blog
Westbeth Landmarked!
…Click HERE to see more about the first-of-its-kind artists loft tour of Westbeth which GVSHP and the Westbeth Artists Residents Council held in 2010, marking Westbeth’s 40th anniversary and GVSHP’s…
Read MoreSearch Results for westbeth
blog
Westbeth – Adaptive Reuse Trailblazer, Home, Studio, and Community for Over 50 Years
…and other precious possessions in Westbeth Park after Hurricane Sandy If you’re interested in finding out more about the incredible history, architecture, and sights of Westbeth, visit our Westbeth page….
Read Moreblog
Westbeth Announced: August 7th, 1967
…into it. Westbeth’s transformation was the first significant commission by the then-largely unknown architect Richard Meier. Mayor John Lindsay at the August 1967 Westbeth announcement. Documenting the significance of Westbeth…
Read Moreblog
Westbeth Turns 50!
…of Westbeth’s Bell Telephone History From the 2010 Village Preservation/Wesbeth artists loft tour, photo by Bob Estremera. Village Presevation Westbeth Oral Histories Village Preservation Westbeth News Village Preservation Westbeth Blog…
Read Moreblog
In Memoriam: African American Artists of Westbeth
…landmark designation report Village Preservation’s Westbeth Historic Plaque Unveiling National Register of Historic Places listing of Westbeth’s Bell Telephone History Village Presevation Westbeth Oral Histories Village Preservation Westbeth News Village…
Read Moreblog
Westbeth Photographer Shelley Seccombe Documents the Greenwich Village Waterfront Since 1970
…Westbeth’s Bell Telephone History Village Presevation Westbeth Oral Histories Village Preservation Westbeth News Village Preservation Westbeth Blog Posts Recap of, information about , and pictures of Village Preservation and Westbeth’s Artist Loft Tour…
Read Moreblog
Westbeth, Punk, and the Golden Age of Hip-Hop: SD50
Westbeth Artist Housing opened in 1970. It is located in the Far West Village, and spans an entire city block bounded by Washington, Bank, West and Bethune Streets. Westbeth was…
Read Moreblog
A Landmark Anniversary for Westbeth
…behind Westbeth’s founding HERE. Click HERE to see more about the first-of-its-kind artists loft tour of Westbeth which GVSHP and the Westbeth Artists Residents Council held in 2010, marking Westbeth’s…
Read Moreblog
Remembering photojournalist and Westbeth resident Bettye Lane
Bella Abzug launches her New York mayoral campaign in this 1977 photograph by Bettye Lane. Bettye Lane, a photojournalist who lived at Westbeth, died last Wednesday at the age of…
Read Moreblog
blog
blog
blog
Oral History Subject and Artistic Inspiration: Christina Maile
…By reading this blog on the Westbeth Chronicles entitled “Founding of Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective, Part 1” one begins to see the impact Christina in turn had on Westbeth. 2022…
Read Moreblog
2020 Village Awardee: George Cominskie
…been a tireless advocate for the residents and artists of Westbeth, and for keeping Westbeth a an affordable and well-functioning community. Especially as Westbeth, which opened on May 19, 1970,…
Read Moreblog
Happy Birthday, Richard Meier
…Bell Laboratories into the publicly funded artist housing complex Westbeth in the West Village. As part of GVSHP’s Oral History Collection on Westbeth, Meier was interviewed about this project in…
Read Moreblog
Village Awards – Recognizing the Places That Make Our Neighborhoods Special
…history with a number of past blog posts that share how richly this place contributes to our neighborhoods. https://www.villagepreservation.org/2011/10/25/westbeth-landmarked/ https://www.villagepreservation.org/2020/05/17/westbeth-turns-50/ https://www.villagepreservation.org/2015/10/23/a-landmark-anniversary-for-westbeth/ Throughout March we’ll be highlighting past award winners to…
Read Moreblog
Village Preservation Oral History: Merce Cunningham
…was located at Westbeth from 1971 until 2012 when the dance company dissolved. In his oral history with GVSHP, Merce provides an insightful account of his experience at Westbeth. (click…
Read Moreblog
Fingers Crossed for Another: Individual Landmark Designations We’ve Won
…landmark Westbeth on October 25, 2011, following through on a promise made seven years earlier to GVSHP and other community groups working to extend landmark protections in the Far West Village. Westbeth is a…
Read Moreblog
On This Day: Bell Labs Invents the “Talkie”
…and in part upon the trailblazing conversion and adaptive re-use of the complex into Westbeth artists housing in the late 20th century. We’ve written about Westbeth several times on Off…
Read Moreblog
Open House New York in Greenwich Village: The history of three unique sites
…Westbeth via Wiki Commons No less important to the history of preservation and adaptive reuse is the full-block, 13-building complex now known as Westbeth, which from the late-19th- through the mid-20th-century served…
Read Moreblog
Merce Cunningham: Dance-Maker, Innovator, Teacher, and Villager
…by projecting digital artwork derived from dancers’ motion-captured figures onto the stage, creating yet another dimension of movement. Westbeth Artists’ Housing, the former Bell Labs building Westbeth played a major…
Read Moreblog
The Annual Village Awards: Spotlight on the Regina Kellerman Award for Preservation
…popular and critically acclaimed photographs, published in 2023. Watch the recording of this program here. 2010: Westbeth Artists’ Housing Westbeth Courtyard from the top of the ramp, photograph by Ezra…
Read Moreblog
Rare photos of the High Line being demolished in the 1960s tell the story of a changing West Village
…The same view of Westbeth today, via Village Preservation Just a few years earlier, the Bell Telephone Labs had been converted to first-of-its-kind publicly-subsidized artists housing and studios now known…
Read Moreblog
A Five Year Milestone for Far West Village Landmarking
…anniversary of Westbeth’s founding — but still has not done so). If you’d like to urge the LPC to keep its promise and landmark Westbeth and other remaining sites in…
Read Moreblog
Few Republicans, And One Big Political Paradox, in the Village
…Westbeth is for the most part home to long-time residents, many of whom have been in the complex for thirty years or more. Westbeth is also neither pricey nor market-rate;…
Read Moreblog
Peter Ruta, Acclaimed Artist & Villager, 1918-2016
…the doors to his home and studio in Westbeth as part of a 2010 Westbeth Artist Loft Tour which benefited GVSHP and the Westbeth Artists Residents Council. Peter in his…
Read Moreblog
Merce Cunningham’s Centennial: Leaping into 100
…arts that have defined Greenwich Village, and more specifically the Westbeth Center for the Arts, which was also home to dancer/choreographer Martha Graham. Merce Cunningham with Carolyn Brown at Westbeth,…
Read Moreblog
Oral History: Ralph Lee’s Halloween
…the “father” of Greenwich Village’s annual Halloween Parade. Ralph Lee in his Westbeth studio in the Far West Village, via 6sqft.com Born in 1935, Lee describes his journey in an…
Read Moreblog
The Life and Lithographs of Laurie Ourlicht
…1970s through the 1990s, and she moved into the Westbeth Artist Housing after it opened in 1970 in the former Bell Laboratories at 55 Bethune Street. While that’s pretty much…
Read Moreblog
Happy Birthday, David Vaughan!
…project. In it, Vaughan and Cunningham talk about the beginnings of the company, how it came to Westbeth, and the community of Westbeth and surrounding neighborhood from the 1970’s until…
Read Moreblog
Remembering Hurricane Sandy
…Actor Vin Deisel, who grew up in Westbeth, donated two weeks of hot lunches for Westbeth’s seniors following Sandy. Westbeth is now undergoing a $40 million retrofit of the building….
Read Moreblog
Old Buildings, New Forms: Creative adaptive re-use in the built environment
…resident and good friend to Village Preservation George Cominskie produced the documentary film Westbeth: Home of the Arts. You can read more about the history of Westbeth, and the role…
Read Moreblog
Stories of the Village
Westbeth. Photo courtesy of Shelley Seccombe This week, our friends at the Jefferson Market Branch Library will host workshops for a new project they are undertaking called Your Village, Your…
Read Moreblog
Village Halloween Parade Origins
Crones gather at Westbeth for one of the first Halloween parades Earlier this week, we were thrilled to announce that Westbeth – the country’s first subsidized housing complex for artists…
Read Moreblog
Ada Louise Huxtable: Democratizing Architectural Discourse in Greenwich Village and Beyond
…York Times May 10, 1970 Westbeth Artists’ Housing Interior View. Westbeth Artists’ Housing is a triumph of adaptive reuse and shining example of the good historic preservation can do in…
Read Moreblog
2020 Village Preservation Public Programs Roundup
…Christina Maile Three long-time Westbeth residents reflected on the history, art, community, culture, and future of the unparalleled Westbeth, which turned 50 this year! (video) (event description) Women and Women’s…
Read Moreblog
Happy Birthday Martha Graham
…11th floor of Westbeth, on West Street and the corner of Bethune Street. I spoke to artistic director Janet Eilber, who told me that the light and space of this…
Read Moreblog
What’s in a Name: Bank Street
…and its early industrial history in the National Register report on Westbeth, a nomination sponsored by GVSHP. Westbeth is currently under consideration, or calendared, for New York City landmark status….
Read Moreblog
Fighting Westway
In 2014 Village Preservation presented a program at the Community Room at Westbeth with author Prof. William W. Buzbee and his book, “Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the…
Read Moreblog
Following Sandy: Our Neighbors in Need
Many residents in and near our area are still without power, heat, or water. Some are elderly or infirmed, and some have small children. Two complexes in need are Westbeth…
Read Moreblog
LPC Spotlights Women in the Arts
…Charles with entry door to the carriage house at 131 1/2; Bottom-left: 120 East 10th Street (both Google Maps Street Views). Right: Westbeth Artists Housing (photo by Barry Munger, 2009)…
Read Moreblog
Op-Ed: Preservation Can Help Affordability
…warehouses were replaced with luxury high-rises, not affordable housing. REBNY should tell that to the residents of Westbeth and 505 LaGuardia Place, Greenwich Village’s two largest affordable housing complexes. Westbeth…
Read Moreblog
Community Cornerstones: Penny Jones & Co. Puppets
…artists’ residence Westbeth, as well as mining the depths of the artistic talent located in the venerable housing complex. So we thought we’d spend some time looking at one of…
Read Moreblog
GVSHP Oral History: Otis Kidwell Burger
…and ferries changed both the aural and transportation experiences within the far West Village. “It was still the telephone company [Westbeth]. And the train that went screeching through Westbeth, it’s…
Read Moreblog
Beyond the Village and Back: Assyrian Revival on West 30th Street
…home where folks could be deeply Jewish and proudly gay. In 1976, CBST moved to a loft in the Westbeth Complex on Bethune Street in the Far West Village, overlooking…
Read Moreblog
Decades of Spooky Splendor: Celebrating the Village Halloween Parade
…quite humble compared to todays internationally renowned affair, starting as an informal gathering of friends and family brought together by Westbeth Artists Community resident and puppeteer Ralph Lee (learn more…
Read Moreblog
Ralph Lee, 2018 Village Awardee
…courtyard of Westbeth Artist Housing, where Ralph still lives. It traveled through the narrow streets of Greenwich Village from West Street to Washington Square. It halted occasionally for a band…
Read Moreblog
Nile Rodgers: Musical Innovator, Child of the Village
…block looking right was the Bell Telephone Laboratory (now Westbeth), with an elevated railroad track that ran right through the middle of the building … back then, to my eyes,…
Read Moreblog
Village Halloween: No Tricks, Just Treats
…for the whole family. The Village Halloween Parade The early years of the Village Halloween parade at Westbeth. Photo courtesy of Shelley Seccombe. The Village Halloween Parade will take place…
Read Moreblog
Thank You To Our Members — Making 40 Years of Village Preservation Possible
…in 2016, both of which we proposed for designation and fought to get landmarked. In 2011, Westbeth was landmarked, capping a seven-year advocacy campaign by Village Preservation. Westbeth We also…
Read Moreblog
Memorializing Our Neighborhoods’ Remarkable Past One Plaque At A Time!
…public’s mind. Westbeth Artists Housing Throughout their history, our neighborhoods have attracted more than their share of artists, visionaries, intellectuals, and trouble-makers. This general assortment of square pegs in conventional…
Read Moreblog
Bringing Graham’s 19 Poses to Village Voices’ “Monument to Choice”
…York Times review) Premiere: 1934. Photographer: Barbara Morgan. Photo from Martha Graham Company’s Website. A participant posing on “A Monument to Choice.” Photo by Kimberlee Hewitt. In residence at Westbeth,…
Read Moreblog
Puppets and the Village Halloween Parade
…known for its robust attendance and participation, colorful costumes, and puppetry, was founded by Westbeth resident Ralph Lee in 1974. In 2019 we released our oral history with the celebrated…
Read Moreblog
Nam June Paik: Father of Video Art, and Villager
…“Father of Video Art,” played a vital role in our neighborhoods’ rich artistic history. Working out of his studio in Westbeth along with his partner and fellow avant-garde artist Shigeko…
Read Moreblog
In Memory of Ralph Lee (1936-2023), Village Wizard
…warlock in our neighborhood, Ralph Lee (July 9, 1935 – May 12, 2023). Working out of Westbeth, this master puppeteer and mask-maker enriched our lives by infusing the world with…
Read Moreblog
Finding George Spaventa #SouthOfUnionSquare
…New York in 1951, he lived on East 11th Street, and kept his studio at 84 East 10th (until he was evicted in 1970, spurring his move into Westbeth Artists…
Read Moreblog
(Re-)Remembering Diane Arbus
…since-landmarked Westbeth Artists Community, where she committed suicide. Arbus’ photography received great accolades as well as significant criticism, including charges of exploitation of her subjects. Although she did not want…
Read Moreblog
Oral Histories on the Founding of An Artists’ Colony, A Prison Reform Organization, and So Much More
…and on April 27, 2016, we recorded our oral history with David Rothenberg. Dixon Bain Dixon Bain served as the project manager for planning and construction of Westbeth Artist’s Residence…
Read Moreblog
Image Archive Collection: The High Line in 1979 — Noah Greenberg’s “Manhattan Promenade” Proposal
…ran through the middle of the streets, affording unique views of the Hudson River and the streets of Manhattan. The first section of the line south of Westbeth (Bethune Street)…
Read Moreblog
Mourning the Loss of Superior Inks, and Taking Stock of Its Replacement
…building. In response to protests from GVSHP and neighbors, the height of the new tower was kept lower than that of neighboring Westbeth, the (now-landmarked) former Bell Telephone Labs. In…
Read Moreblog
Happy Birthday, John Lennon!
…West 10th Street. The famous pictures of Lennon wearing his “New York” t-shirt and flashing a peace sign in front of the Statue of Liberty were shot by Westbeth artist…
Read Moreblog
Oh How Our Houses Have Changed
…designated a NYC landmark in 1974. You can access the designation report for First Houses here. Westbeth fountain at Bank Street entrance, photo courtesy of Shelley Seccombe In addition to…
Read Moreblog
Labor Demonstrations Nothing New for Village
…the rich labor history in the East Village and Village — what’s your favorite labor history site? westbeth, the former Bell Telephone Labs — still awaiting promised landmark designation by…
Read Moreblog
Keith Haring in the Village
…first solo show in New York was at the Westbeth Painter’s Space in 1981. Original posters for Haring’s first NY solo show at Westbeth, as seen at the Brooklyn Museum…
Read Moreblog
Adaptive Reuse in Chelsea
…adaptive reuse in the Village including the Westbeth artists’ residence, the Archive’s Building, the Jefferson Market Library, and GVSHP’s very own office building. Examples of adaptive reuse in the Village-…
Read Moreblog
It Happened Here: 80’s Music Videos
…At that time the High Line continued through that building all the way down to Westbeth (the Westbeth-to-West Coast section of the High Line was torn down a few years…
Read Moreblog
The Real Obstacles to Affordable Housing Construction
…cross their minds: Landmarking. Landmarks like Westbeth are not the problem; in fact, Westbeth is a landmarked, preserved affordable housing development. That’s ironic, given that the Real Estate Board of…
Read Moreblog
Halloween Happenings in the Village
…The early years of the village halloween parade at Westbeth. Photo courtesy of Shelley Seccombe. The Village Halloween Parade, which had its origins at Westbeth, celebrates its 40th anniversary tonight….
Read Moreblog
Ten Years Ago: Far West Village Protests, and Progress
…years, culminating in the 2011 landmark designation of the full-block Westbeth Artists Residence complex. But the City broke their promise and a handful of sites which they promised to landmark…
Read Moreblog
Looking Back and Looking Ahead
…and the South Village Historic District (2013). Next Andrew spoke of individual landmarks, which include such notable structures as Westbeth, LaMaMa (a 2014 Village Award winner), the Horse Auction Mart…
Read Moreblog
The Red Herring at 570 Lex
…slows down gentrification.” In Greenwich Village, two examples of landmarked affordable housing complexes are Westbeth and 505 LaGuardia Place, noted GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman. Landmarking a rent-stabilized building puts…
Read Moreblog
High Line, Part 3
…of the meat and sugar industries in this neighborhood. A few years ago, filmmaker George Cominskie gave us a screening of his documentary Westbeth—Home of the Arts. Westbeth still has…
Read Moreblog
Strange Bedfellows: Stanford White and Diane Arbus
…Arbus lived here until 1970, when she was one of the original residents to move into the newly-opened Westbeth Artists Housing. She took her own life while living there in…
Read Moreblog
Eight Abandoned East Village Buildings’ Second Acts As Beacons of Culture
…Crystal Field, George Bartenieff, Theo Barnes, and Lawrence Kornfeld at Westbeth in 1970, moved here and gave the building a new purpose at last. This organization transformed the space into…
Read Moreblog
“Our Village is Star in an Uptown Exhibit” — September 26, 1990
…World War II, artists, writers, musicians, and actors moved to the riverside Village from other parts of the district. By 1970, the Bell Telephone Laboratories building became Westbeth, a federally-subsidized…
Read Moreblog
Remembering Margot Gayle, In Her Own Words
…our oral history collection. It includes a ‘preservation pioneers’ collection consisting of oral histories with Jane Jacobs among others; a Westbeth collection that includes oral histories with Richard Meier and…
Read Moreblog
Welcome to March! Celebrate Irish Heritage and Women’s History with Village Preservation Programs
…the audience. Later on, Diana Goetsch read two poems by Muriel Rukeyser, a 20th century New York-based poet who lived for a time at Westbeth. At once playful and immensely…
Read Moreblog
Historic Preservation 101: What is a Landmark?
…Listings secured by GVSHP include the 2009 designation of Westbeth Artist Housing for its significance as pioneering affordable housing for artists. Are there financial incentives for owners of properties listed on the…
Read Moreblog
Theater for The New City: 2018 Village Awardee
…as one of our Village Awardees. Crystal Field, George Bartenieff, Theo Barnes, and Lawrence Kornfeld formed TNC at Westbeth. It was named “Theater for the New City” after a speech in…
Read Moreblog
The High Line is Dismantled and the West Side is Transformed
…rowhouses and small apartment buildings. Demolition of the High Line north of Bank Street and what is now Westbeth, all the way to Gansevoort Street where the High Line now…
Read Moreblog
Business of the Month – The Ink Pad, 37 7th Avenue
…community space at Westbeth. While some visitors may say they are not creative in any way, Anna says “yes you are!” She has a wide selection of items and tools…
Read Moreblog
Village Remains Tops for Artists in NYC
…most part no longer the proverbial starving artists — that is unless they are lucky enough to live at Westbeth (subsidized housing for artists), in rent stabilized housing (of which…
Read Moreblog
Penny Arcade’s Village Preservation Oral History – Chronicles of the Queen of Downtown
…among others; a Westbeth collection that includes oral histories with Richard Meier and Merce Cunningham, among others; a South Village collection including oral histories with musician David Amram, Matt Umanov…
Read Moreblog
A Rebuilt Corner, a Carpenter House, and an Art Deco Beauty: New Additions to Our Greenwich Village Historic District Map
…famed Westbeth Arts building, which also has a past as a factory, as it now is a residence, like 39 Bethune Street with its dramatic and varied history. Max Siegel’s…
Read Moreblog
Truman Capote and Philip Seymour Hoffman: Greenwich Village Artists Entwined
…which until 2020 operated in the beautiful black-box space in the Westbeth Arts Complex facing Bank Street. There, he directed, produced, and appeared in numerous stage productions. It’s impossible to…
Read Moreblog
Why Isn’t This Landmarked? 64-66 5th Avenue
…on, now located at 55 Bethune Street in Westbeth. The plaque at 66 Fifth Avenue. In 2015 we unveiled one of our historic plaques on 66 5th Avenue in honor…
Read Moreblog
The Pathfinder Mural: Public Political Art in the Far West Village
…built along West Street between West 11th and Charles Street. This transformed the Greenwich Village waterfront from warehouses, factories, garages, and modest residences occupied largely by artists (Westbeth) and civil…
Read Moreblog
New York School Painter Janice Biala’s “Pendulating Spirit”
…Westbeth Artist Housing community) recalls that Biala had to maintain a hard exterior in order to break into, and thrive within, the male-dominated New York School art world. Asked by…
Read Moreblog
#SouthofUnionSquare — Dance Tour
…American dance company. Long after Graham’s death in 1991 it has continued on, now located at 55 Bethune Street in Westbeth. 78 Fifth Avenue 78 Fifth Avenue, 2009. The Erick…
Read Moreblog
Village Preservation Historic Plaques Honor Trailblazing Women in our Neighborhoods
…at 55 Bethune Street in Westbeth. In 2015 we unveiled one of our historic plaques in honor of her, with The New School, at 66 Fifth Avenue where her company rehearsed and forged…
Read Moreblog
Martha Graham
…Long after Graham’s death in 1991 it has continued on, now located at 55 Bethune Street in Westbeth. Graham is one of many women, and one of many dancers, who made…
Read Moreblog
The Church of the Village: Remembering Injustice Against Gay Clergy Event
…Abels served as the director of Westbeth from 1972-73. Abels was very involved not only in the artistic life of the neighborhood, but also helped spearhead and oversaw the restoration…
Read Moreblog
Five More Reasons to Support Historic Preservation
…latest green technologies, while also utilizing durable materials that last longer and therefore minimize their carbon footprint. Affordability Westbeth: landmarked affordable housing complex. Photo by Barry Munger. Historic preservation can…
Read Moreblog
Hugh Hurd: Artist and Civil Rights Hero for the Village and Beyond
…labor, and civil rights movements to affect major improvements in how African Americans are treated in America. He was an artist who lived at Westbeth in the West Village, and…
Read Moreblog
The Origin of Love Tour: Spreading a Love that Started in the Village
…from our neighborhoods, including the Westbeth Theatre Center, helped make the original show happen. John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s glam/punk musical would eventually become a movie directed by Mitchell….
Read Moreblog
Walk Through LGBTQ+ History with Our Civil Rights and Social Justice Map
…of the Holy Apostles at 300 Ninth Avenue. In 1976, they began renting space in the Westbeth Artists Community at 55-57 Bethune Street, overlooking that building’s iconic courtyard. It would…
Read Moreblog
Women Crush Wednesday: The Power of Martha Graham
…VILLAGE VOICES’ Martha Graham exhibit at Westbeth Artists’ Housing As a young dancer, Graham considered the style of her teacher, Ruth St. Denis, cliche, and she thought the form of…
Read Moreblog
Martha Graham: Dancer of the Century
…the past decade, the company, along with the Graham School, has been based out of Westbeth, at 55 Bethune Street. Earlier in its history, it was located at 66 Fifth…
Read Moreblog
Exploring Virtual Village Voices, Part 3: cummings, Cunningham, and Draper
…forever changed the landscape of dance, music, and contemporary art. He lived at 107 Bank Street with his partner John Cage, and for many years his studio was located at Westbeth Artists Housing…
Read Moreblog
Cool Down With Keith Haring!
…the East Village, and at Westbeth, landmarked after many years of advocacy by GVSHP. Fellow artists included Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf, Tseng Kwong Chi, actress Debi Mazar, and hip hop pioneer Fab Five Freddy. …
Read More