Long-time Off the Grid readers will remember the stir that was caused last summer when an ill-informed real estate listing described the property at 121 Charles Street as a development site. GVSHP was quick to let people know that the property’s location in the Greenwich Village Historic District meant that any proposed work would require […]
Following on some groundbreaking events last week – the LPC designation of the Stonewall Inn as the city’s first LGBT individual landmark and then the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality – we thought we’d feature some historic images taken by photographer Diana Davies. Yesterday, we also celebrated the 46th anniversary of the June 28, […]
On the corner of 12th Street, the highly ornamented 817 Broadway is a visual treat. The building, which turns 120 years old this year, was constructed in 1895 to the designs of prolific architect George B. Post. Post designed several well-known buildings in New York that have long been demolished, so it was nice to […]
In remembering the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln assassination, the Merchant’s House Museum displayed a dress in the house that was worn by a member of the Tredwell family to an entertainment venue known as Laura Keene’s Theatre. In one of the pockets was a ticket from a performance there. This is how I first […]
The Lower East Side means many things to many people. Working as an architectural historian in New York City, it means a great deal to me. I always consider it a joy to travel the world and learn the history of places near and far, but New York has always been special to me because […]
Okay, everyone, if you’ve been considering joining us for our annual house tour, but haven’t yet purchased tickets,then now is your chance! It’s this Sunday, May 3rd from 1 – 5:30 PM. Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind opportunity to see six beautiful homes in Greenwich Village. This is also GVSHP’s biggest annual fundraiser, so […]
We’re just under two weeks away from our annual house tour. We hope you’ll be joining us! Six Village townhouses will be opening their doors to help benefit the work of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Tickets can be purchased here. One of the homes on this year’s tour has a special connection […]
We’re excited to announce that individual tickets for our 17th annual house tour are now available for purchase! There are a number of different types; scroll to the bottom of the page to buy individual tickets. As we gear up for the big day on Sunday, May 3rd, we wanted to share some fun bits […]
The history of Broadway is a diverse one. In our neighborhood, this famous thoroughfare has seen upscale townhouses be replaced by store-and-loft buildings, many of which have since been converted to apartment buildings. For a long period of time, clothing manufacturing was prevalent here. And where there was clothing manufacturing there were always sewing machines. […]
It seems like there are countless mentions on the Internet of the apartment building in which Monica, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey lived on “Friends,” the hit show that ran from 1994-2004. Even we here on Off the Grid wrote about it and several other locations. In that post we also mentioned that, in addition to […]
After a long, cold, and snowy January and February, Mother Nature decided we weren’t quite ready for spring just because our calendars told us it was March. Only a few days into the month, the city was covered in snow. While we weren’t exactly thrilled, we couldn’t help but notice how pretty the neighborhood looked. […]
First off, this is our 1,100th blog post! Be sure to click on the blue image in our sidebar to read more of our posts categorized by neighborhood. For today’s post, we thought we’d share a useful resource that you may not know exists. A little over a year ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) […]
If you love walking our Village streets, chances are you’ve come across the neglected little building at 237 Bleecker Street. Once a stagecoach house when it was built c. 1835, the wood structure is a cherished piece of Village history, yet it’s fallen on hard times. A proposal to reconstruct most of the facade and […]
Today we’d like to wish 203 Prince Street a happy “landmark” birthday. On this day 41 years ago, in 1974, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated 203 Prince Street an individual landmark. The building is located in the South Village, a neighborhood you can learn more about on our Preservation page.
Today, the building that houses the Salmagundi Club at 47 Fifth Avenue is a bit of an odd duck. At four-and-a-half stories, the 1853 Italianate style rowhouse is sandwiched by taller apartment buildings on either side. To someone walking by, the stately old brownstone may almost look like the Little House from the Stuart Little […]
This post is the third in a three-part series about holidays held in the Village, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2014 Intro to Public History course. In conjunction with the public program held on Wednesday, December 17th, each group was also tasked with sharing their discoveries with us on Off […]
This post is the second in a three-part series about holidays held in the Village, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2014 Intro to Public History course. In conjunction with the public program held on Wednesday, December 17th, each group was also tasked with sharing their discoveries with us on Off […]
This post is the first in a three-part series about holidays held in the Village, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2014 Intro to Public History course. In conjunction with the public program held on Wednesday, December 17th, each group was also tasked with sharing their discoveries with us on Off […]
For today’s Building Broadway post, we thought we’d take a look at the former McCreery’s Dry Goods Store at the corner of Broadway and 11th Street. Featuring this building is particularly timely because it was one of four “calendared” buildings in our neighborhoods that was, until very recently, scheduled to be “de-calendared” by the Landmarks […]
Though a rare surviving architectural element today, the tearoom (also known as a back porch or tea porch) was an original feature of Greek Revival rowhouses throughout New York City in the 1840s and 1850s. Constructed of wood, tearooms were located at the rear of brick houses and faced the gardens. If you’re familiar with […]
By now, many of you have heard about the controversy over the little house at 121 Charles Street, at the corner of Greenwich Street. If you haven’t, ERG Property Advisors listed the house for sale as a development site for “a developer or user to execute a wide variety of potential visions, from boutique condominiums, […]
Earlier this month the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved a revised design for a new building at 192 7th Avenue South, corner of West 11th Street. It will replace a one-story structure. This is the second of two new buildings that the LPC has approved on 7th Avenue South this past year, no. 130 being […]
Today on “A Tale of Two” I actually have three tenements to share and compare. This group can be found on the south side of East 13th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. If you’re familiar with tenement design and have a tendency to admire buildings like I do, you might have noticed that these […]
We love our landmarks. So we thought we’d show it with our new series: Your Neighborhood Landmark. This series will highlight and celebrate individual landmarks across our neighborhoods that have been designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) since its creation in 1965. Do you live or pass by one of these landmarks often? Then be […]
Kids today still know what a pencil is and how to sharpen it, right? In any case, following the news of P.S. 64 we reported on earlier this week, we thought we’d take a look at another (even older) East Village school later converted to community use. This former H-plan school building was constructed in […]
Since 1912, this site has served as a station house for the NYPD (it replaced a 19th century stable and feed store). Originally known as the 15th Precinct Police Station, it became the Ninth Precinct in 1929 when the city’s precincts were renumbered. Fans of TV shows “NYPD Blue” and “Kojak” might recognize the building […]
Many longtime residents of the Village have wondered about the fate of 43 MacDougal Street, which has sat vacant for decades. Located at the corner of King Street on the eastern edge of the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District, 43 MacDougal is a Greek Revival style townhouse that was built as part of a row in 1846. […]
It’s been a while since our last Building Broadway post, but that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped admiring all those stunning structures along that oh-so-famous thoroughfare. Today’s feature is 841 Broadway, originally known as the Roosevelt Building when it was constructed in 1893. Yes, it was named after those Roosevelts, powerful merchants in 19th century New […]
Last month reader Mike commented on our Lewis Street post that his aunt lived nearby on Houston, and that he remembered seeing a ‘Manhattan Street’ when he visited. I hadn’t heard of Manhattan Street, and since I love looking at old maps, I just had to investigate! Lo and behold, there it was on the […]
This week we thought we’d take another look at sister tenements – designed by the same architect, built the same year, and located next to each other – in the East Village. Constructed c. 1890 by builder/owner Jobst Hoffman, 226 and 228 East 6th Street are two such buildings. Designed in the Renaissance Revival style, […]
Much has been said lately about the potential sale of 121 Charles Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District. This summer, members of the Glass family (owners of the house for nearly a century when it was located on York Avenue) contacted us about their concern for the house’s future. They also sent us some […]
Today on Map It! we’re unearthing some old maps and photos of Lewis Street, which once ran diagonally from Grand Street to East 8th Street between Avenue D and the East River. It was almost completely de-mapped in the mid-20th century to make way for three public housing complexes: the Jacob Riis Houses (built 1945-49) […]
Located at the corner of West 10th and Washington Streets, the imposing building at 277 West 10th Street was built between 1894 and 1896 to the designs of Martin V.B. Ferdon. Now residential, it lies within the boundaries of the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension in the Far West Village. No. 277 West 10th Street […]
With the summer breeze , a stop along the Greenwich Village waterfront to reminisce about its past seems in order. The building at 392 West Street (A.K.A. 6 Weehawken Street) is a charming physical reminder of the wooden buildings that once lined this stretch of our neighborhood. For its modest appearance, its history is quite […]
Here’s an unassuming building with some interesting connections to one of our country’s premiere architectural firms — McKim, Mead & White. Meet 119 Avenue D, which at first glance may be mistaken for an old tenement building, but was actually built as a factory in 1883. Though the facade has been altered over the […]
Welcome back to another post in our Throwback Thursday series where we feature everyday scenes of yesteryear. I recently came across some neat market photos taken by Andrew Herman as part of the Federal Art Project. The ones featured today were all taken in the 1930s on First Avenue between today’s St. Mark’s Place (referred […]
Do you know what a lot line window is? Could you identify them in the historic photo of the Bayard-Condict Building above? They’re a little tricky to see given the angle of the camera, but they are the windows on the side elevation (wall) that butts up against the property’s lot line and the one-story […]
One year ago today outside the Church of the Village at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 13th Street, GVSHP helped to unveil a plaque to commemorate the first meeting of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). The organization, which now has 350 chapters in all 50 states, had its humble beginnings […]
Every so often we get a call or an email here at GVSHP asking about a scaffold-like structure that suddenly pops up on a rooftop of a neighboring building. What is it and what does it mean? Quite simply, more often than not these are temporary mock-ups constructed to help Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) staff […]
Here’s a neighborhood old-timer for you. The New York Marble Cemetery, which turns 184 years old this year, was developed in 1830 as the first privately owned, nonsectarian cemetery in New York City. We shared some great old photos in this past Off the Grid post. The cemetery can be hard to spot, but if […]
In continuation of our Landmarking 101 series, today we’re focusing on active violations on a landmarked property and just who is responsible for them. Whether you’re a broker or a prospective buyer, this is particularly important information to know! If you buy a property with unresolved violations, you become financially responsible for correcting them. That’s […]
Last week we shared one tip on how to find out if your building is a landmark. Today, we’d like to offer a second. CityMap has a helpful feature that allows you to see LPC-designated historic districts, and individual (exterior), interior, and scenic landmarks. This is a great resource if you happen to be more […]
One of the questions we’re asked every so often here at GVSHP is whether or not a building is a landmark (and by “landmark” we mean one officially designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission). Be it from a homeowner, a researcher, or a broker, many people are curious to know the answer to this […]
As I was walking along East 11th Street recently I happened to notice two tenements sitting side by side that appeared to be “sister buildings” (built at the same time using the same design). When I headed back to the GVSHP office I looked through building permits we have on file from the Municipal Archives […]
Welcome to the inaugural post in our Throwback Thursday series where we will share some of our favorite old photos of everyday life in the Village, East Village, and Noho. Do you have a great old photo of you, a friend, or a relative in one of our wonderful neighborhoods? Please share them with us […]
Today marks William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, although some sources say his exact date of birth is unknown. He never set foot in the Village – he lived before it was developed by European settlers – but Shakespeare would likely be pleased with the neighborhood’s vibrant literary history. How many other places can celebrate such a […]
The 20th century had hardly begun when the New York State legislature signed into law a new act to address old problems in this city regarding tenement construction. This groundbreaking event took place on April 12, 1901. Formally known as the New York State Tenement Act of 1901, the legislation was considered a big step […]
At 293 and 297 West 4th Street, between Bank and West 11th Streets in the Greenwich Village Historic District, sit two new townhouses that, at first glance, look like three. The façade of no. 293 was designed to resemble two three-bay wide rowhouses that are prevalent in the neighborhood, but in actuality it is one […]
For today’s post in our Then & Now series, we thought we’d feature a few locations in our neighborhoods as they looked in the 1980s. Similar to last week’s post on using historic maps, the City of New York’s 1980s tax photos are an invaluable resource in helping us understand our built past. As with […]
Recently, someone contacted us asking about the location of Stuyvesant Alley, which no longer exists. As it turns out, historic maps were able to help shine some light. This long-gone alley could once be found on the block between Second and Third Avenues, and East 11th and 12th Streets not too far away from GVSHP’s […]
The New York Marble Cemetery and the New York City Marble Cemetery (yes, it’s confusing) both turn 45 tomorrow. Well, they’re actually a lot older than that (over 180 years and counting), but on March 4, 1969 they were designated city landmarks by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. They can be found one block away from […]
We always love talking about the Merchant’s House here on Off the Grid (here’s some proof); how could you not be amazed by a house that was occupied by one family – the Tredwells – from 1835 (three years after it was built in 1832) to 1933? Original interior plasterwork, furniture, and the like give […]
“Yeah, yeah, yeah” – as the New York Times wrote in February 1964 – it was in fact February 7, 1964 that the Beatles arrived for the very first time on our shores. Landing first in New York, the four lads from Liverpool made their historic Ed Sullivan Show appearance two days later. With most […]
“The artists.” Without a doubt, that response is the one I hear most often when I ask what people love most about the Village’s history. And when it comes to the artists of Greenwich Village, you can’t talk about them together without thinking of the iconic 1960s folk scene and the great Pete Seeger. Born […]
Many of us have known for some time that the former theater at 98 Avenue A would be facing the wrecking ball. In June of last year, a demolition application was filed at the Department of Buildings (DOB), but it was unclear what development would take its place. Last week, GVSHP learned that a new […]
In the Far West Village, along the Greenwich Village waterfront, sits a block of West Street between 10th and Charles Streets. Of the buildings on this block, only 396 and 398 West Street sit within the Weehawken Street Historic District, which the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated in 2006. The Greenwich Village waterfront is one of […]
Happy New Year! And what better way to kick off a brand new year than by sharing one of our favorite series with you: Then & Now. Let’s turn the clock back almost 100 years ago to a time when bohemians roamed the Village. Until the early 1920s, the buildings around Sheridan Square were a […]
This post is the last of a four-part series called Everyday Lives, Ordinary People: A History of East Village Immigrants, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2013 Intro to Public History course. Each group of students was tasked with researching the cultural history of everyday people in the East Village between […]
This post is the third of a four-part series called Everyday Lives, Ordinary People: A History of East Village Immigrants, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2013 Intro to Public History course. Each group of students was tasked with researching the cultural history of everyday people in the East Village between […]
This post is the second of a four-part series called Everyday Lives, Ordinary People: A History of East Village Immigrants, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2013 Intro to Public History course. Each group of students was tasked with researching the cultural history of everyday people in the East Village between […]
This post is the first of a four-part series called Everyday Lives, Ordinary People: A History of East Village Immigrants, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2013 Intro to Public History course. Each group of students was tasked with researching the cultural history of everyday people in the East Village between […]
Here we are in the midst of the holiday season. The city was blanketed with snow this weekend and shoppers are frantically working through their holiday gift-giving lists. For today’s Building Broadway post, I’d like to share a wonderful gift that was left to all of us almost 100 years ago: Arthur Hosking’s photographs of […]
Today we thought we’d feature a few designs by the late 19th century architecture firm of D. & J. Jardine. A prolific firm in New York City in general, the work of D. & J. Jardine can also be found in five historic districts and at one individual landmark between Houston and 14th Streets. Brothers […]
For today’s “Building Broadway” offering, I couldn’t help but notice a curious detail as I walked along the bustling thoroughfare: pilasters with bird feet bases at 670 Broadway! Well, that’s very likely not what they are, but I’ve never seen bases designed like that (but if you have, please share). On the Monday before Thanksgiving, […]
Citizen Kane Psycho North by Northwest Taxi Driver Recognize these movies? Can you guess what they all have in common? As the title of this post suggests, they are all connected through the film scores of legendary composer Bernard Herrmann. Hermann was born on June 29, 1911 in New York City. Before scoring numerous Hollywood […]
Yesterday the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved an application for a new storefront at 259-263 Bleecker Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II. If this address rings a bell to you, it’s likely because it was the home of the popular Zito’s Bakery for many decades. I really love historic storefronts in the […]
We here at Off the Grid are obviously big fans of the Village folk scene of the 1960s, and today we’re thrilled to spotlight one of its biggest stars. Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell was born on November 7, 1943 in Fort Macleod, Canada. As with so many aspiring musicians of her day, she came to New […]
Today we take a look back at a piece written by former GVSHP staffer Dana Schulz about an interesting piece of history on Fifth Avenue involving scandal, cigarettes, and urban policy. Read more from our Then & Now series on Off the Grid! In 1847, on Bond Street in London, a young man named Philip […]
It’s that time of year again. Someone dressed as Minnie Mouse passes you on your way to the office (just this morning, in fact) and dogs in their Halloween finest parade around the city’s many parks. That’s why on today’s Building Broadway post we’re taking a closer look at 808 Broadway, also known as the […]
Last month we featured the drawings of Anthony F. Dumas, a man who was responsible for illustrating countless theaters across the world. One of the beauties of his drawings is uncovering theaters that have been lost for decades, some for well over half a century. That’s exactly how we found the Fugazy Theatre. But just […]
Near the southern end of the High Line, the Meatpacking District bustles with designer clothing stores, outdoor cafes, and trendy hotels. Tourists in particular flock to this area, and it can often be a source of amusement to watch club-goers navigate the bumpy Belgian block (aka cobblestone) streets in their fashionable stilettos. Many New Yorkers, […]
For today’s “Building Broadway” post we thought we’d do things a little differently. With Broadway being such a busy thoroughfare, it’s not uncommon to find lots of great details on its historic loft buildings aimed to catch your attention or to tell you a little something about its past. But sometimes, when we have shopping […]
Do you have childhood memories of your mom sewing your clothes? Or have you ever come across your grandmother’s old sewing machine and huge stash of patterns and fabrics? If you know someone who sews, ask them if they know the name “Butterick” and they will very likely say yes. That’s because 150 years ago […]
It’s always fun to look at then and now photos of buildings and streetscapes we’ve long come to admire here on Off the Grid. Today, just ahead of the Labor Day weekend, we wanted to check in on the Hebrew Actors’ Union building at 31 East 7th Street in the East Village. With its stark […]
An amazing resource that we have featured here and there on Off the Grid is the theater drawings of Anthony F. Dumas. From the Jewish Rialto along lower Second Avenue to the little gems hidden in the nooks and crannies of the Village’s quirky streets, Dumas seemingly covered it all. And while many of these […]
A couple of weeks ago I was walking along 3rd Street in the East Village and stopped in front of a sculpture park that I had seen many times before. Just past Avenue B, the park holds a number of metal sculptures which, without doing any research, seemed to be the work of current artists […]
Our Building Broadway series provides a glimpse into the manufacturing past of Broadway’s historic loft buildings. From Houston to 14th Streets, read more posts in this series by clicking here! Located between 11th and 12th Streets, 809 Broadway has been in the news recently with the announcement that Blatt Billards is leaving this location for […]
As the summer rolls on, we thought we’d take the time to do a little Landmarks update. The above screenshot from our Landmarks Applications Webpage shows three Certificate of Appropriateness (C of A) applications to be heard in August at the Landmarks Commission. Click on the photo to learn more about these applications and how […]
Building Broadway is a new series from Off the Grid that highlights the beautiful historic loft buildings that line Broadway between Houston and 14th Streets. These posts cover only bits and pieces of the histories of these buildings; learn how to become your very own building sleuth with our guide to researching the Village! Kicking […]
MacDougal Alley is one of those hidden enclaves of Greenwich Village that many passersby may not notice, but if they do they are treated to a wonderful piece of city history. Many of the residences here were former stables built beginning in 1833 when the alley was formally created as a private court to serve […]
On West 13th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues stands a parking garage on the very edge of the Greenwich Village Historic District. It happened to catch my eye one day as I was walking by so I thought I’d learn more about its history. As it turns out, the building began as a furniture […]
On this particularly rainy Monday, an image of Gene Kelly singin’ and dancin’ in the rain sure does come to mind. Lo and behold, an exciting discovery was made: the writers of the classic 1952 movie musical Singin’ in the Rain (and countless other Broadway shows and Hollywood musicals) got their big break at the […]
Today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will be holding a public hearing on the proposed South Village Historic District. Yesterday, the NoHo East Historic District turned ten years old! Yes, on June 24, 2003, the area that encompasses parts of Bleecker, Mott, and Elizabeth Streets and the Bowery was officially given local landmark protections (see map […]
Lately we’ve been receiving emails asking about what’s happening at 688 Broadway in NoHo, which is located on the east side of the street between East 4th and Great Jones Streets. The site is currently an outdoor market, but its vendors don’t have long before the market will close. What will go there in its […]
While Bil Baird may not be a household name today, his legacy lives on across the globe through a famous scene in the 1965 movie, The Sound of Music. Baird, a master puppeteer, produced and performed “The Lonely Goatherd” (above) with his wife Cora and their band of marionettes. With a little movie magic, however, […]
The Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN), a grassroots organization, has been a passionate force within the New York City preservation community since 2007. Co-founded by David Mulkins and Anna Sawaryn, BAN advocates for the preservation of the historic buildings on the Bowery. They focus their efforts particularly on the east side, which lacks the zoning […]
Last week, as part of our Map It! series, we featured the long-forgotten Minetta Place, which used to be located on the block just west of Minetta Street and south of Minetta Lane. Our former Director of Preservation & Research, Elizabeth Finkelstein, asked what exactly was going on in the first photo of that post. […]
We’re gearing up for tomorrow’s LPC public meeting in which the commissioners will vote to “calendar” the proposed South Village Historic District. With this in mind, we thought we’d take a look at some buildings that once existed in the proposed area as part of our Map It! series. While Minetta Brook has long been […]
The middle of the 19th Century saw an influx of wealthy New Yorkers moving north of Washington Square. To cater to this growing population, lavish new developments began to spring up around Union Square. Gothic Revival religious institutions such as the James Renwick-designed Grace Church and the Richard Upjohn-designed Church of the Ascension (a […]
Today, we’d like to extend a “Happy ‘Landmark’ Birthday” to the NoHo Historic District Extension, which the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated on May 13, 2008. As you can see in the above historic district map, the extension connects the NoHo Historic District and the NoHo East Historic District. For the most part, the 56 […]
How time flies – five years ago last March, the former East Eleventh Street Baths between Avenues A and B became an official New York City Landmark. I remember it very well; I wrote the designation report, after all! Last year, I featured this building on Off the Grid as one of my favorite things. […]
Warm, sunny days in the Village have us here at GVSHP looking forward to our annual house tour, which takes place this Sunday, May 5th. There’s still time to buy tickets! They can also be purchased the day of the tour at a higher rate. The forecast for Sunday calls for a beautiful day — […]
In just a week and a half, GVSHP will hold our 15th Annual Benefit House Tour. There’s still time to buy tickets to see six beautiful private homes in the Village on Sunday, May 5th. The benefit is our biggest annual fundraiser, and the proceeds help us provide free educational events throughout the year as […]
A familiar site to New Yorkers and visitors alike, the charming Washington Mews sits just one block north of Washington Square Park. There are a few street names in New York with the word “mews” attached; this indicates that many, if not all, buildings were originally developed as small-scale horse stables for nearby townhouses. These […]
Last week, GVSHP co-sponsored an event with Fourth Arts Block (FAB) at LaMaMa Experimental Theater Club at 6 East 1st Street, just off the Bowery. If you attended the book talk or have found yourself strolling along the Bowery, you might have come across this great building at the southwest corner of the Bowery and […]
Do you recognize the three-dimensional map in this photo? Hint: half a century ago, the model-making team of Raymond Lester Associates was meticulously recreating the city’s five boroughs in preparation for a “universal and international” exposition that, next year, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. If you guessed that this is the Panorama of the […]
This Sunday, the Season 6 premiere of Mad Men will transport us back to late 1960s New York. Along with the characters’ backgrounds, props, and costumes, locations play a big part in shaping the tone of the show as it moves through one of the 20th century’s most storied decades. Set primarily in the corporate […]
For most, lower Fifth Avenue conjures up images of grand early to mid-20th century apartment houses that guide the eye towards Washington Square Arch, the gateway to one of the city’s most fabled parks. But before these buildings were constructed, the base of Fifth Avenue actually resembled the small-scale row house streetscapes of much of […]
March is Women’s History Month; the month-long celebration highlights the accomplishments of women in various fields throughout our history. With so much to choose from in New York City alone, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has put together a slideshow of designated landmarks with 19th and 20th century connections to women in the field of […]
On the corner of Broadway and Astor Place stands one of my favorite things: the beautiful red brick and terra cotta building at 1 Astor Place. Its bold color lends a powerful presence along the busy thoroughfare of Broadway, even though it’s nowhere near as tall as the buildings along this stretch. Its chamfered corner […]
