13 Layers to Love in Greenwich Village
It’s no secret that we love Greenwich Village around here (along with the East Village and NoHo, of course!). And what’s not to love? The neighborhood is full of architectural beauty, cultural innovation, so many places where history was made… and a whole lot of integrity thanks to its landmark designations and the countless individuals who’ve fought to sustain the neighborhood’s historic places and stories over the years.
We’ve created a storymap with virtual tours highlighting nearly two dozen layers of history found within the Greenwich Village Historic District. Read on for a sampling, and click here to check out the full map.
1. Then & Now Photos
The “Then & Now Photos” map layer features images of every one of the approximately 2,200 buildings within the Greenwich Village Historic District, showing how each site looked prior to designation (in the 1960s) and its appearance in the present day.
Click here to explore the Then & Now Photos map
2. Black History
The Greenwich Village Historic District has been integral to New York City’s Black history since the 17th century, when a small group of formerly enslaved African Americans became the first non-native settlers of what is today Greenwich Village. In the 1800s, the neighborhood was home to New York’s largest Black community, and in the 20th century it drew civil rights organizations and leaders, as well as leading Black writers, artists, and musicians. By the time of the district’s designation, though not without its struggles, the neighborhood had long been a stronghold for racial integration and equality.
Click here to enter the Black History tour
3. Artists
Greenwich Village is nationally significant for its place in American art history, particularly its role in shaping modern and contemporary movements such as Social Realism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art. The neighborhood provided flexible, affordable studio spaces in altered row houses, lofts, and industrial buildings that attracted artists seeking room for experimentation and large-scale work. Hundreds of prominent artists of the 19th and 20th centuries were drawn to the neighborhood, including Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Diane Arbus, and so many others.
Click here to enter the Artists’ Homes and Haunts tour
4. Wood Frame Houses
Greenwich Village is full of mid-to-late 19th century row houses predominantly in the Federal and Greek Revival styles, most of which are composed of brick, sometimes faced with brownstone. But the neighborhood also contains some of the oldest extant homes in New York City, and these are typically of wood frame construction. One example is 77 Bedford Street, the earliest house still standing in Greenwich Village, built in 1799-1800.
Click here to enter the Wood Frame Houses tour
5. LGBTQ+ Sites
The Greenwich Village Historic District is home to many of the most critical moments and places in the fight for and celebration of LGBTQ+ rights in the nation. From the Stonewall Inn, to Julius’ Bar, to the homes of advocates, allies, and key figures, the district is unmatched in its rich LGBTQ+ heritage. Village Preservation is committed to ensuring that this critical aspect of our history is not erased.
Click here to enter the LGBTQ+ Sites tour
6. Preservationists
Greenwich Village is integral to the origin story of the American historic preservation movement, serving as a testing ground for strategies that would shape the future of preservation nationwide. In the mid-20th century, community activists fought to protect the neighborhood’s distinctive streetscapes, pioneering efforts that prefigured modern preservation practice. One early victory won by community organizers over then-NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses was the permanent closure of Washington Square Park to cars in the 1950s, preserving its role as a civic and cultural gathering space and demonstrating the power of local advocacy. Jane Jacobs, who lived in the district at 555 Hudson Street, drew on the neighborhood’s density, diversity, and walkable streets in her groundbreaking writings, including The Death and Life of Great American Cities, which challenged top-down urban planning and championed community-led preservation.
Click here to enter the Preservationists’ Homes tour
7. Little Flatirons
The meandering, eccentric street pattern of Greenwich Village is among its most charming and defining characteristics. The unique geometries born of this irregular street grid have led to creative solutions for certain plots of land. Acute angles at intersections, especially along Seventh Avenue South — which was extended through the neighborhood between 1911 and 1917 — precipitate triangular, or “flatiron” shaped buildings. Though the most famous Flatiron Building is found north of the district on 23rd Street, Greenwich Village hosts its own collection of “little flatirons.”
Click here to enter the Little Flatirons of the Village tour
8. Writers
Greenwich Village has been a hub of literary history since the 19th century, attracting writers whose work shaped American literature as well as publishers who challenged and transformed the printed word in this country. In the early 20th century, it drew members of the avant-garde and Modernist movements, including e.e. cummings and Djuna Barnes, who found from their Patchin Place enclave a community supportive of experimental writing. During the mid-20th century, the neighborhood became a home base for Beat Generation writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Lucien Carr, and William S. Burroughs, many of whom wrote and performed their work in Village coffeehouses, bars, and apartments. Countless other prominent names in American and international literature have lived and worked in the neighborhood over generations.
Click here to enter the Writers’ Homes and Haunts tour
9. Theaters
Greenwich Village has a rich Off-Off-Broadway and experimental theater history. Places like Cherry Lane Theater, the brainchild of Villager Edna St. Vincent Millay, have hugely impacted this art form.
Click here to enter the Theaters tour
10. Jewish History
Greenwich Village is steeped in Jewish history, from famous Jewish residents like poet Emma Lazarus and former mayors Fiorello LaGuardia and Ed Koch, to historic synagogues, to one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the city containing the remains of some of its earliest Jewish residents.
Click here to enter the Jewish History tour
11. Musicians
Greenwich Village is world-renowned for its connections to music history, including as the heart of the mid-20th-century folk revival. In the 1940s through the 1960s, the neighborhood’s coffeehouses, such as the Gaslight Café and Café Wha?, became launching pads for artists who would define American folk music. Iconic performers like Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Phil Ochs honed their craft in Village venues, using music as a vehicle for social commentary, civil rights advocacy, and antiwar protest. Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Lou Reed are just a tiny sampling of the vast array of prominent musicians who have lived, performed, and recorded in Greenwich Village.
Click here to enter the Musicians’ Homes tour
12. Mid-Century Modern Architecture
The mid-twentieth century saw the evolution of a design aesthetic that favored clean lines and geometries, simple colors, mass-produced materials, and functionality. Though the nineteenth-century row house may be the architectural type that first comes to mind when picturing historic Greenwich Village, the neighborhood was no stranger to the introduction of Mid-Century Modern design during its heyday.
Click here to enter the Mid-Century Modern tour
13. Most Charming Spots
The Greenwich Village Historic District is undeniably charming. With no insult to sites not included, our “Most Charming Spots” tour explores a selection of some of the most charming sites you’ll find in this extraordinarily quaint historic quarter — a most fitting way to conclude our whirlwind review of just some of the layers of history we love in Greenwich Village.
Click here to enter the Most Charming Spots tour
You can also hear more about these histories by watching the recording of our program, Architectural and Cultural Highlights of the Greenwich Village Historic District.