…the Charlton King Vandam Historic District, Greenwich Village, and New York’s earliest landmarks. Go here and click on “Charlton King VanDam Historic District” to learn or see more about the district’s history….
Read MoreThe estate of Richmond Hill was built in what is now the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District in 1767. Image via the New York Public Library Warm, sunny days in the Village…
Read More…1840 at 20 King Street, via Wiki Commons Perhaps even more remarkably, as entire blocks of similar houses were destroyed along the streets (including Charlton, King, and VanDam themselves) to the…
Read MoreHistoric Homes of the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District On August 16th, 1966, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District. This small but distinct neighborhood is part of the…
Read More…and former GVSHP Trustee, will lead us on a walking tour to explore historic libraries in Greenwich Village. John has already led us on walking tours of sites in the…
Read More…the complex and its occupants. At a 2004 rally organized by GVSHP marking the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking, 505 LaGuardia residents made their feelings known to NYU about the…
Read More…without the trail blazed by Carole King. Heralded as the “Queen of Rock” and the “greatest songwriter of all time,” King is a four-time Grammy winner, and in 1971 was…
Read MoreLast week we shared an online Historic Bowery Walking Tour. This week we are sharing a walking tour of the Gansevoort Market Historic District, landmarked in 2003 thanks to efforts by GVSHP. Back…
Read More…for landmarking, we will continue to push for that. We also continue to watch closely for developments in the ongoing issue of sale and transfer of air rights for Hudson…
Read More…are held in the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center. Recently, a GVSHP member asked me who this King is and why the space was named after him. I…
Read More…McGee is a member, South Village Neighborhood Association; Blodgett is president, Charlton St. Block Association; Rosenstein is a member, Broome St. Block Association; Beam is president, Vandam St. Block Association…
Read More…And then, they stepped on the stage. The Talking Heads The first song to become a hit for the Talking Heads was the first song they wrote together, “Psycho Killer.”…
Read More…Vandam Street In 2014, three of the homes featured on the tour were located within the small Charlton King-Vandam Historic District, including 21 Charlton Street, 27 Charlton Street, and 17…
Read More…visible on the left. Those Federals, located at 15 and 17 King Street, are hard to miss with their gabled roofs. The designation report for the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District notes…
Read More…the stories of our groundbreaking residents never cease to amaze us. One such maverick who lived in our midst was La Diva Divina, opera legend Leontyne Price. 9 Vandam Street,…
Read More…after King was shot. This ended the life of one of the 20th century’s most revered and influential figures. It also began a fifteen year campaign to make Dr. King’s…
Read MoreMartin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. via Wiki Commons On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot as he stood on the…
Read More…after King was shot. This ended the life of one of the 20th century’s most revered and influential figures. It also began a fifteen year campaign to make Dr. King’s…
Read More…her into the harder factory work of cap making. We know that factory women were still paid low wages, and were endangered by poor working conditions. Schneiderman became interested in…
Read More…Martin Luther King holiday. “Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, sparked a fifteen year campaign spearheaded by Howard Bennett to…
Read More…Stop Making Sense, which captures a Talking Heads concert. The Stop Making Sense live version of the track is featured in the film’s accompanying soundtrack album. Its official title as a…
Read More…but got just a partial South Village landmarking commitment from the city. The city agreed to vote, before the end of 2013, on landmarking the remaining section of the South…
Read More…were looking at something very old and very special. To find out just how old, we scoured tax assessment records for the building spanning back to the 1820s (these are…
Read More…New York City landmark, please see this post. Myth #2: Landmarking reduces property values No. Landmarking helps to retain unique architectural details and protect the special character of a neighborhood…
Read More…this very complex agreement and the profound impact it will have upon our neighborhoods. What does the deal between the City Council and the City mean in terms of landmarking…
Read More…the Landmarks Preservation Commission was considering landmarking their properties, well before taking any action to protect them. What the report found is that while by far most property owners are…
Read MoreWe’re continuing to spend a lot of time thinking about things we used to do before the coronavirus outbreak, that we’re looking forward to hopefully doing again once things return to ‘normal.’ …
Read More…the unplanned moments that make walking tours with Village Preservation such a fulfilling way to start an evening out in our neighborhoods. View this post on Instagram A post shared…
Read More…increase the value of property. With the Real Estate Board of New York’s recent media blitz attacking landmarking, it’s probably more important now than ever to remember the lessons of…
Read More…than you did when you came in. You get your money’s worth not by looking at the scenery but inside your soul.” He was looking to create a theater that…
Read More9th Avenue looking southwest from Little West 12th Street today Though the character of Gansevoort Market has certainly undergone many changes over years, there are certain buildings and views that…
Read More…ears pricked up, as the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) has long tried to link landmarking to gentrification, claiming it hurts affordability by, among other things, constraining development….
Read More…dealer to the stars,” it also involves real estate and big money, and the very real threat of the wrecking ball. Ahead, explore the one-of-a-kind past of these buildings, which…
Read More…are working with allies and neighbors to promulgate and advance proposals for landmark designations in worthy but undesignated areas of the East Village and along the University Place, Broadway, and…
Read More…Street in the Meatpacking District. Provided courtesy of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project and the Leather Club Roma 835 Washington Street has had many past lives. In the 1930s,…
Read More…the market for $4.2 million. The Corcoran listing describes its drool-worthy details: “exposed beams, 3 fireplaces, handsome working kitchen and a rooftop garden.” In fact, in 2003, Architectural Digest featured the gorgeous interior renovation…
Read More…listing describes its drool-worthy details: “exposed beams, 3 fireplaces, handsome working kitchen and a rooftop garden.” In fact, in 2003, Architectural Digest featured the gorgeous interior renovation of this specific…
Read MoreDr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have been to the mountaintop” On April 3rd, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered what would become both his last and one of his…
Read More…efforts, making the park the beautiful green space that it remains today. If all goes according to a plan currently under discussion, the park could become a new National Park/Monument. …
Read More…experience some of the East Village’s immigrant history. The walking tour features ten locations and small businesses in the East Village that hold immigrant history. Read on for a sneak…
Read More…ukulele, in high school. In college he began making Appalachian dulcimers, a folk instrument that originated in Appalachia. After college he had a brief job teaching instrument-making at the Smithsonian,…
Read More…the Commission informed us that in response to the information we submitted, the building was ‘calendared.’ Looking over the letter got us thinking – do those outside of the preservation…
Read More…is working to get landmarked, so stay tuned! And to learn more about landmarking in New York City, you can read these past Landmarking 101 posts on Off the Grid….
Read More…floor. The Sixth Avenue IRT snaking its way north at West 3rd Street and 6th Avenue. Image via NYPL. In this week’s edition of Looking Up, we’re casting our gaze…
Read More…been to one of the hottest, trendiest neighborhoods in New York, and I mean the Meatpacking District, you may be surprised to know just how different it is now than…
Read MoreWe’re continuing to spend a lot of time thinking about things we used to do before the coronavirus outbreak, that we’re looking forward to hopefully doing again once things return…
Read MoreWe’re continuing to spend a lot of time thinking about things we used to do before the coronavirus outbreak, that we’re looking forward to hopefully doing again once things return…
Read More…to the art of sculpture and to art education; for her highly regarded portrayals of towering African American figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Booker T. Washington, and Mary…
Read More…building is landmarked now. GVSHP unsuccessfully called for the landmarking of the Provincetown Playhouse, which NYU demolished in 2009. Yet it retained a portion of the famous theater’s façade in…
Read MoreToday would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 84th birthday. The iconic figure of the Civil Rights Movement, assassinated on April 4, 1968, will be honored with a concert this…
Read More…the Great Depression, the WPA also dedicated large portions of its work to provide childcare for the working class. Many of these projects took place as federally funded nursery schools…
Read MoreLooking north on Broadway to Grace Church (l.) circa 1890s, image via NYPL, and (r.) today. Standing where Broadway begins its curve to the west at 10th Street, the landmarked…
Read More…Village map was self-published by the Seymour family, long-time residents of Greenwich Village and preservation pioneers within New York City. This map is part of a small self-guided walking tour…
Read MoreThis post is part of the Looking Up series, which explores the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our gaze above the sidewalk, the…
Read More…Landmarks Preservation Commission has landmarked about 415 buildings in Greenwich Village, from new historic districts in the the Meatpacking District, Far West, and South Village, to several individual buildings throughout…
Read MoreWhile we received some incredibly good news last week about possible future landmarking in the South Village, this week also marks the anniversary of some critical past victories in South…
Read More…Brad Kessler, author of the the memoir Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding and the Art of Making Cheese, once shared a top-floor studio. He remembers…
Read MoreImage via Missy S. This post is part of the Looking Up series, which explores the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our…
Read MoreWe’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about things we used to do before the coronavirus outbreak, that we’re looking forward to hopefully doing again once things return to…
Read MoreWe’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about things we used to do before the coronavirus outbreak, that we’re looking forward to hopefully doing again once things return to ‘normal.’ We’ve…
Read More…been recently sold, we’ve reached out to the new Mayor to urge support for the landmarking effort (read our letter here), and are calling new attention to the need to…
Read More…to refuse to provide information about the basis for deciding that nine landmarked 1840s houses at 44-54 Ninth Avenue/351-55 West 14th Street in the Meatpacking District are “unsafe” and in imminent danger…
Read MoreThis is part of the Looking Up series of posts, which explore the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our gaze above the sidewalk,…
Read More…such as “Talking Union” and “Which Side Are You On?” Seeger was also a founding member of the People’s Songs organization, which aimed to promote socially conscious music and support…
Read MoreLily Tomlin in the film,”The Incredible Shrinking Woman” We have recently learned that a new building permit application has been filed with the Department of Buildings for 75 First Avenue…
Read MoreWalking East 3rd Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2012 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreWalking East 3rd Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2012 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreWalking East 3rd Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2012 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read More…the Bowery Branch dormitories and accommodations was very high, but there were hardworking and not-so hardworking men that stayed for extended periods of time. The New York Times cites three…
Read More…is housing development conflict taking this form? What do the terms of this debate tell us about how we plan housing, about how we manage the planning process, and about…
Read MoreWalking East 7th Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2011 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreThis is the first in the Looking Up series of posts, which will explore the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our gaze above…
Read MoreWalking East 7th Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2011 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreWalking East 7th Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2011 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreWalking East 7th Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2011 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreWalking East 7th Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2011 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreThis is part of the Looking Up series of posts, which explore the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our gaze above the sidewalk,…
Read MoreThe new Whitney Museum of American Art source: whitney.org The new location of the Whitney Museum, near the High Line in the neighborhood known as the Meatpacking District, has been…
Read More…squawking relentlessly, christening the names of the ducklings in the story: Jack, Cack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack. McCloskey ended up caring for sixteen ducks in total, which…
Read MoreThis is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and…
Read More…all of the Far West Village (not to mention the Meatpacking District, the South Village, and most of the 14th Street, Broadway, and University Place corridors — oversights GVSHP has…
Read More…impacting our city on landmarking and historic districts. In that case, they misrepresented and inflated the number of days until storefront permit is issued by the Landmarks Preservation Commission by…
Read MoreThis post is part of the Looking Up series, which explores the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our gaze above the sidewalk, the…
Read MoreA recent “report” by the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) was released that (incredibly, but predictably for REBNY) blamed the retail vacancy crisis impacting our city on landmarking…
Read More…the home’s landmark status. So we thought we’d take this opportunity to review 121 Charles Street as part of our Landmarking 101 series. First, a little history on this home….
Read More…passed to restrict such demolition in the future. The Astor Library was the first structure to be saved from the wrecking ball due to the newly formed commission and freshly…
Read MoreOn January 6 2015, on Three Kings Day, the East Village community and allies rallied on the steps of City Hall on a cold winter day to urge Mayor de…
Read More…and groundbreaking roles in the Greenwich Village and Lower East Side theater scenes, including the Harlem Suitcase Theater, run by the International Worker’s Order located at 80 Fifth Avenue; Villager…
Read MoreI have often noticed these old drinking fountains on historic buildings – there is one at the Jefferson Market Library on the corner of 6th Avenue and 10th Street, one…
Read More…we have come in those fifty one years in seeking to preserve the heritage and historic built environment of our city. According to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), there…
Read MoreWith 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…
Read More…houses at 14th Street and 9th Avenue in the Meatpacking District. The city and developer claim that the houses posed an imminent threat of collapse, which was only “discovered” as…
Read More…Study that underscored that landmarking does not undermine affordability. The recent report by Historic Districts Council “The Intersection of Affordable Housing and Historic Districts” also bolsters this case. Close to home, EVGrieve reported that…
Read MoreWalking East 3rd Street is a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2012 Intro to Public History course. Each pair of students was tasked with researching the…
Read MoreSuperior Ink, prior to demolition For over 85 years, the 195 foot tall smokestacks of the Superior Inks building were a local landmark and beacon for the Far West Village….
Read MoreSecond Avenue Presbyterian Church, constructed 1831 (image courtesy HABS) Speaking of the firm Town, Davis & Dakin (which as you’ll recall from yesterday’s post built NYU’s original main building), we…
Read More…academy, the building faced the wrecking ball in the post-World War II years. However, preeminent preservationist Margot Gayle led a grassroots effort to save the building, and it found new…
Read More…theater continued to fuel some of the most ground-breaking experiments in the chronicles of the American stage. The Downtown Theater movement, The Living Theatre, and Theatre of the Absurd all…
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