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 […]
John V. Lindsay East River Park is a 57+ acre park that stretches along the East River waterfront from Montgomery Street north to East 12th Street. With the pending closure and rebuilding of the park, several historic structures in the park face likely demolition. Two extant Art Deco gems were constructed in 1938 in advance […]
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 Anna Marcum joins Village Preservation as our Director of Research and Preservation. Anna is an architectural historian and preservationist based in Brooklyn who has worked on historic preservation projects in cities across the country, from Boston to New Orleans, Los Angeles to the Texas Gulf Coast. She comes to Village Preservation from the Center […]
If you’re looking for love, make our Business of the Month, Té Company, your first stop before embarking on your search. If you’ve already found it, go there anyway and let it grow. Learn how the owner, Elena, turned a personal passion into a beloved local business and nesting spot
Riding the A train from Upper Manhattan to Greenwich Village means passing a lot of stations named after the numbered streets directly above them. Starting at 207th Street, you stop at 125th Street in Harlem, 59th Street welcomes you to Midtown, and 14th Street is the station before your final destination. All these stations and […]
This September will mark 20 years since the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center. Few New Yorkers were left untouched by this devastating assault, which shattered our city, our sense of safety, and our sense of selves. Residents of our neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan were particularly hard hit — from losing loved ones and […]
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 […]
This is the second part in a series about low- and moderate-income affordable housing tenants in the rezoning area put at risk of displacement by de Blasio’s rezoning. If you would like us to profile your story, please contact us: info@gvshp.org The parts of SoHo, NoHo, and Chinatown that Mayor de Blasio wants to rezone […]
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 […]
Early in the morning of Saturday, December 5, 2020, a fire broke out in a vacant building on the corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street. The blaze quickly spread to its historic neighbor, the Middle Collegiate Church, with devastating impact: a sanctuary roof collapsed, a dozen stained-glass windows and a skylight dome by Tiffany […]
This is the first part in a series about low- and moderate-income rent regulated tenants in the rezoning area the de Blasio rezoning puts at risk of displacement. If you have a similar story that you would like us to profile, please contact us: info@gvshp.org The parts of SoHo, NoHo, and Chinatown that Mayor de […]
New York is at a pivot point. We’ll soon have a new Mayor, City Council, and leaders of city agencies. We’re emerging from a pandemic, and charting our future. Big real estate and government leaders are conspiring to strip away rules and regulations that protect our neighborhoods from unmitigated greed and avarice. Now more than […]
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 […]
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. 113-119 Fourth Avenue was completed in 1906. This building has had two names over its lifetime: The Fish Building and The Petersfield. The eight-story Arts & Crafts […]
Legendary Village Voice photographer Fred W. McDarrah captured so much about life in New York, and especially downtown, in the latter half of the 20th century. One of many examples: this Saturday night shot of Cafe Wha? on the corner of MacDougal Street and Minetta Lane, when the band The Fugs were performing there, taken on June 25, […]
Do you want to find a home for unused children’s items and come away with a credit that you can use toward buying storybooks, capes, dinosaurs, space helmets, and other unexpected essentials? Read about our Business of the Month and find out more!
The roots of LGBTQ+ life in our neighborhoods are deeper than we even know. In the documentary PS. Burn This Letter Please, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and was presented at one of Village Preservation’s Pride programs, gay historian George Chauncey spoke about using police records and newspaper articles because personal papers […]
We had a huge and united turnout on Wednesday at our press conference opposing the Mayor’s outrageous SoHo/NoHo rezoning plan and the Community Board 2 public hearing that followed. We were joined by local, city, and statewide affordable housing/tenant groups, SoHo, NoHo, Chinatown, and Lower East Side groups, and citywide and statewide historic preservation organizations to […]
As we approach LGBTQ+ Pride Weekend, Village Preservation is proud to share with you a wonderful new collection in our historic image archive of donated images from Jillian Jonas chronicling the fiery and flamboyant downtown drag performance scene of the 1990s. Jonas, who was the house photographer at the legendary Boy Bar on St. Mark’s Place, also captured […]
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 […]
Our South of Union Square map offers an interactive look into this area of Greenwich Village and the East Village which 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 […]
With the City Council’s one and only public hearing for the city’s proposed SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown upzoning on Tuesday Nov. 9, here are talking points we strongly suggest you use for your testimony and comments you submit to the City Council (see link above to register to speak or submit testimony): It’s a giant giveaway to developers, […]
We had a truly heartwarming 41st Annual Meeting and 31st Annual Village Awards last Wednesday, where we looked back upon a year of accomplishment, and celebrated seven inspiring awardees whose work has helped make Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo the wonderful places they are. If you missed the event, or want to watch […]
Commanding the northern side of West 36th Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway is what seems to be an imposing house of worship built by ancient Romans.
In the early 19th century, Greenwich Village was rich with different cultures and ethnicities. As slavery in New York would not be outlawed until 1827, the area had a mixture of free and enslaved Black people. Many free Black people lived along the no longer extant Minetta Creek, in an area that came to be […]
The story of Abstract Expressionism has heretofore been primarily seen through the prism of the male-dominated world of post-War America. In that “official” history, the narrative centers around the traditional story of the man as the creator while his female counterpart is the muse. Fortunately, Joan Mitchell was not your typical female. Mitchell, as well […]
June is named African-American Music Appreciation Month. But insofar as it is hard to conceive of genres of American music that have not been fundamentally shaped or originated by Black musicians, every month should rightfully be African American Music Appreciation Month. Any time, however, is a good time to call attention to a few great […]
Nicknamed “The Empress of Blues,” Bessie Smith was one of the most popular female blues singers of the 1920s and 30s. She influenced many vocalists who followed her, from Janis Joplin to Anita Baker. Her songs spoke to and about working people, African Americans, liberated women, and their (and anyone else’s) everyday troubles. Her “spoken […]
Curious about the life and legacy of Surrealist & Dadaist artists in our neighborhoods? Check out this incredible research resource created by Paul McRandle and featured on his blog Surrealist NYC. This interactive tool maps and explores the studios, homes, and collective social spaces of Surrealist artists who took refuge in Greenwich Village after World War […]
Village Preservation’s Annual Village Awards, this year on June 16th, have come to be known fondly as “the Oscars of the Village.” The very first Village Awards were held on June 10th, 1991 at Casa Italiana Zerilli Marino of NYU, at 24 West 12th Street, an historic landmark that was formerly the home of General […]
It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]
On June 8th, 2004, 127, 129, and 131 MacDougal Street, three 1829 Federal Style houses, were landmarked — the first three of thirteen Village Preservation and the NY Landmarks Conservancy jointly proposed and campaigned for landmark designation. On December 17, 2013, they were landmarked again as part of the South Village Historic District following a decade of advocacy by Village Preservation. While all three […]
For its entire existence over twenty years, the International Worker’s Order’s (IWO) New York City headquarters was located at 80 Fifth Avenue. 80 Fifth Avenue, at 14th Street, is located in the historically rich but endangered area south of Union Square for which Village Preservation is seeking landmark protections. Our ongoing research about the area has […]
Each year, Village Preservation honors the invaluable people, businesses, and organizations that make a special contribution to our neighborhoods at our Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This year, on June 16th, 2020 at 6 PM we will be celebrating seven outstanding awardees — RSVP here to participate virtually. Tucked away on one of the most […]
During the Summer of Love, on June 3, 1967, The New York Times reported “Hippies Heighten East Side Tensions” following a confrontation the day before in Tompkins Square Park between a group of hippies and some 200 police officers along with residents who protested the hippies’ presence. The police descended on the park following complaints […]
You’re walking along Bleecker Street in the heart of Greenwich Village when the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. You feel all sorts of magic surrounding you, as if you’re at the nexus of mystical energies coming at you from all corners of the globe. You spy an elegant three-story brownstone […]
LGBTQ+ Pride and History Month may be in June, but at Village Preservation, we’re working to document, celebrate, and protect the incredibly rich LGBTQ+ history of our neighborhoods, which played such a unique role in this community’s civil rights struggle, 12 months a year (but maybe a little extra in June!). Want to celebrate, educate, […]
Village Preservation has just completed a series of forums with candidates for the three City Council districts that overlap with our neighborhoods. We’ve also sent detailed questionnaires to candidates for each of these offices, asking their views and positions on important local and citywide issues connected to preservation, development, and small businesses. We’ve also been […]
Today we welcome Sarah Eccles as our new Research and Preservation Associate. Sarah is a historic preservationist with a keen interest in the relationship between communities, people, and the built environment. She is a recent graduate of the Pratt Institute Historic Preservation program. Much of her research dealt with the representation of people in historic […]
814 Broadway is a five-story masonry structure built in 1854.
It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]
Last week, the City ‘certified,‘ or issued its final proposal for the massive upzoning of SoHo, NoHo, and parts of Chinatown. The voluminous documents contained numerous inaccuracies, falsehoods, and mischaracterizations, designed to sell this obscene real estate giveaway to the Mayor’s real estate benefactors as a boon to social justice and equity. But if you […]
It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]
Bob Dylan (born May 24, 1941) began his legendary career in Greenwich Village. The storied clubs and coffee houses in the neighborhood were the incubators for his formidable talent and work. You’ll find some surprises about him and his connections to the Village in our list of 80 Things We Love About Bob Dylan. We […]
Do you get small surprise gifts with your pharmacy prescription deliveries? Neither do I; but I know who does. Read about our Business of the Month and find out more.
It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This year’s event […]
Since 1911, the majestic main branch of the New York Public Library has been watching over Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, welcoming researchers, scholars, students, and tourists into its hallowed halls by the millions every year.
Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street is one of New York City’s — and the nation’s — most historic locations. Known as the “Birthplace of American Government,” it’s the site where George Washington took the oath of office as our first President. It was also the site of the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices.
Participating in the 2021 Primary Elections June 22 is more important than ever, and we are here to help you learn about candidates’ positions and records. Join us and fellow preservation organizations for forums with the candidates for City Council District 1 (currently represented by term-limited Councilmember Margaret Chin) and City Council District 2 (currently […]
Yesterday the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to landmark 70 Fifth Avenue (2-6 West 13th Street), a 1912 Beaux Arts-style office building that is among several critical civil rights sites Village Preservation proposed and campaigned to have landmarked in the area south of Union Square. The building served as headquarters of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest […]
It’s that time of year again…time for Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards! The Village Awards recognize and honor some of the businesses, organizations, and institutions that make our neighborhoods such special places to live, while our Annual Meeting also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. This […]
Each year, Village Preservation honors the invaluable people, businesses, and organizations that make a special contribution to our neighborhoods at our Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This year, on June 16th, 2020 at 6 PM we will be celebrating seven outstanding awardees — RSVP here to participate virtually. The Village Awards is really one of our very […]
Each year, Village Preservation honors neighborhood institutions at the Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This fun event highlights and celebrates the invaluable people, places, and organizations that make our neighborhoods some of the most interesting and exceptional in the city. The event also includes a review of Village Preservation’s activities and accomplishments over the last […]
Matt Umanov may have closed his shop at 273 Bleecker Street back in 2017, but he didn’t stop working. Umanov is still selling guitars online and providing essential guitar repair services by appointment. Umanov’s work is known far and wide, and his guitars have likely been to every country in the world. But it’s Bleecker […]
Housing and Tenant Activists Slam Mayor’s Plan As Sham, Giveaway To Developers A new study released by Village Preservation today shows that Mayor de Blasio’s SoHo/NoHo Upzoning plan is likely to produce little if any of the promised affordable housing, as it’s structured to make it more profitable for developers to build entirely without affordable […]
Dr. Bruce Raymond Voeller, a pioneer of AIDS research and a significant early gay rights activist, was born on May 12, 1934 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s no household name, and his early biography would provide few hints as to why he should be. He graduated from Reed College in 1956, was awarded a five-year fellowship […]
Village Preservation has long made a priority of celebrating civil rights and social justice history in our neighborhoods.
Village Preservation’s team is a strong one – we’re lucky to have a group of interns who are here to gain experience in historic preservation in a non-profit environment. Internships are paid, and our interns come from all educational and life backgrounds. We work together to tailor internship experiences to fit an intern’s skills and […]
We are constantly making new discoveries about the architecturally and culturally rich area south of Union Square, where Greenwich Village meets the East Village. While further researching one building in the area, 60-62 East 11th Street (already identified on our South of Union Square map for its incredible architecture and part of the architectural tour), […]
In 2015, Village Preservation conducted an oral history with community organizer Carlos “Chino” García, one of the co-founders of the legendary community organization CHARAS. CHARAS for many years occupied the landmarked former P.S. 64 building on East 9th Street in the East Village. That interview gave some unique, first person insights into one of the […]
In honor of Small Business Week, we’re delving into the history of Alabaster Books, at 122 Fourth Avenue. Alabaster Books shines as a cultural remnant of Fourth Avenue Book Row and of bookselling in New York City. It continues to provide its patrons and New York with a wide range of wonderful books, both new […]
The Asian-American and Pacific Islander community has a more than 150-year-long history in the United States, dating back to the first wave of Chinese and Japanese immigrants settling on the West Coast. And while nearby neighborhoods like Chinatown or the Lower East Side may have been much more prominent hubs for Asian-Americans, Greenwich Village and […]
Today, we welcome David Herman to our staff as Communications Manager. David is a graphic designer, editor, and photographer, as well as a longtime activist focusing on livable streets, better biking, and a more equitable built environment in New York City. He is a previous co-chair of Transportation Alternatives’ Brooklyn Activist Committee, where he continues […]
Greenwich Village is, in some circles, considered the “Capital of Jazz.” As jazz critic, author, and president of the Jazz Journalists Association Howard Mandel put it: “Greenwich Village is the capital of jazz because it has welcomed adventurous thinking, artistic expression, and audiences eager to hear the best of what’s exciting and new.” Some things […]
The Greenwich Village Historic District is one of New York City’s oldest historic districts.
Village Preservation recently shared an incredible new addition to our historic image archive of donated photos of cast-iron New York City landmarks, some destroyed during the late 60s, others threatened but saved, the last time that SoHo and Tribeca faced a threat of widespread demolition. At the time, historic cast-iron buildings were being razed to […]
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was an artist, inventor, and would-be-politician. While there was much to admire about his legacy and accomplishments, there was also much to condemn and deplore. Reading his biography, one might think (or even wish) that there were actually several different Morses. One was an inventor who helped bring telegraph technology and […]
Novelist Bernard Malamud is considered by many critics to be one of the finest American novelists of the 20th century. Born on April 26, 1914, in Brooklyn to a poor Russian Jewish immigrant family who ran a small grocery store, he attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, City College of New York, and Columbia for […]
Today Juan Rivero joins Village Preservation as our new East Village and Special Projects Director. Juan is an urban planner, researcher, and community advocate with experience in government, academia, and not-for-profits. He has most recently been serving on the coordinating committee and board of the City Club of New York, and teaching courses on urban […]
Few places in America have made more significant contributions to civil rights and social justice struggles.
One year before the landmark Ninth Street Exhibition, considered the public’s introduction to the work of the New York School Painters, a series of fascinating conversations entitled the Artists’ Sessions at Studio 35 laid the groundwork for the bold artistic explorations to follow. The idea of the Sessions originated in 1948, when the artists William […]
Caravan of Dreams, an organic and vegan restaurant located on East 6th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A, was founded by Spanish ex-pat Angel Moreno in October 1991.
As mentioned before on our blog (here and here), we have an incredible new resource of a Storymap showcasing stories and examples of Greek Revival architecture in our area (and a few beyond). Born out of our young country’s desire to find a style that represented our democratic ideals, the Greek Revival style flourished in […]
Edward LaGrassa was an architecture student in 1969 when he took these photos of cast iron buildings and structures, largely in SoHo and Tribeca, as well as in Harlem and Upper Manhattan. He took the pictures for a school project. At the time LaGrassa took these photos, appreciation of cast iron architecture and the neighborhood […]
On April 15, 2001, Rock and Roll lost a true legend. On that day, Joey Ramone died of lymphatic cancer. That night, U2’s Bono told the audience at a concert in Portland Oregon how Joey and the Ramones had changed his life. He sang “Amazing Grace” in his honor, and then went into “I Remember […]
Richmond Hill was a Colonial estate built on a 26-acre parcel of the “King’s Farm” in 1767 by Major Abraham Mortier, paymaster of the British army in the colony. Located southeast of the modern intersection of Varick and Charlton Streets, it served as George Washington’s headquarters in April-May and June-August of 1776, a period of […]
The Greenwich Village Historic District, which was designated (landmarked) on April 29, 1969, holds some of the loveliest bits 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 of immigrant, LGBTQ, African-American […]
Our interactive tool “Virtual Village” brings users on unique and unexpected journeys.
43 MacDougal Street, a landmarked 1846 Greek Revival townhouse, sat vacant for decades in the 1990s and 2000s, a thorn in the side of the neighborhood and Village Preservation. Years of advocacy to try to get it repaired and restored (there were serious concerns about irreparable damage, collapse, or worse) ended mostly in frustration, with […]
On April 6, 1965, the New York City Council approved the bill granting the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission the power to designate and preserve New York City’s landmarks. According to contemporary New York Times accounts, 33 out of 35 City Council members voted in favor (but it was noted that two of the […]
Our neighborhoods are not only places where great literature was written. It’s also where great literature was published, sometimes at great legal peril, and where tectonic-shifting battles against censorship were led and won. Nowhere is that more true than in the area South of Union Square, where art, commerce, and activism collided. And perhaps no […]
There are many important takeaways from Village Preservation’s 19th Amendment Centennial StoryMap; there are a remarkable number of people and places in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo who played key roles in the women’s suffrage movement. That these neighborhoods were long centers of political ferment and progressive social change, and people here played […]
Samuel R. (Chip) Delany, born on April 1, 1942, is an acclaimed author of both non-fiction and science fiction. He grew up in Harlem, at 2250 Seventh Ave above his father’s business, Levy & Delany Funeral Home, which appeared in stories by Langston Hughes and other black writers chronicling Harlem in the 1940s and ’50s. His […]
In 2018 as part of a collaborative project with Loisaida Inc. and La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez, Matthew Mottel built two geodesic domes at La Plaza and in the Loisaida Inc. Center courtyard, which served as an interactive art exhibition available to the public. The project invoked the historical legacy of CHARAS, a community […]
With the deadline for submitting nominations for the 2021 Village Awards fast approaching (it’s this Friday — submit your nominations HERE), we thought we would take a look at some of the incredible awardees over the past years. Here are a few of my favorites that beautifully represent the wonderful contributions our award winners make […]
Village Preservation’s Greek Revival Bicentennial Storymap celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence.
The campaign for Mayor of New York City is in full swing, with primary elections June 22. The next Mayor needs to know that historic preservation makes for a better and more resilient NYC — it encourages investment and economic development, it’s green, it helps preserve, protect, and uplift diverse histories and communities, and makes […]
Women’s History Month gives us yet another opportunity to celebrate the marvelous and groundbreaking women who have lived and worked in our neighborhoods. Today we look at two pioneering women who lived and worked on Bank Street: Willa Cather and Lucy Sprague Mitchell. Bank Street Many of our streets are beloved by their residents and […]
The Greek War of Independence began on March 25, 1821, eventually leading to the formation of Greece as an independent state in 1830, with its borders defined in 1832 and expanded over the decades which followed. How does this chapter of history 5,000 miles away affect our neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and […]
The newly-released study by Village Preservation shows that the City’s SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan, which includes part of Chinatown, will make the area richer, whiter, and more expensive to live in than now, increase demolition pressures on existing rent regulated units, and potentially destroy more affordable housing than it creates. The city also does not accurately represent […]
On March 23, 1857 the first Otis commercial passenger elevator was installed at 488 Broadway at Broome Street at the E.V. Haughwout Building. This technological breakthrough, along with developments in steel-frame construction, allowed buildings to grow ever taller. The modern era elevator traces its roots to Louis XV’s Versailles palace in 1743. An elevator system […]
The neighborhood south of Union Square holds a unique place in the history of women’s rights and women’s suffrage movements.
Two hundred years ago this Thursday the Greek War of Independence began. That event, combined with the Latin American Wars of Independence and the Monroe Doctrine, inspired the United States, the first modern democracy, to turn away from colonial and imperial models for architectural expression and look toward the world’s first democracy instead. Thus was […]
