Back in August, we wrote about 372 Lafayette Street, the proposed new building designed by Morris Adjmi that will – once given the go-ahead by the Landmarks Preservation Commission – occupy the site of the existing one-story garage on the corner of Great Jones Street in the NoHo Historic District. The LPC was only partially […]
If you’re like me and grew up around Eastern-European family, you know that it’s pronounced kah-bah-see and that it’s best served with a little sauerkraut and spicy mustard. You then also probably know that the traditional neighborhood butcher shops that serve up this sausage delight, among other smoked and cured meaty goodness, are now few […]
It’s fall, 1967. A one-ton steel cube is dropped by the Lindsay administration into the middle of a grimy traffic island in an increasingly dodgy part of town. Instantly scuffed and plagued by graffiti, the hulking, monochromatic form could have easily been dismissed as a bland mid-century beautification scheme. A stark gift to the people […]
Recently, the block of East 13th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in the East Village has received a lot of attention after it was announced that a developer purchased a large vacant lot in the middle of the block. Buildings on the block have been rumored to be haunted. While we may not be […]
Over the past couple weeks, blogs have been buzzing with news and photos of 215 East 12th Street- dubbed the “Kate Spade House.” Owned since 2007 by Pamela Bell, one of the four original partners of the Kate Spade brand, this 4-story, 25-foot wide townhouse is described by Stribling as “brimming with original detail, charm […]
In an article from the October issue of O Magazine actress Katie Holmes declares, “I love Greenwich Village.”Back in 2009 it was widely speculated that Holmes and her husband Tom Cruise purchased a $15 million townhouse at 42 West 12th Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District.
Image via William With all the recent discussions about the triangle site at 7th Avenue and West 12th Street, we thought we’d take a look at the space’s use earlier in the twentieth century. As you may know, this triangular plot of land where Greenwich Avenue, 7th Avenue, and West 12th Street intersect today houses […]
Yesterday, Village Preservation announced that tickets were going on sale for our fall fundraiser, Much Ado About Noshing. Featuring food maven, humorist, and New Yorker staff writer Calvin Trillin and the Russ and Daughters family, the evening of conversation and food will stimulate your mind and your palette. Salmon and other delicious appetizers will be […]
October has arrived, which means it’s time for another round of the Greenwich Village Follies, playing at The Duplex every Sunday this month beginning at 6:30pm. Make sure to stop by for a musical jaunt through the history of our favorite neighborhood! Now, it’s no coincidence that the word “follies” is evocative of yesteryear. The […]
Paul Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was one of the most renowned American actors of the twentieth century, appearing in The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Verdict, and many Broadway plays. He was also an innovative philanthropist who created the Newman’s Own Foundation, based out of Westport […]
As many of you know, GVSHP’s offices are located in the former rectory of St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery. Today we couldn’t help but notice all of the action taking place around the corner in Abe Lebewohl Park and on Stuyvesant Street. Turns out, Alec Baldwin is filming a Capital One commercial (the actor […]
Marking the 100th anniversary of his birth on August 11, 1911, Tablet printed a thoughtful piece on pioneering preservation architect Giorgio Cavaglieri, written by Allan M. Jalon. Jalon’s article takes a look back at man behind the adaptive re-use of two of the Village’s most iconic buildings, the Jefferson Market Library (formerly the Jefferson Market […]
With all the brash starchitect-designed buildings that sprouted up in NoHo and the East Village in the early 2000s — 40 Bond Street, the ‘Sculpture for Living‘ at Astor Place, and 41 Cooper Square come to mind — we thought we’d take a historical look at the work of one of America’s original ‘starchitects.’ Chicago-based […]
On July 9, 1962, Bob Dylan recorded “Blowin’ In the Wind,” a song destined to become an anthem for a generation, and for the transformative civil rights and peace movements. Dylan is said to have written “Blowin’ In the Wind” at the Fat Black Pussycat Theater on Minetta Street, and first performed it at Gerde’s […]
It’s no surprise that the Village has a wealth of bookshops. Quaint, independently-owned stores that could pull even the most technology-addicted teenager away from his or her iPad, are scattered throughout the East and West Villages. It makes sense that bookworm staples like the St. Mark’s Bookshop or Three Lives & Company exist in the […]
Many of you may remember the unusual, eclectic toy tower that once stood in the 6th & B Community Garden on Avenue B and East 6th Street. The East Village has a wealth of community gardens and 6th & B is definitely one of the most spirited in the neighborhood. The garden was started in […]
On Saturday, at the age of 69, Clarence Clemons, aka the Big Man, passed away in Palm Beach, Florida. Known best for his role as the unbelievably talented saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Clemons’ passing has brought sadness to so many.
On May 24, 1941 a baby named Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in Duluth, Minnesota. Twenty years later, going by Bob Dylan in homage to one of his influences Dylan Thomas, he arrived in Greenwich Village in hopes of meeting his hero Woodie Guthrie. Within four months Bob Dylan had booked his first professional gig […]
We here at GVSHP spend a great deal of time pouring over archival records and buildings department files to document the history of our neighborhoods — when buildings went up, when they came down, how they once looked, how they changed, etc. (click HERE to learn more). However, a less dusty (and frankly more fun) […]
Numerous media outlets have reported on the Westchester resident who intentionally drove his van into two narcotics officers standing on the sidewalk outside 73 Washington Place last Friday night. The crime was apparently payback for a past run-in between the targeted officer’s partner and the driver. Fortunately, both officers survived, though one was immediately hospitalized. […]
On May 7, 2011, at the age of 72, Doric Wilson passed away, bestowing immense sadness on the Village and beyond. Doric was a rare gem who wore many hats, tipping them successfully with each role he played. One of the original pioneers of Off-Off-Broadway, Mr. Wilson was a playwright, director, producer, designer, critic, and […]
Much fuss has been made of the news that the adjacent “sister” houses at 18 & 20 Jones Street are both currently on the market. We’re curious to see if these beautiful Greek Revival homes will be swooped up together, or sold off separately. Only one thing is for sure (big sigh of relief): They’ll […]
What’s not to love about the charming Greek Revival house at 149 Second Avenue, a throwback to another era in the life of the East Village? The house is the oldest building on its blockfront, Second Avenue between East 9th & East 10th Street, and one of the only early houses on the avenue to […]
Greenwich Village lost one of its greats this weekend with the passing of Lucy Cecere at the age of 87. Though small in stature, Lucy was a true giant in a neighborhood of outsized personalities — an activist, a pioneer, someone who deeply loved her neighborhood and was willing to fight to preserve it. She was […]
The Village and East Village have long been the home of music-makers and music venues; their streets and sites on more than one occasion the inspiration for song-writers and the subject of many a song line. But perhaps nothing has imprinted an image of these neighborhoods in the popular music-consuming consciousness in the same way as their depiction on the […]
Did you know that East 7th Street between Avenues C & D was once known as “Political Row”? Neither did we, until during the course of our East Village research we stumbled upon a fascinating New York Times article from 1902 lamenting the end of the street’s glory days. Of course, we had long been […]
The New York Times reports that Suze Rotolo, artist, author, teacher, and activist, died this past Friday of lung cancer, at age 67. The author of “A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the 1960’s” (2008), Rotolo was known to millions as the girl walking arm-in-arm with Bob Dylan down Jones Street on the […]
The innocuous-looking apartment building at 226 East 13th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, may raise few eyebrows now. But on February 8, 1976, the building became synonymous in the popular imagination with drugs, prostitution, runaways, murder and mayhem, steeped in the urban decay which many saw as defining New York City in the 1970’s.
