On the balmy evening of September 9, 1960, there seemed to be an even greater sense of possibility laced through the typically restless Greenwich Village air. This possibility could be traced to West Eighth Street, down thirty-one steep stairs, through the darkness of The Bon Soir, and into the club’s dressing room where 18-year-old Barbra […]
At the core of the Beat Generation was beloved East Villager Allen Ginsberg. He challenged the barriers that restricted what writers could print and created a handful of pieces that revolutionized American literature as we know it today. Recently, we discovered an old photograph via the Allen Ginsberg Project that inspired us to take a […]
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was housed in our neighborhoods for decades, first in the 12-story Beaux Arts style office building at 70 Fifth Avenue that was constructed in 1912 by architect Charles Alonzo Rich for the noted publisher and philanthropist George A. Plimpton. Shortly after the building opened, the […]
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. Some people say that love makes the world […]
Today we welcome aboard at Village Preservation Maya Wilson (pronouns: she/her) as our new Programs Associate. Maya has been an intern with Village Preservation since June of 2022, and has collaborated on various research and programming projects during that time. During her tenure as an intern, Maya has developed a new art project for our […]
Author and NYC tour guide, Lawrence Henderson, is sharing his research and walking tours with Village Preservation in February 2023 as we celebrate Black History Month. First, Village Preservation participants were treated to a free opportunity to experience the first hour of Lawrence’s “You Are Here: African American Walking Tour of NYC.” Lawrence offers a unique three-part, 3 hour, downtown walking tour to New Yorkers and visitors alike. The tour is based on Lawrence’s book You Are Here – A Geographical History of Enslaved and Free Africans in Manhattan: 1613 – 1865. He will be updating a new edition of this book, which we hope to celebrate when it relaunches with a future book talk.
Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) is one of the most well-known New York Abstract Expressionist painters. Born and raised in Chicago, Mitchell moved to New York City in 1949 after graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago and completing a fellowship in France. Naturally, she settled in Greenwich Village and the […]
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re taking a good long look at just some of the incredible women of our neighborhoods who had the deepest impact upon our world. With your input, we’re going to select our Top 25 list. Below are seventy of the most impactful women of Greenwich Village, the East Village, […]
Rauh (March 7, 1877 – February 28, 1970) was a writer, sculptor, actor, birth control, activist, and a passionate advocate for labor rights and women’s suffrage. She played a key role in bringing the two movements together. Rauh graduated from NYU law school in 1902, but never practiced law. Instead, she became involved in the […]
Susan Brownmiller (born Susan Warhaftig, February 15, 1935) is the author of “Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape,” which has been cited as one of the first books to redefine rape as a political issue rather than an individual crime, and which catapulted the feminist anti-rape movement into mainstream consciousness. Born and raised in Brooklyn, […]
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (born June 25, 1954) was the first Latinx, first woman of color, and only the third woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and after being confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 68-31, was sworn in on August […]
Yoko Ono (born Feb. 18, 1933) and her husband John Lennon lived for a time shortly after they were married at 105 Bank Street in Greenwich Village. As per MoMa: Since emerging onto the international art scene in the early 1960s, Yoko Ono has made profound contributions to visual art, performance, filmmaking, and experimental music. […]
Miné Okubo was a Japanese-American artist born in Riverside, California, in 1912. She is best known for her 1946 book Citizen 13660, in which she recounts her experience in a Japanese-American internment camp, which was one of the first widely-circulated personal accounts of the repression and indignities faced by over 100,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II, and […]
Anthropologist Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) received her master’s degree from Columbia University in 1924, then taking a trip to the South Seas where she gathered material for her first book, Coming of Age in Samoa (1928). When she was not traveling, Mead worked as a curator at the Museum of […]
Janis Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) lived at 139 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village briefly before her death. During her time here, a bar and steakhouse called the Ninth Circle, owned by Mickey Ruskin of Max’s Kansas City, was located in the basement of the building. Jimi Hendrix frequented the place, as […]
Our Historic Image Archive includes thousands of images from the late 18th through the early 21st centuries. While most of our images show Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, we have a wide range of images from across the five boroughs, particularly of historic landmarks around the city. Today we focus on one of […]
It is perhaps the most versatile of foods, easily customizable to cultural and personal tastes and endlessly variable in style and ingredients. It is somehow both simple enough for home cooks who want to pop whatever is on hand into a toaster oven, and complex enough for chefs who turn its ingredients and their application into […]
It is your job to make photographs,let the future look at them. —Berenice Abbott, 1936 Photographer Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) first arrived in Greenwich Village from her native Ohio in 1918. She quickly made friends with some of those involved with the Provincetown Playhouse and was introduced to the inner circle of artists, dancers, poets, and […]
Our oral history collection contains many incredibly compelling stories about our neighborhoods’ histories, told from a first-person perspective by those who were in the center of the action. Perhaps no one was more central to one of the most epochal battles in our neighborhood — the David vs. Goliath fight to prevent a highway from […]
Many of us may daydream about being transported back to the bohemian Greenwich Village of the 1960s. Beyond our own imaginations, one particularly effective way to do that is via Lorraine Hansberry’s incisive play The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, revived at the Brooklyn Academy of Music from February 4 through March 24, 2023, the […]
Known for its eclectic ambiance and creative energy, the area South of Union Square has historically acted as a magnet for hundreds of musicians, painters, photographers, and the like. As a center of music history, dozens of South of Union Square spots hosted Grammy-award-winning musicians, singers, and producers that shaped the music industry we know […]
Welcome to February, and African American History Month! Village Preservation has long documented the stories behind the streets, buildings and people of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Those investigations have enabled us to offer several great resources to learn more about our neighborhoods, including our African American history, including our Civil Rights and […]
“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. The neighborhood south of Union Square, which Village Preservation has proposed be designated an historic district, has attracted painters, writers, publishers, and […]
Nam June Paik (July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006), Korean artist and avant-garde visionary, is well-known for his pioneering video artistry. Less known, however, is that Paik, dubbed the “Father of Video Art,” played a vital role in our neighborhoods’ rich artistic history. Working out of his studio in Westbeth along with his partner […]
Village Preservation is very honored to announce that we have released our Oral History with Alex Harsley. Our oral history project includes interviews with some of the great artists, activists, business owners, community leaders, and preservation pioneers of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. It captures and preserves their first-person perspective on the important histories they witnessed or of which they were a part.
Today we welcome a new small business to our neighborhoods — help us welcome the next. Tell us which new independent store in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo you’re excited about by emailing us at info@villagepreservation.org. As advocates for local small business, we find great satisfaction in hearing of new independent establishments opening […]
Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the neighborhood South of Union Square was considered the antique furnishing and decorations center of the country. Dozens of such businesses thrived here, including a shop with a more contemporary “antique” bent known as Fifty/50. Founded in 1983 by notable collectors Mark Isaacson, Mark McDonald, and Ralph […]
THE RESTAURANT WEEK WAS BORN IN NYC! The first Restaurant Week was conceived by famed restauranteur Joe Baum and food critic Tim Zagat when thousands of journalists and delegates flocked to Manhattan for the 1992 Democratic National Convention. Restaurant Week was designed to attract and satisfy guests (largely journalists and delegates) looking for good and affordable […]
The Village Preservation Historic Image Archive highlights the history of the people and built environment of Greenwich Village, the East Village, NoHo, and New York City in general. All the images provide a unique perspective reflecting on the time and location of when and where the photo was taken. Looking at just a few images […]
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 these times of income polarization, we attach […]
The 1960s saw immense change as calls for civil rights and racial justice transformed our cultural landscape. In tandem with these movements, many of which have their roots in our neighborhoods, Black artists across the country used their platforms to amplify the kaleidoscopic perspectives and experiences of black people in America. The Negro Ensemble Company […]
The East 10th Street Historic District — officially designated on this day in 2012 — covers the northern side of the street between Avenues A and B, 26 buildings in all standing directly across from Tompkins Square Park. And while it may be one of the city’s smallest such districts, it’s certainly not lacking in […]
On January 13, 1903, one hundred and two Korean immigrants arrived by ship to Hawaii — the first Korean immigrants to this country. That number grew over the years, especially after the Immigration Reform Act of 1965, which lifted the restrictions on immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and other places outside of Northern and Western […]
“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. The area south of Union Square, which Village Preservation has proposed be designated an historic district, has attracted painters, writers, publishers, and […]
Occasionally referred to as the “Grand Dame of Washington Square Park,” Doris Diether (January 10, 1929 — September 16, 2021) was a critical figure in the early preservation battles of Greenwich Village. Doris was a dedicated member and the eventual head of the Zoning Committee for Community Board 2. Additionally, she was an early member […]
In the late 19th century, very few libraries in New York City were devoted to offering collections of popular and serious reading to the general public, and especially to the city’s poor and immigrant communities. Most of the funding for such institutions flowed from philanthropists who supported research facilities in privately-owned libraries. As the New […]
Since the late 1950s, Joan Baez (b. January 9, 1941) has had a storied career, releasing over 30 albums in six languages, often using her music as a platform for activism, advocating for civil rights, human rights, non-violence, and so many other civil rights and social justice issues. Over the years, Baez has become well […]
We happily put up with the recurring smells and filth of New York City streets for the odd encounter with the surreal and the sublime. We find so thrilling the blurring of boundaries between noise and music, junk and art, danger and dance, that if someone put this otherwise randomly occurring street phenomenon up 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. This area, which Village Preservation has proposed be designated an historic district, has attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations throughout […]
Sometimes Christmas comes early; sometimes it arrives on-time; sometimes it’s a bit late. But occasionally, when you’ve been really good, it comes on all three occasions. If that’s the case, then Village Preservation must have been really good indeed this past year. The Early Present The former P.S. 64 building at 605 East 9th Street […]
The ‘holiday’ of Festivus was developed as an alternative to the commercialization of the Christmas season and is celebrated annually on December 23rd. First celebrated in the mid-1960s by author and editor Daniel O’Keefe (father of Seinfeld writer Dan O’Keefe), it was popularized on Seinfeld’s December 18, 1997 episode “The Strike,” in which Kramer refuses to work […]
Today we welcome a new small business to our neighborhoods — help us welcome the next. Tell us which new independent store in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo you’re excited about by emailing us at info@villagepreservation.org. As advocates for local small business, we find great satisfaction in hearing of new independent establishments opening […]
The West Side Elevated Highway had been a dark presence looming over the edge of the Meatpacking District and other Hudson River Manhattan neighborhoods for several decades in the mid-20th century. Construction on the full route lasted from 1929 to 1951 as it snaked its way from West 72nd Street to Battery Place along 12th […]
The long-term partnership between Willa Cather and Edith Lewis has been reflected on and written about as a symbol of female empowerment and LGBTQ+ history for years. Today, we reflect on Edith as the close companion of Willa Cather and the many chapters of her life. Edith Lewis was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on December […]
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. There is so much light and loveliness to be found in our […]
John Hammond Sr. (December 15, 1910 – July 10, 1987) was a talent scout, producer, musicologist, broadcaster, journalist, and mentor. His influence profoundly shaped popular music in the 20th century, and he remains one of the most transformative figures in American music. He discovered artists from Billie Holiday to Bob Dylan, and scores more in between. A New Yorker […]
On Thursday, December 8th, the audience of our program “Village Preservation at Westbeth Gallery’s Winter Show” had the opportunity to hear directly from artist and Westbeth resident Christina Maile. Christina is self described as trained as a landscape architect, her writing and visual work references colonialism, feminism and extinction and she is of Dayak and West Indian descent.
Everyone in the audience at the gallery very quickly became aware of the depth of knowledge Christina has to share about Westbeth Artists Housing. This program was a great introduction to the launch of Christina’s oral history with Village Preservation, which is available here on our website.
In the early 20th century, Greenwich Village was teeming with vitality and possibility. Great intellectuals met on street corners, in cafes, as part of clubs, using the neighborhood as a playground for their minds to connect and create. One center of such interactions was the Heterodoxy Club, the women’s debating group that created common ground […]
“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. The area south of Union Square, which Village Preservation has proposed be designated an historic district, has attracted painters, writers, publishers, and […]
National Pastry Day is celebrated on December 9th to salute one of the world’s favorite baked goods. Pastries can be traced as far back as the ancient Mediterranean, with treats such as paper-thin, multilayered baklava and Phyllo dough. This tasty indulgence spread throughout the Mediterranean, and pastry-making began in Northern Europe after the return of […]
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. If you had access to a place that […]
Happy holidays, neighbors! If you’ve been struggling to find the perfect gift for the loved ones in your life, look no further. Village Preservation is spreading holiday cheer with a gift guide to help you shop, all while supporting the small, local businesses that make our neighborhood such a whimsical, wondrous place! The shops on […]
On the corner of Second Avenue and 13th Street, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary (NYEEI) has stood for over 200 years. One of the oldest specialized hospitals in the Western Hemisphere, NYEEI has provided significant research, care, and medical support for generations of New Yorkers, regardless of their income. Nine years after merging […]
“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. Art, politics, industry, commerce, […]
Modern life presents us with a perpetual binary choice, especially when it comes to shopping and dining: go out and explore the world, seeing what surprises it has to offer; or tap a screen and see what algorithms bring to your attention and delivery services may bring to your door. To us, the advantages of […]
Each year, our community gathers to mark the observance of World AIDS Day on December 1st. This year, the New York City AIDS Memorial is providing an afternoon and evening of free and public programming with partners including Housing Works and Queer Soup Night. The New York City AIDS Memorial reminds us to remember, reflect, […]
Accounting for 40 percent of energy consumption in the United States, residential and commercial buildings are a focal point of energy policy, research, and data. Since 1950, the United States has been making strides toward creating a more efficient energy system. Most of this progress, however, has overlooked the ability to retrofit and renovate the […]
In simple terms, #GivingTuesday is a celebration of generosity. Created in 2012, Giving Tuesday was born and incubated at the 92nd Street Y and its Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact in New York City. The movement was built as a way of making a day of the year that encourages people to do […]
In 1957, Ralph Walker was honored as “the architect of the century” by the American Institute of Architects. Walker (November 28, 1889–January 17, 1973) hit his peak in the profession during the height of the Art Deco period, bringing to life such New York City landmarks as the Barclay-Vesey Building at 140 West Street (completed […]
On Thanksgiving Day, 1902, Greenwich House opened its doors at 26 Jones Street. Founded by Mary K. Simkhovitch, this settlement house would soon become a pillar of social and cultural enrichment in Greenwich Village. Greenwich House offered its service to thousands of immigrants in the following years. Today we’re reflecting on the history of the house and […]
On November 22, 1918, the first performances were staged at the Provincetown Playhouse’s new home at 133 MacDougal Street. Founded in Massachusetts three years prior as the Provincetown Players, the theater company moved its performances to an apartment at 139 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village in 1916. Seeking more space, they leased a 19th-century former stable and […]
Everyone knows our neighborhoods have been home to some of the world’s most celebrated literary icons. However, for some of these icons, their revolutionary writing has been a magnet for scorn and animus as much as it has been for admiration. These authors have often found their work censored by private individuals, government officials, or […]
Today we welcome a new small business to our neighborhoods — help us welcome the next. Tell us which new independent store in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo you’re excited about by emailing us at info@villagepreservation.org. As advocates for local small business, we find great satisfaction in hearing of new independent establishments opening […]
It is no secret that the New York School Artists were deeply rooted in and influenced by Greenwich Village and its environs. The “Club” at 39 East 8th Street, the Ninth Street Show, and the 10th Street Galleries in the proposed South of Union Square Historic District shaped 20th century American art. Jackson Pollock kept […]
Once upon a time, people bought almost all of their books in bookstores. People still do a lot of literary shopping in local storefronts, and our neighborhoods still have many beloved shops for the experience and joy of buying books in person — but not nearly as many as in years past. Starting in the […]
Last year we introduced the Mannahatta Project’s Welikia Map – an innovative tool that provides insight into the historical landscape of Manhattan Island in 1609. Dr. Eric W. Sanderson and his team consolidated key data that ranged from the ecological make-up of the environment to the surrounding Lenape settlements to create the map. As a […]
Our neighborhoods are synonymous with creativity, history, charm, innovation, and openness. Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo have been incubators for some of the greatest artistic, social, architectural, and cultural movements of the last two centuries. Our lives, our stories, and our memories are rooted in place. That’s why Village Preservation is so important. Because these […]
Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2,1990), one of America’s foremost composers, lived in the carriage house at the rear of 9 Charlton Street. Located at the corner of Charlton and Sixth Avenue, the Greek Revival brick row house sits on the edge of the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District. While Copland only lived in our […]
The American Indian Community House (AICH) is a nonprofit community-based organization serving the needs of Native Americans residing in New York City. Comprised of Native Americans from 72 different tribes, its mission is to improve the status of Native Americans and to foster inter-cultural understanding. The AICH began as “Shunatona’s American Indian Store” at the […]
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. It has often been said that New York […]
The League of Women Voters of the City of New York joined Village Preservation to discuss all that one needs to know about the 2022 General Election.
Fiercely independent and feverishly devoted, Jeannette Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was the first woman to be elected to Congress in 1916, three years before women across the country were granted suffrage by the 19th Amendment. She is known not only for this feat, but for being one of 50 members of […]
When asked about the studio at 20 – 22 Bethune Street in Greenwich Village he shared with Ben Shahn, Walker Evans told the Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art “This is all interesting. This is what I say: People do get drawn together when they’re sort of meant to.” Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – […]
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. “Food was always a […]
Have you heard of the incomparable Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Lorinhoven? Interestingly, many may not have, yet. But her star is on the ascent at long last! A German-born provocateur, fashion plate, poet, DIY junk sculptor, proto-punk and feminist performance artist, the Baroness rode her creativity to the edge of madness in the early decades of […]
At 7:00 pm last night, the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade kicked off for its 49th run at Canal Street and continued up 6th Avenue to many spectators’ delight. The parade, known for its robust attendance and participation, colorful costumes, and puppetry, was founded by Westbeth resident Ralph Lee in 1974. In 2019 we released our […]
Today we welcome Jena Hinton (pronouns: she/her) as our new Program and Administrative Associate. Jena has been an intern with Village Preservation since September of 2021, and has collaborated on various research, programming, and archival projects during that time. She has helped to promote our neighborhood’s small businesses with her work on our Small Business, Big History and Business […]
