The Maia Farish Collection: A Village Childhood in the 50s & 60s
Maia Farish (née Reardon) was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital in 1953. Her childhood was spent in Greenwich Village during its 1950s and ‘60s heyday, where she played in Washington Square Park and attended local institutions such as Greenwich House, P.S. 41, P.S. 3, I.S. 70, and Miss Murphy’s Greenwich House Children’s Theater. First living at 135 Perry Street, her family would later move to 25 West 8th Street. Farish graciously donated a batch of historic images that document this remarkable time in our neighborhoods. Today we will explore a few of these images, and they can all be viewed in the Maia Farish Collection in our historic image archive.
In the earliest photos in the collection, Maia Farish is shown as infant in Washington Square Park, first in a baby carriage, and by the following year she was standing and leaning on the fountain.
As she grew up, she would form a community with those around her, including befriending Ernie, manager of White Horse Tavern, a legendary local bar at the corner of Hudson and West 11th Streets.
She would continue to play in Washington Square, riding her bike and playing in the playground.
Maia Farish’s mother was involved in local advocacy work, participating in Jane Jacobs’ rallies and working with the Village Independent Democrats. The collection includes the below photograph, where Farish is standing in front of Jane Jacobs’ longtime home at 555 Hudson Street.
She would eventually attend elementary school at P.S. 41 at 116 West 11th Street, where the below photo of students playing in the yard was captured.
By the mid-1960s, Farish and her family had moved from an apartment at 135 Perry Street to 25 West 8th Street, and below you can see the view from their apartment.
Farish would go on to attend Junior High School at P.S. 3 on Grove and Hudson Street, a time documented by a number of photos in the collection, including the one below of her classroom.
Farish’s class was one of the last to attend Junior High as P.S. 3; for their final year, they were moved to I.S. 70 in Chelsea. The collection included a letter from one of her classmates, titled “Goodbye to Greenwich Village and Chelsea.”
Notably, the letter reads: “When many of us move away from the many cultures and old houses of Chelsea; and the casual and picturesque cobblestone streets of Greenwich Village – we will always carry with us memories of our neighborhoods and our schools.” Well Said!
These are just a few of the invaluable images included in the Maia Farish Collection. Explore the entire collection here, and the rest of our 5,000+ image, 70-collection historic image archive here. If you are interested in donating historic images, find out more here.