]
We recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Greenwich Village Historic District (GVHD50) with a bash in Washington Square Park. But thankfully, there’s even more GVHD fun right around the corner. The actual anniversary is April 29th, when we will be rolling out some truly fantastic online tours of the district, and our 21st Annual […]
Each year, immigrant history week is celebrated in late April, commemorating the day in 1907 when more immigrants came through Ellis Island than any other day in history. More than a few of those immigrants came through Greenwich Village, which has a long and storied history of welcoming newcomers from across the city, country, and […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Check out our year-long activities and celebrations at gvshp.org/GVHD50. Churches are found throughout the Greenwich Village Historic District, and were built as early as 1821, and as late as the 1970s, after the district’s designation in 1969 (one […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. The streets, parks, and squares of the Greenwich Village Historic District are named for a unique collection of historical figures. In honor of the […]
Few places on Earth have attracted more or a broader array of activists and agitators for social change than Greenwich Village. And much of that activity took place right in the heart of the neighborhood in the Greenwich Village Historic District, where that rich history has been preserved through landmark designation for the past half-century. […]
Villager, dancer, and choreographer Merce Cunningham is an artist whose work continues to live vibrantly in 2019, which marks Cunningham’s centennial. The Merce Cunningham Centennial is celebrating a century of artistic expression through events, presentations, and discussions about Merce, dance, and his influence on culture. This Village Preservation Oral History participant will continue to be […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. Walking around Greenwich Village is a treat for those who live, work, or visit here. The unique architecture and character of the neighborhood have […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the designation of The Greenwich Village Historic District (GVHD). The GVHD contains a treasure-trove of history, architecture, […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. One of the city’s oldest and largest landmark districts, […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. The Greenwich Village Historic District is one of New York’s oldest historic districts. As we approach the 50th anniversary of its designation, we’re taking […]
Trying to limit oneself to just 10 of the most charming spots in the Greenwich Village Historic District is truly a fool’s errand. And not one without controversy — since the last column, more than a few disgruntled New Yorkers whose favorites didn’t make the list have reached out (in almost all cases these were places which […]
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. In that sweet spot where Greenwich Village meets […]
How do we love thee? Let us count the ways! I was treated to my very first Off-Broadway show at The Cherry Lane Theatre as a child, and so it holds a very special place in my heart. It is a dream of a little place situated in a landmarked building on one of the […]
The Greenwich Village Historic District literally oozes with charm; so much so, it’s virtually impossible to come up with a top-10 list. But with no insult to sites not included, here is one run at the 10 most charming sites you’ll find in this extraordinarily quaint historic quarter–from good-old classics like the famous stretch of brick […]
If Beale Street Could Talk is the newest release from award-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins. The film is Jenkins’s adaptation of a novella by James Baldwin of the same name. The story, based in 1970s New York City, is about mother-and-wife-to-be Tish, who vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her […]
Napoleon Eugene Charles Henry LeBrun, a prominent and prolific American architect of the late 19th century, was born on January 2, 1821. He began his career in Philadelphia and designed a number of notable buildings there and other Pennsylvania towns. In 1864 he moved his family and his practice to New York City. He would […]
New York City is full of hidden surprises that even the most dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker may not know about. One such example is the elusive “backhouse” or rear house. There are literally scores of these hidden structures throughout the older neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan like Greenwich Village and the East Village. But because they are […]
“For all of us who were worried that the conservative backlash in this country would bring about unnamed terrible things, the future is now.” These words date to November 1980, and were written by activist and journalist Andy Humm following the mass shooting at the Ramrod bar on West Street in Greenwich Village on November […]
On November 1, 1871, one of America’s most influential writers, Stephen Crane, was born in Newark, New Jersey. He is probably best know for his Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage, which he wrote from his home at 61 Washington Square South, part of what was known as “Genius Row” — so named […]
Among the many delights included in this weekend’s Open House New York will be three iconic Greenwich Village buildings–a Gothic Revival church with many architectural firsts, a library that was originally a courthouse which heard the “Trial of the Century,” and a groundbreaking artists’ housing complex that was formerly home to Bell Telephone Labs and the site […]
Gay Street is one of the most charming and picturesque streets in Greenwich Village, an icon of the historic neighborhood’s anachronistic character. But the origins of its name are hotly debated, with the LGBT rights movement and abolitionism often cited as the source of its unusual nomenclature. And while the street certainly has strong connections to […]
The Village is known as one of the oldest parts of New York City, where historic architecture can be found everywhere, and charming houses from a bygone era still stand. Here at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, a perennial question we’re asked is “which is the oldest house in the Village?” It’s a […]
This post is part of a series about Village intersections that correspond to the date. September is here and a new month means a new corresponding Village intersection! Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue is now the site of several large apartment buildings, but did you know it was once the location of the famous Brevoort […]
We recently unveiled the new addition to our Historic Image Archive, Carole Teller’s Changing New York, Part 4, which includes about two hundred fifty images of Greenwich Village, the East Village, NoHo, the Lower East Side, and everywhere from Times Square to the Financial District from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between Carol’s memory and our […]
It’s not often that a building plays a starring role in a major motion picture. But in In Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, which premiered on August 1st, 1954, that is exactly the case. Most people know that Hitchcock set the film in Greenwich Village, but did you know that the location he used as a […]
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. There is something especially welcoming when you […]
In the mid-1970s, New York City was falling apart. Its finances, infrastructure, and social cohesion were, figuratively speaking, crumbling. But in one very tragic case, they were literally crumbling, too. And it all came tumbling down on August 3, 1973, when what was once one of the world’s grandest hotels (which had more recently become known for […]
Architect Alexander Jackson Davis was born on July 24, 1803. Davis, one of the most successful and influential American architects of his generation, is perhaps best known for his association with the Gothic Revival style of architecture and rural settings. Though many surviving examples by Davis exist in upstate New York and at other locales […]
The Village is a very far cry from the Nebraska prairie where Willa Cather spent much of her childhood. But her most productive writing period was indeed while she lived in various apartments in the Village, where she lovingly and vividly wrote about the people and places she knew and cherished from her childhood in […]
They Lived on West 9th Street: Dashiell Hammett is the 4th in a series. Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) is arguably one of the most mysterious and alluring characters of American 20th century literature. Dashing and elusive, he rose from nothing to becoming one of the most celebrated of American writers.
They Lived on West 9th Street: S. J. Perelman is the 3rd in a series. Born in Brooklyn in 1904, S.J. Perelman grew up in Providence RI, the son of a dry goods store owner. Perelman entered Brown University in 1921 but dropped out in order to pursue his dreams in New York City. He […]
On June 28, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, an event that led to the start of World War I. While the Archduke himself bears few of any ties to the Village, WWI had a significant impact on the social and cultural life of the neighborhood and beyond. The atrocities of WWI marked an […]
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision (United States v. Windsor), declared unconstitutional part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defined marriage solely as a legal union between a man and a woman. This landmark case had its roots here in the Village with the […]
Recently, I responded to a portion of a recent “report” by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) that (incredibly, but predictably for REBNY) blamed the retail vacancy crisis impacting our city on landmarking and historic districts. In that case, they misrepresented and inflated the number of days until storefront permit is issued by the […]
This picturesque wintry scene of Christopher Street was painted by Greenwich Village resident and artist Beulah Bettersworth in 1934. Looking west from Hudson Street along Christopher, it shows the Ninth Avenue El Christopher Street Station and St. Veronica’s Church beyond. Currently, this painting is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. […]
Walking through the 11th Street horse-walk into the courtyard of St. John’s in the Village Episcopal Church is like walking through a magical passageway into a holy place. It’s all the more meaningful knowing that this passageway was used by countless anonymous Villagers with HIV/AIDS beginning in the 1990’s, all of whom were on their […]
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, one of Greenwich Village’s most inventive and exciting producers of new works, is partnering with GVSHP, the NYC AIDS Memorial Board, St. John’s in the Village, and the Stonewall Chorale to present a new play by Villager Cusi Cram. With dramaturgy by Villager Guy Lancaster, and starring (former Villager!) Kathleen Chalfant (Angels […]
One of the most radical and influential women of the 19th century changed the course of public health history while living and working in Greenwich Village and the East Village. Elizabeth Blackwell, America’s first female doctor, established cutting-edge care facilities and practices throughout these neighborhoods, the imprint of which can still be felt to this […]
Greenwich Locksmiths, located in the heart of the Greenwich Village Historic District, is one of our 2018 Village Awardees. Located at 56 Seventh Avenue South for the last several decades, this Village fixture and its owner embody what is truly special about our neighborhood.
Jane Jacobs’ birthday on May 4 is marked throughout the world as an occasion to celebrate one’s own city — its history, diversity, and continued vitality. “Jane’s Walks” are conducted across the country to encourage average citizens to appreciate and engage the complex and dazzling ecosystems which make up our cityscapes (Here in NYC, MAS is […]
William Shakespeare is believed to have been born on April 23, 1564, and coincidentally died 52 years later on April 23, 1616. Of course his legacy continues to live on throughout the world, and can certainly be felt right here in Greenwich Village.
There’s no lack of artists deeply associated with New York. But among the many painters who’ve been inspired by our city, perhaps none has had a more enduring and deeper relationship than Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882–May 15, 1967), particularly with Greenwich Village. Hopper lived and worked in Greenwich Village during nearly his entire adult life, […]
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. This ended the life of one of the 20th century’s most revered and influential figures. It also began a 15-year campaign to make Dr. King’s birthday a national holiday — the first-ever honoring an […]
Gerde’s Folk City was a Greenwich Village music venue central to the folk and rock scenes in this neighborhood for a quarter century. Though always moving locations, the club finally came to an end on March 26, 1986 after an iconic 25-year run. Today we take a look back at the history of this once […]
We all know that New York University has an enormous presence in Greenwich Village and the East Village — one that has grown tremendously in recent decades, and is continuing to grow with the construction of their “NYU 2031” expanded campus on the Washington Square Village and Silver Towers superblocks south of Washington Square. The […]
Change in New York is an expected norm, sometimes so constant it almost goes unnoticed. It’s such an ingrained part of the New Yorker’s experience, we often forget just how much our city has transformed, and what we have left behind. To help us remember, we have Carole Teller. A Brooklyn-born artist who’s lived in the […]
Only three months into the year and we have already experienced four Nor’easters here in NYC! Though a definite inconvenience, snow is nothing new to New Yorkers, and many have stories and memories of other winter woes from years gone by and how that affected the city and their neighborhoods. One Nor’easter that has stood […]
Greenwich Village is well known as the home to libertines in the 1920s and feminists in the 1960s and ’70s. But going back to at least the 19th century, the neighborhoods now known as Greenwich Village, the East Village, and Noho were home to pioneering women who defied convention and changed the course of history, […]
1950 was a seminal year in the life of the “last rock star poet,” Dylan Thomas (October 27, 1914 –November 9, 1953). On February 20th of that year the much-celebrated Welsh poet arrived in New York to begin what would be the most exhilarating yet grueling period of his career. The period between 1950 and […]
Greenwich Village has been known throughout its existence for breaking new ground and embracing outsiders. One often-forgotten but important element of that trailblazing narrative is the extraordinary role the Village played in relation to African American history. The neighborhood was home to North America’s earliest free Black settlement in the 17th century, to some of America’s […]
I’ll take Manhattan! If you had to draw a picture of a New York playwright, you would probably draw someone like John Guare. Guare was born on February 5, 1938. A New Yorker’s New Yorker, he has lived in Greenwich Village with his wife, Adele Chatfield-Taylor, for 43 years. In his delightful piece in our […]
This is an updated reposting of a blog by staffer, Matthew Morowitz, January 26th, 2016. Activist, leftist, and radical feminist — these are just some of the words used to describe Angela Davis, a scholar and civil rights leader and fighter who came to prominence in the countercultural era of the 1960’s. Davis was born on January […]
On January 23, 1917, poet Gertrude Drick, painters John Sloan and Marcel Duchamp, and actors Russell Mann, Betty Turner, and Charles Ellis climbed to the top of Washington Square Arch. Drick read a declaration of independence for the “Free and Independent Republic of Washington Square” with the intent of having a neighborhood free from mainstream convention.
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. What’s the West 8th Street stop for […]
The stately church building at 141-145 West 13th Street in the West Village is the picture of serene elegance. Built in 1846-47 in the Greek Revival style, the classical balance and symmetry of the façade mask a history full of controversy, including the birth of a notorious slur in American politics, which arguably changed the […]
In late April of last year, President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at reviewing all National Monuments created under the Antiquities Act since 1996. As the Stonewall National Monument, designated in 2016, would fall within this review, many individuals and advocacy groups have voiced their concerns that the current administration might strip the monument […]
When a woman born into the privileged class bucks the system and comes into her own as an artist and philanthropist, a great story is born. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was decidedly born into the privileged class, on January 9, 1875. But the life she chose for herself was nothing short of revolutionary, having a huge […]
The tenth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City by the Center for an Urban Future (CUF) just came out, and it reveals a 1.8 percent increase in the number of store locations over last year in the city as a whole. You can see the full report here. The report breaks out […]
The former firehouse located at 84 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village is often noted for being the renovated and restored home of TV personality and journalist Anderson Cooper. But it’s just as noteworthy for an unusual history connected to Benjamin Franklin and insurance underwriters, and for not being the kind of firehouse you think it is at all. […]
On January 4, 2017, GVSHP released its report cataloging for the first time in one place all new buildings approved by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in the Greenwich Village Historic District since its designation in 1969 — click HERE to see the report. It’s been updated since its release and to date, we have […]
This is the latest installment of Off the Grid’s series, “My Favorite Things,” in which we showcase some of our very favorite spots around the neighborhood, highlighting the incredible architecture, history, people, and businesses of the Village, East Village, and NoHo; read more HERE. Holiday lights are one of my favorite things ANYWHERE they may […]
Most New Yorkers spend some time underground every day as part of their daily commute, but some spend eternity beneath our streets, and in a few cases occupy some pretty surprising real estate. Manhattan cemeteries are tougher to get into than Minetta Tavern without a reservation on a Saturday night because as far back as 1823, New […]
“These are the times that try men’s souls…” so says the opening line of the first pamphlet of the series, The American Crisis, written by Thomas Paine, which was published on December 19, 1776, in the Pennsylvania Journal. Paine, an eighteenth-century philosopher and author of the Enlightenment, was known as the ‘Father of the American Revolution,’ in large […]
I manage GVSHP’s historic plaque program, through which we place two markers on buildings in our neighborhoods each year, highlighting their cultural or social significance. So I am always interested to see when a building has a similar such commemoration on it. One such plaque on Waverly Place has always caught my eye: “Prior Home […]
Greenwich Village is known as the birthplace of many things – the modern gay rights movement, Off-Broadway theater, the New York School of artists and poets, the “new urbanism” pioneered by Jane Jacobs, among many other trailblazing firsts. Less closely associated with the Village, however, are radical and transformative innovations in transportation technology. But while […]
Jimi Hendrix would have turned 75 this week. In his brief 27 years and even briefer musical career, Hendrix left an indelible mark upon guitar playing and rock music, permanently transforming both art forms. But perhaps in some ways his most lasting impact came from a project completed just three weeks before his death–the opening of Electric […]
I found this cool photo in the archives of Fred McDarrah’s work and the neon sign for “The Village Barn” immediately caught my eye. I had no idea what this place was and, intrigued, I of course, consulted Facebook. Turns out that when the Village Barn closed in the late 1960s, it became the basement […]
Who doesn’t know the opening notes? Who can’t recognize the wild, seething energy behind them? Who hasn’t seen his face, wavering with smoke and mystery? We heard him at concerts and celebrations all over the world. We watched and heard those first stark notes at Woodstock. We see him in his bright, colorful outfits. We […]
Last week I took a break from my normal duties as GVSHP’s Director of Research and Preservation and led about forty people on a tour of Bleecker Street as part of the #ShopBleecker initiative of the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. I confess that I was a bit nervous as this role of tour […]
On November 1, 1967, an enigmatic 20-foot-tall cube first appeared on a lonely traffic island where Astor Place and 8th Street meet. Though several months before the release of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the one-ton Cor-Ten steel sculpture shared many qualities with the sci-fi classic’s inscrutable “black monolith,” at once both opaque and impenetrable and […]
Few structures have had a more far-reaching impact upon the West Village and Chelsea than the High Line. Its construction in 1934, then partial demolition in the early ’60s, and final preservation and conversion into a park a decade ago have profoundly shaped the way these neighborhoods have changed over the last 85 years. And while […]
In a city filled to the brim with galleries, museums, artists’ studios, and, of course, avid art lovers, we’ve all undoubtedly walked by a display of Pop Art at some point. From sidewalk tables of Warhol-esque souvenirs, to t-shirts and tote bags featuring iconic pieces, and even to public works, the over-60-year-old movement is still […]
There’s no shortage of sites in the Village and East Village where great makers of popular music lived or performed. Less well known, however, are the multitude of sites that were the backdrop for iconic album covers, sometimes sources of inspiration for the artists or just familiar stomping grounds. Today, many are hiding in plain […]
Underneath the lyrical and much-admired sherbet-colored facades of the twin lofts at 827-831 Broadway lies a New York tale like no other. Incorporating snuff, sewing machines, and cigar store Indians; Abstract Expressionists; and the “antique dealer to the stars,” it also involves real estate and big money, and the very real threat of the wrecking ball. Ahead, […]
Everyone knows the folk-rock classic “Summer in the City” by the Lovin’ Spoonful, which topped the charts 51 years ago this August in 1966. But fewer know the song’s roots in Greenwich Village–lead singer John Sebastian actually grew up in the neighborhood and the act got their start in the local clubs–and fewer still know […]
Few buildings capture the whimsy, flamboyance, and bohemian spirit of early 20th century Greenwich Village as does the building known as “Twin Peaks” at 102 Bedford Street. Described as a “wonderfully ludicrous mock half-timbered fantasy row-house castle” by architecture critic Paul Goldberger, the present incarnation of the building was born in 1925 as a radical remodeling […]
On August 6, 1966, the first known recording of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” was made by the Miracles. Written by Motown pioneers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, the song was re-recorded several times, most famously by Gladys Night and the Pips and Marvin Gaye, whose version landed on the top of the charts […]
“Bohemian” may be hard to define, but we all know it when we see it. But even in a city like New York, where bohemian can be used to describe everything from a polished West Village cafe to a South Bronx squat, few people know why exactly we today use this term, connected to a […]
The Cornelia Street Cafe which opened its doors in July 1977 needs your help. In 1998, the Cafe was one of the restaurants recognized by GVSHP with one of our annual Village Awards presented to “Cornelia Street Restaurants”. We recently received this email from them: “It is time for us to protect the legacy of the Greenwich […]
Have you heard that chant, or others like it, echoing off Greenwich Village buildings recently? I know I have, because the recent political goings-on have turned our city and country into one giant public space for demonstration. But in the streets of Greenwich Village and the East Village, this is nothing new. Our neighborhoods’ public […]
Politician, feminist and Villager Bella Abzug is featured in our Civil Rights Map. An outspoken advocate to the Equal Rights Amendment and co-founder or the organization Women Strike for Peace, she was also one of the first members of Congress to support lesbian and gay rights. Bella Savitzky Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, […]
Uncertain times bring a certain amount of anxiety. Concern about the future of our basic constitutional rights is something many of us are currently feeling. While the new era of political discourse has raised the specter of silencing citizens, it is good to remember those institutions created to protect our liberties. The ACLU, founded on this […]
GVSHP’s recently published Greenwich Village Historic District New Buildings Report for the first time catalogues every new building approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in the Greenwich Village Historic District, our city’s largest and one of its oldest historic districts. That’s got us thinking a lot about this set of buildings, and what we can learn […]
If you’re walking down the sidewalk and see someone with a small notebook, staring up at a historic building as he jots down a charming sketch of an architectural detail, then you just might have stumbled upon artist Nick Golebiewski. And you might never guess that what Nick’s doing is actually creating content for an […]
2016 is coming to an end. What better way to ring in the New Year than at some of Bob Dylan’s old haunts? Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the most well known (including ones that have moved) so your New Year’s Eve won’t be Blowin’ in the Wind!
This past Saturday and Monday, many dedicated souls braved the winter weather to celebrate the local businesses of Greenwich Village. With tour guide Joyce Gold, GVSHP and our partners at Village Alliance, Washington Square Park Conservancy, and many local businesses, celebrated the holiday cheer and local atmosphere that is abundant in our neighborhood at this […]
On Saturday, December 10, 2016, the extraordinary Patti Smith accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature on behalf of Bob Dylan in Stockholm, Sweden. In a transcendent performance, Smith was overwhelmed with emotion when she stopped mid-performance only to begin again and drive home her powerful rendition of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” to a […]
One of my favorite two-block sections in Greenwich Village may be an unlikely one – East 9th Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue. It’s not the oldest strip in the neighborhood, or the one with the best shops. In fact, it’s home to a rather uniform group of mid-century apartment houses, with almost no ground-floor […]
Halloween is right around the corner, so for this installment of Village People, let’s take a look at a Greenwich Village resident who knew a thing or two about fear and suspense – author Shirley Jackson. During her too-short life, Jackson was a master of the suspense and horror genre, enjoying success during her lifetime […]
Some things never change about New York City life; New Yorkers’ social lives have seemingly always hinged on the restaurants and bars in their neighborhoods. Aside from the very lucky few, most of our apartments are too small to serve as gathering spaces. In fact, many New York apartments don’t have living rooms or common […]
On Wednesday, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation will be hosting a walking tour on Dylan Thomas that will culminate in a visit to the White Horse Tavern on Hudson Street. The tavern is one of Thomas’s favorite haunts and the last place he drank at before he died. It is even rumored that his […]
Here at GVSHP, we have a special connection to Jane Jacobs (May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) — not only because she was on our Board of Advisors until her death in 2006, but because her activism and ideas were so firmly rooted in the Village, and so many of the seminal preservation battles she […]
