Frozen in Time: Greenwich Village Streetscapes

The Greenwich Village Historic District was designated on April 29th, 1969. The district includes roughly 2,200 buildings and spans over 100 blocks, covering much of the neighborhood between University Place and Washington Street, 13th Street and West 4th Street/St. Luke’s Place. 

Village Preservation was founded in 1980 in part to act as a steward to the Greenwich Village Historic District. The district is one of the city’s largest and oldest, and its continual preservation and oversight remains at the core of our mission. We have created a variety of resources to highlight and celebrate its rich and important history. As part of the district’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2019, we published a series of maps and tours that looked back on the neighborhood prior to its 1969 designation versus the present day. We recently released an updated version of these maps and tours, and today we will look at a few sites around the neighborhood from it.

345-361 Sixth Avenue

This row of buildings is located on the West side of Sixth Avenue between West 4th Street and Waverly Place. These buildings feature a range of styles and architectural detailing and were built over the course of 19th century. A look at the same streetscape in 2019 shows that besides changes to the storefronts as businesses have opened and closed, the buildings retain their 1960s appearance, as well as much of their 19th century appearance. In fact, under the guidance of several decades of landmarks regulations, as necessary changes have been made to the buildings, they have often restored previously altered or destroyed historic features.

101-111 West 10th Street

This unique row of buildings, 101-111 West 10th Street, are found at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 10th Street. The three-story structures were built in the 1830s for owner Andrew Smith, and apart from their storefronts, remain nearly identical to how they appeared in the 1960s and the 19th century, here as well with the exception of updates and renovations which in many cases brought back or restored historic features.

367-383 Bleecker Street

367-383 Bleecker Street, ca. 1965.

Although these buildings would have all originally had storefronts, by the 1960s a number had been removed. A look at the 2019 image below shows that since the district was designated, these storefronts have been reincorporated. Thanks to their landmark status these storefronts required LPC approval, resulting in contextually accurate version of what would have originally existed on these 19th century structures.

Looking at these sites show that for the most part, not all that much has changed in the years since the district was designated. The 1969 district designation protected buildings from most significant changes and demolition. When substantial changes are made, they require approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, resulting in more contextual and appropriate modifications. 

You too can take a look at the neighborhood in the 1960s using the updated “Then & Now” Map. The new version includes building footprints for every structure in the district. It allows users to search and select a building, prompting a pop-up with a photo of the building from the 1960s, and a contemporary image.

The pop-up also includes a link to the designation report for the building, which includes information such as construction date and builder. When a building is selected, a pop-up showing photos and additional information appears, and scrolling down users are greeted with the option to click on the designation report. 

Check out our new and improved Greenwich Village Historic District Map + Tours to explore more. The map also includes a number of themed tours that include sites related to Black History, Movie, TV Show & Play locations, Wood Frame houses, and much more.