Village Preservation’s proposed South of Union Square Historic District was named one of the “Seven to Save” by the Preservation League of NY State for 2022-2023. The area is full of striking late 19th and early 20th century loft buildings, late 19th century hotels, early 20th century apartment buildings, and mid-19th century institutional buildings. Some […]
Founded in 1969 by activists Ellen Willis and Shulamith Firestone, the Redstockings were one of the first Women’s Liberation groups, known for their then-radical support of a woman’s right to an abortion. Based in New York City, their name is a portmanteau of “Bluestockings,” an 18th century women’s literacy group, and “Red,” then a color […]
On May 4th, 1626, Dutch Explorer Peter Minuit landed on the island known to its indigenous population as Manahatta, orchestrating what has often been referred to as the “purchase” of the island for the Dutch (the indigenous people of course had no concept of land “ownership,” and likely saw the gifts as a token of […]
The neighborhood South of Union Square is a true crossroads — where art, politics, industry, commerce, the New York elite, and the working class collided to create an eclectic culture and built environment that helped shift the center of the global art world to New York City. In addition to its namesake social realist art […]
The Weehawken Street Historic District (designated May 2, 2006) consists of a small area on three blocks around West, Christopher, and 10th Streets. Although primarily known for its relation to New York City’s maritime industry from the 1830s to 1920s, the tiny district was also the center of New York’s Queer Leather and Denim (L&D) […]
The Greenwich Village Historic District (GVHD) was designated (landmarked) on April 29, 1969. The district holds some of the most important and beautiful parts 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 […]
Spoilers ahead for the first and second season of “Russian Doll” limited TV series Our neighborhoods have long been seen as a refuge and melting pot for immigrants of all nations and origins. Eastern and Southern Europeans and Chinese immigrants created communities within the heart of the Lower East Side, while Italians and African Americans […]
As Village Preservation prepares to unveil a plaque commemorating the “Sip-In” at Julius’ Bar on April 21, 1966, one might wonder about the Mattachine Society of New York, which organized this historic event as part of their broader participation in the 1945-1969 Homophile Movement in New York City and beyond. We know the leaders of […]
Christopher Moore (b. January 20, 1952, d. March 13, 2022, of complications from COVID and pneumonia) was a curator, archivist, author, storyteller, researcher, and the longest-serving member of New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, from 1995 to 2015. Moore became a notable fixture in the New York City preservation movement through his work to preserve […]
On April 19, 1965, New York City passed its landmarks law. While credit for passage of this law is often attributed to the demolition of Penn Station, the tragic loss of that beautiful Beaux Arts monument was just another straw on the proverbial camel’s back. The ability to protect our important built history which came […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were […]
“What we can see out in the sunlight is always less interesting than what we can perceive taking place behind a pane of windowglass. In that pit, in that blackness or brightness, life is being lived, life is suffering, life is dreaming….” Baudelaire, Windows The pandemic has been, for many of us, the defining […]
The neighborhood South of Union Square has no shortage of trailblazers in the arts, architecture, commerce, and social justice. Architects, like James Renwick, Jr., Louis Korn, Goldwin Starrett of Starrett & Van Vleck, and Albert Buchman of Buchman & Fox for example, typically get the lion’s share of the accolades for the design and construction […]
The Historic District South of Union proposed by Village Preservation has many amazing buildings designed by great architects of the 19th and 20th centuries. We have previously (and extensively) highlighted the work of James Renwick Jr. in the area. But many other incredibly accomplished architects — some of equal prominence and standing to the renowned […]
This is the latest installment in our Gilded Village blog series. The Gilded Age was a time of contradictions and change: extreme wealth and desperate poverty; political stability and corruption; venal greed and generous philanthropy; social retrenchment and reform; an ever-more powerful establishment and a rising immigrant class. Nowhere were the paradoxes and churn of […]
Anna Gullo, a survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, believed, “In America, they don’t let you burn.” But the tragic events of March 25, 1911 proved her wrong. So did the failure to prosecute Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the factory owners who locked the factory doors to protect their profits rather than their […]
Greenwich Village has long been a mecca and incubator for radical social justice advocates. With Village Preservation’s interactive map of the Greenwich Village Historic District as well as our Civil Rights and Social Justice Map, we can take a virtual walk through the neighborhood to visit significant sites related to many of these remarkable activists. […]
A self-proclaimed “gay superhero,” Stormé Delarverie (≅ December 24, 1920 – May 24, 2014, Pronouns: she/her in public, he/him in performance) was a drag king, bouncer, and neighborhood activist who outspokenly protected LGBTQ+ communities in our neighborhoods and Lower Manhattan. Pronounced “Stormy De-Lah-vee-yay,” she made a name for herself as the (alleged) spark that started […]
Irish Catholic immigrants to New York were one of the earliest and largest major immigrant groups to our city, outside of the Protestant immigrants from the United Kingdom who were much more readily accepted as “Americans.” They came here in ever-increasing numbers from the 18th century, seeking food security, jobs, religious and political freedom. Upon […]
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Following decades of activism, the 19th Amendment was adopted on August 18, 1920. Unsurprisingly, many people and organizations located in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo […]
The unprotected area South of Union Square for which we are seeking landmark status has no shortage of trailblazers in the arts and architecture, in commerce, and those who fought in the arena for equality and advancement. Some were very prominent figures like W.E.B. DuBois, Jackson Pollock, Billie Holliday, and Martha Graham. Others, however, made […]
Village Preservation’s offices are located next to the East Village’s wonderful “Little Ukraine” neighborhood. One of the most eye-catching Ukrainian institutions in our neighborhood is just a few doors down from our home in the rectory of St. Mark’s Church In-the-Bowery: All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church at 206-208 East 11th Street. The parish grew out […]
The announcement of rooftop additions in our beloved historic districts frequently – and rightfully so in most cases – causes a surge of anxiety for preservationists. We do everything we can to make sure that the addition does not disrupt the historic streetscape from the public right of way, is aesthetically appropriate to the design […]
Telling the stories of incarcerated young men in the 1960s, Fortune and Men’s Eyes was a drama written by John Herbert in 1967 to process and analyze his own experience in Canada’s prison system. It was produced by Greenwich Villager and LGBTQIA+ rights activist David Rothenberg at the Actor’s Playhouse at 100 Seventh Avenue So., […]
Few people are as closely associated with Greenwich Village as Edna St. Vincent Millay. After all, the neighborhood appears in her name – her middle name, St. Vincent, honored the hospital located on West 11th Street where her uncle’s life was saved just before she was born. In fact, she often referred to herself as […]
Greenwich Village has long been the home of many of New York City’s most radical social justice advocates. With Village Preservation’s interactive map of the Greenwich Village Historic District we can take a virtual walk through the neighborhood to visit the homes of many of these remarkable activists. One recent addition to that map is […]
Hugh Hurd was a longtime village resident who worked across the arts, labor, and civil rights movements to influence major shifts in how African Americans are treated in America.
Our historic image archive is full of thousands of images that give us unique insights into New York City life. Recent additions show drag performances in the 1990s, the HighLine before it became a world-famous park and tourist attraction, and changes to our surrounding architecture over the years. The Robert Fisch collection is our most […]
This is one in a series of posts discussing the role that Greenwich Village played in the development of Modern American Theatre. Click here to read more. Why is the name Susan Glaspell so rarely invoked when discussing the birth of modern American Drama? Or American letters? In fact, she was quite well known in her […]
Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were challenging accepted American social and cultural ideals. The release on February 8, 1915 of The Birth of a Nation — a silent white supremacist propaganda film credited with both resurrecting the Ku Klux […]
East Villager and Harlemite Nellallitea “Nella” Larsen (neé Walker, 13 April 1891 – 30 March 1964) was an American novelist who contributed to the Harlem Renaissance and American Modernism literary movements. Born to a Danish mother and Afro-Caribbean father, Larsen identified as mixed race, and her two novels, Quicksand (1928) and Passing (1929), explore race […]
As we continue to research the area south of Union Square, we uncover more incredibly important history along these streets. One example is the longtime presence of the National Negro Congress and the Southern Negro Youth Congress at 35 East 12th Streetreet. This nine-story brick loft building was erected in 1896 by builder P. Gallagher […]
While our blogs typically focus on the history of our neighborhoods and the incredible trailblazers who came before us, it is particularly satisfying to write about great artists who are still among us. David Amram is one of those extraordinary people. Village Preservation conducted an oral history with Mr. Amram on January 28, 2014, and […]
Originally constructed as a private mansion in the 1850s, 240 West 14th Street became a hub of Social Realist painting in the 1930s when a large group of artists loosely affiliated with the Art Students League and the Fourteenth Street School began renting numerous studios in the building. The Social Realist movement was crucial to […]
The Hudson Park Library, which opened on January 24, 1906, is one of Manhattan’s twenty remaining Carnegie libraries. This red brick structure was designed by the renowned architectural firm of Carrere & Hastings (who just a few years later would design and build the main branch of the New York Public Library at 42nd Street), […]
As we continue to research the historically and architecturally significant area South of Union Square, we uncover more important history that unfolded in the area every day. Recently, we discovered the presence of philanthropist, businessman, and Irish immigrant Andrew Carrigan, who helped transform the lives of Irish immigrants in New York in the 19th century, […]
Greenwich Village and surrounding neighborhoods have played host to some of the most significant artists and art movements of the 20th century. One of the most well-known artists of the 20th century, Edward Hopper, lived and worked at 3 Washington Square North. His iconic painting Nighthawks, 1942, was likely based on a diner at 7th […]
Founded by artists and partners Alan Barrows and Dean Savard in 1982, Civilian Warfare is one of the most under-interpreted yet incredibly influential galleries in the East Village’s art scene. Barrows and Savard started the gallery during the height of the Regan Era and the HIV/AIDS Crisis, when the East Village was plagued by rampant […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were […]
Lillian Hellman, the playwright, memoirist, and novelist, was born in New Orleans on June 20, 1905. Her family moved to New York City when she was 5 years old, but continued to travel back and forth to New Orleans throughout her childhood. Hellman attended New York public schools while the family was in residence in […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were challenging […]
As we close the chapter on yet another wild and successful of year of public programs at Village Preservation, we wanted to take the time to reflect and highlight some of 2021’s best moments. Despite the twists and turns of this year’s ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, we’ve hosted 80 different educational lectures, book talks, and walking […]
Often times we don’t know the source of holiday traditions, we just do them, like how we hang mistletoe, or hide a pickle on a Christmas tree. But the Christmas lighting of Renwick Row is one tradition that we know who and when it was started. In 1976, an interior designer decided to decorate his […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were challenging accepted […]
On the corner of East 79th Street and 5th Avenue stands a 19th-century chateau that wouldn’t be out of place in the Loire Valley, yet seems just as comfortable on the Upper East Side. It’s been home to the Ukrainian Institute of America for nearly seven decades, but thanks to its previous inhabitants, this historic structure also holds an interesting connection with the early days of Greenwich Village and New York City.
While the name of John Hammond Sr. (December 15, 1910 – July 10, 1987) might be unfamiliar to some, as a talent scout, producer, musicologist, broadcaster, journalist, and mentor, he helped the world to discover artists from Billie Holiday to Bob Dylan and scores more in between. Hammond was absolutely one of the most transformative figures […]
The inspirational and unforgettable Anna Sokolow (February 9, 1910 – March 29, 2000) danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company at 64-66 Fifth Avenue between 1930 and 1939 before going on to reshape and spread the gospel of modern dance across the world. As a performer, choreographer, and teacher, Sokolow had an extraordinary influence on […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were […]
Greer Lankton (she/her, April 21, 1958 – November 18, 1996) was an East Village-based multidisciplinary artist who worked in illustration, photography, and sculpture. She’s mostly known for creating lifelike paper-mache dolls of celebrities, and she explored themes around celebrity iconography, beauty standards, and the white feminine ideal. While not all of her dolls were of […]
The trailblazing playwright and author Terrance McNally lived for decades with his husband Tom Kirdahy at 29 East 9th Street in the area of Greenwich Village South of Union Square before his death from COVID 19 in 2020. McNally was called “the bard of American theater” by the New York Times and “one of the […]
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. Ayo Harrington has been […]
Day Without Art was Visual AIDS’ first major event. It launched on December 1, 1989 as “a day of action and mourning.” Thousands of arts institutions and organizations around the world organized to illustrate the true loss of art and artists created by AIDS epidemic, and demonstrate the power of art to raise awareness of the ongoing AIDS pandemic.
Abbie Hoffman, born Abbot Howard Hoffman on November 30, 1936, was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party (“Yippies”) and was a member of the Chicago Seven. A leader of the counterculture movement of the late 1960s and a vocal anti-war proponent, it is no wonder that he found himself in […]
Candy Darling (She/Her, November 24, 1944 — March 21, 1974) was a transgender icon and muse for well-known artists and musicians like Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground. Darling was an influential Downtown character throughout the 1960s, often interacting with its creative scene through Seymour Levy’s “Salon” on Bleecker Street. She was one of Andy […]
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. Colette Smith Douglas, born […]
David Werner Amram III is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings. He plays piano, French horn, Spanish guitar, and pennywhistle, sings, and is passionate about teaching music to newer generations. In 2014, Village Preservation conducted an oral history with Amram that explores his childhood, adolescent inspirations, young adulthood in Greenwich Village, amazing […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were […]
The neighborhood #SouthOfUnionSquare can be characterized as a true crossroads — where art, politics, industry, commerce, the New York elite, and the working class collided to create an eclectic built environment and cultural ferment emblematic of New York City’s status as America’s “melting pot.” While some have cited this eclecticism as a reason why the […]
The story of Curious George is so much more than that of one of the most popular children’s books since the 1940s. It’s also the story of a couple who endured and escaped the Nazi occupation of Paris, and found their way to Greenwich Village. Hans Augusto Reyersbach and Margarete Reyersbach were both Jews of […]
Ida Tarbell was a woman far ahead of her time, as were many of those who found their way to Greenwich Village at the beginning of the 20th century. She was truly a trailblazer and remains an icon of reform. She famously took on big business and won in a way few others can claim […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. In the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were […]
Today we’re highlighting the rich Indigenous history of our neighborhood. This is crucial both to understand and respect the full history of the land we live on, and to recognize the story and experience of consistently marginalized groups. Washington Square Park, once a farming land and gathering place for the Lenape, tranformed over two centuries […]
Minetta Creek, which ran through what is today Greenwich Village, drew the Native American Lenape to its fertile lands. The Lenape cared for this land, and their myths and legends tell the story of how the land — eventually taken by Dutch and English, and later given to freed African-American slaves — came to be. […]
The great artist Robert Rauschenberg hailed from a small refinery town in Texas near the Louisiana border. Born on October 22nd, 1925, his early life was confined by a very conservative Christian community. It is fortunate for the world that Bob, as he was called by his friends, settled in New York in 1949, a […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. In the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were […]
Amiri Baraka (October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), born Everett Leroy “LeRoi” Jones in Newark, was one of Greenwich Village’s most outspoken poets of the Black Arts Movement during the 1960s and ’70s. His political advocacy was both illuminating and confrontational, as he attempted to use his writing to document his experience of blackness […]
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. John Guare was born […]
October, which is German-American Heritage Month, celebrates the contributions Germans and German-Americans have made to American history and culture. In the late 19th century, the largest German-speaking community in the world outside of Berlin and Vienna was centered in the blocks east of Fifth Avenue between 14th and Houston Street, including in the area South […]
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 […]
This installment of Village Preservation’s “South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” series explores how the Mexican Muralists shaped some of the most influential American artists via their studios and workshops in the area South of Union Square. After a decade of conflict, the Mexican Revolution came to an end on November 30, […]
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 […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the built environment south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. The area south of Union Square in the mid-to-late 20th century was one that readily attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical […]
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 […]
Village Preservation is pleased to announce the launch of VILLAGE VOICES, an outdoor exhibition celebrating people, places, and moments from our neighborhoods’ history. VILLAGE VOICES will be an engaging installation of exhibit boxes displayed throughout our neighborhoods featuring photographs, artifacts, and recorded narration that will provide entertaining and illuminating insight into our momentous heritage. We are […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the built environment south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, American art was still struggling to be seen as legitimate among western artists. The […]
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. Beverly Moss Spatt has […]
Typically our “What’s in a Name?” series looks into the name of a building or a place and what’s behind the name as we know it. But today we are going to look into the history that has been lost when streets have been named to represent their colonial past. We will look into the […]
Our “What’s In A Name?” series looks at the names behind buildings, streets, parks, or other locations in our neighborhoods which hold more meaning than we may realize. Many assume that Wanamaker Place, which covers the block of 9th Street between Broadway and Lafayette Street, derives its name from the Wanamaker’s Department Store and Warehouse […]
Have you walked by the narrow triangle park where East 2nd Street, East Houston Street, and Avenue C all meet? This small, fenced-in sliver of green may seem unremarkable, but it’s named for someone who played a rather large and inspiring role in the lives of so many in our city. Gustave Hartman, a Jewish […]
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.”
St. Mark’s Place, named after the Church of St. Mark’s in the Bowery, is typically known for its other religious calling — rock n’ roll. The street was at the center of the countercultural movements of the second half of the last century, serving as home to a groundbreaking nightclub run by Andy Warhol in […]
The traditional tale of New York City’s zoning code tells us that the 40-story Equitable Building, constructed in 1915 with no setbacks, was responsible for the 1916 Zoning resolution. However, this building was simply the final provocation New Yorkers needed to get behind the controversial concept of more closely regulating the city’s development — in […]
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 […]
Near the corner of Avenue A and East 11th Street is a townhouse with P E A C E written in abstracted geometric black lettering across the entablature of the bright white garden level façade of the home. The townhouse is graphic and playful in its facade, inviting anyone who walks by to stop, look […]
The unprotected area South of Union Square has no shortage of trailblazers in the arts and architecture, in commerce, and in the arena of equality or advancement for women. But all those strains of the neighborhood’s pioneering and history-making spirit come together at one building where a largely forgotten figure in our city’s history toiled […]
The 1892 McKim, Mead & White Italianate Eclectic style Baptist church on Washington Square set the scene for some of feminist artist Carolee Schneemann’s most notorious works of kinetic theater – including 1964’s groundbreaking “Meat Joy.
Our “What’s In A Name?” series looks at the names behind buildings, streets, parks, or other locations in our neighborhoods which hold more meaning than we may realize. In the last “What’s In A Name?” we looked at 113-119 Fourth Avenue, named after Peter Stuyvesant on the land of the old Stuyvesant Bouwerie (farm). This […]
Woman Crush Wednesday is our day to celebrate and highlight the trailblazing and inspiring women who made all kinds of things happen in the world from right here in our neighborhoods. And none are so rocking as the amazing Patti Smith. Singer, songwriter, and poet Patricia Lee Smith was born on December 30, 1946, in […]
In the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, a short train ride away from Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, lies a nationally landmarked building known as Observatory Cottage. The charming two-floor cottage was once a residential home, passed down through family generations. In the 1990s, it was bequeathed to a group of local residents interested in preserving the history […]
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 […]
Today, the film industry brings one city to mind: Hollywood. But prior to 1915, when films were just gaining possibility and popularity in the United States, New York City was the center of the film industry. That stranglehold over the film industry, as well as its eventual move west, were thanks to Thomas Edison and […]
As the poetry scholar Rona Cran once wrote, the downtown poetry scene in the twentieth century was “less of a site of primarily male subjectivity and naturally-occurring genius (as tends to be implied) than part of a self-creating process powered by the (often hidden) labor of women.” The poet Hannah Weiner is a perfect example […]
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 […]
Our South of Union Square map offers an interactive look into this area of Greenwich Village and the East Village that is so rich in history, but also so lacking in needed landmark protections. The platform has information on the 200 buildings within the area as well as over forty themed tours that focus on […]
Louise Bryant was always her own person, and always somewhat of a paradox. She was a fearless journalist, activist, suffragist, and talented writer, who was also a study in contradictions — a chronic dissembler who sought the truth, a free love advocate who was prone to fits of jealousy, and a communist who twice married wealthy […]
The Village Preservation Image Archive highlights the history of the people and built environment of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, as well as New York City in general. It has been assembled over the years through generous donations, and consists of thousands of photos in several dozen different collections. Our most recent addition […]
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 […]
