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Author: Amanda

Germania Theatre Then & Now

Do you recognize this location? The building partially visible at left is the only part of this scene that has survived nearly 120 years after the photo was taken in 1895. The Germania Theatre (center) was demolished a few years later, as was every other building on that block. The horse-drawn carts have long been […]

East Village History: Some Protected, Some Not

Tomorrow, Community Board 3’s Landmarks Subcommittee will hear proposals for changes to two East Village landmarks: St Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery (an individual landmark and part of the St. Mark’s Historic District) and Congregation Mezritch Synagogue at 415 East 6th Street in the newly designated East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. You can see the proposals for […]

Jazz This Monday Night at Zinc Bar!

Check out this great article “notebook for night owls” from the Village Voice, dated January 31, 1963. Says cornetist Jack Fine, “Some people call our jazz traditional, some think it’s swing. All I want is for it to sound happy.” Click on the image to get a closer view of the text that discusses a […]

A Look Back in Time at 30 Christopher Street

The snow is coming down here in New York City, so why not grab a cup of hot chocolate and read up on a Village landmark with us at Off the Grid? Today we’d like to feature the seven-story building at 30 Christopher Street. One of our readers wanted to learn more about this building’s […]

Conspiracy Atop the Arch

Ninety-six years ago today a group of artists gathered at the top of the Washington Square Arch. Poet Gertrude Drick, painters John Sloan (who drew the etching above) and Marcel Duchamp, and Provincetown Playhouse actors Russell Mann, Betty Turner, and Charles Ellis got into the arch and up the spiral staircase through an unlocked door. […]

LPC Releases Permit Application Guide

Are you an owner of a landmarked building or someone that files applications through the Landmarks Preservation Commission? If so, we want to point you to a helpful resource that the LPC has just released: the LPC Permit Application Guide. The guide can be found on our Resources page along with other useful information for […]

LPC Posts Their Hearing Schedule for 2013

Today marks the last day in 2012 of public hearings for the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the City agency in charge of regulating designated landmarks and historic districts across the five boroughs. At each public hearing, the LPC hears a number of applications from property owners who wish to make changes to their landmarked buildings. […]

Christmas Festivities, East and West

The holiday season is well underway and our neighborhoods have wonderful events going on to help ring in the Christmas spirit. Today we thought we’d highlight a couple of upcoming events for you. Washington Square Park This past Wednesday, the Washington Square Association held the 88th annual tree lighting ceremony in Washington Square Park. The […]

47 West 8th’s Run-In with the Landmarks Law

Do you remember the fake ivy saga involving the storefront of 47 West 8th Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District? It first came to our attention in early 2010 when we noticed the property had violated the Landmarks Law by not filing for a Certificate of Appropriateness (C of A) application before it made […]

Savoring the Holidays with Veniero’s

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now that the holiday season is underway, we wanted to celebrate with a photo of one of our favorite Italian bakeries – Veniero’s on East 11th Street between First and Second Avenues. As you can see, this East Village sweet spot, which has been serving up scrumptious goodies […]

“Simple Gifts” on Copland’s Birthday

This morning, just before Appalachian Spring played on the radio, I learned that today would have been composer Aaron Copland’s 112th birthday. This struck a particular chord with me as I grew up listening to his music. His pieces always brought to mind images of rural America, but, actually, Copland was born and raised in […]

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 in the West Village and Fulton Houses between 16th and 19th Streets in Chelsea. To help at Fulton Houses: Come at noon or 3pm to […]

Get Involved: Landmarks Review at Community Boards

Following up on our earlier post discussing public hearings at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, we thought we’d focus our attention on another important part of the landmarks public review process: community board hearings. Alterations to landmarked buildings that require an LPC public hearing must also be presented to the local community board. GVSHP attends all […]

Your East Village Historic District Guide

Last Tuesday, October 9th, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. Stretching between the Bowery and Avenue A, East 2nd Street and St. Mark’s Place, the district includes about 325 buildings and is the largest  ever created in the East Village. We’re excited to see that landmark protections have […]

A Look Back at the Public Theater

Tomorrow, Saturday, October 13th, the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street (off Astor Place) will be hosting a block party to celebrate the re-dedication of their historic theater space, and you’re invited! The block party will run from noon to 5pm and will also feature an open house in the historic NoHo space. According to […]

Map It! Lots Shaped by Minetta Brook

Next in the Map It! series is an unusual quirk in our streetscapes that few people may have noticed.  In fact, it wasn’t until last week when I was looking at the Sanborn map for block 576 that I happened to spot this strange deviation in a neighborhood where idiosyncracies are already the norm. So […]

Then & Now: Seventh Avenue South

When I was home recently I looked through one of my parents’ photo albums and happened to find this photo of Seventh Avenue South taken at some point in the 1970s. I thought it would make for a great then and now. Even though not that much time has passed, there have been a number […]

A Call for Consistency: LPC and 186 Spring Street

As we have covered in past Off the Grid posts, the South Village building at 186 Spring Street holds strong historical significance for its role in the Lesbian and Gay Civil rights movement and the early fight against the AIDS epidemic. We presented this information to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (read our letter HERE) in the […]

Yesteryear: The Theatre Unique

Today, we think of Times Square when we think of the theatre district, but over 100 years ago, 14th Street centered around Union Square was full of theatre houses. The photo above shows what 136 East 14th Street looked like in 1908 when it was occupied by the Theatre Unique. It’s hard to believe that […]

Inside the LPC: Public Hearings vs. Public Meetings

So, why do we start this blog post with a photo of the Municipal Building located downtown across from City Hall? We thought we would dedicate some time here at Off the Grid to understanding the workings of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the city agency charged with the task of safeguarding historic buildings across […]

An Unfortunate Facelift on East 12th Street

A 19th century row house on the south side of East 12th Street between Second and Third Avenues is currently undergoing a facelift, though we can’t say it’s for the better. No. 224 East 12th Street was constructed in 1852. Since this year pre-dates the formation of the New York City Buildings Department in 1866 […]

An Update on 27 East 4th Street

For a few months now, many of you have been following the proposal for a new nine-story hotel at 27 East 4th Street. The site, which currently holds a one-story garage, sits directly next to the Merchant’s House Museum, one of the few exterior and interior landmarks in the city. Because 27 East 4th Street […]

LGBT History and 186 Spring Street

In light of demolition plans that GVSHP uncovered for the Federal row house at 186 Spring Street, we recently discovered an incredible bit of history about the building. If surviving nearly 190 years in the ever-changing landscape of New York City isn’t remarkable enough, 186 Spring also stands as a significant link to the early […]

Come Out to Weigh In on East Village Landmarks

Tomorrow, July 12th, marks a big day for landmark review in the East Village. That’s because Community Board 3‘s Landmarks Subcommittee will be holding its first public hearing regarding proposed alterations to two landmarked properties in the St. Mark’s Historic District. GVSHP will be attending the meeting, as we do in Community Board 2, and […]

Map It! Stuyvesant Street

Next in the Map It! series is Stuyvesant Street, which runs through the northern portion of the East Village between Second and Third Avenues. Today, it’s one of the shortest streets in the city, but did you know at one point it was much longer?

On This Day: Gansevoort Market Opens

On June 14, 1884 – or 128 years ago today – a municipally-sanctioned public market was opened on the five-sided block bounded by Little West Twelfth, Washington, Gansevoort, West Streets and Tenth Avenue. Vendors primarily from New Jersey and Long Island came by ferry to sell produce. As you can see in the photo above, […]

Landmark Bid Pays Off at Former Horse Auction Mart!

We’re thrilled to announce that last week the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to confer individual landmark status on one of our favorite East Village buildings: the former Van Tassell & Kearney Horse Auction Mart at 128 East 13th Street! The Commission’s vote marks the finishing touch on GVSHP’s six-year campaign to preserve this remarkable […]

2012 House Tour Highlights

We had a beautiful day for our 14th annual house tour benefit on Sunday, May 6th!  The sun was shining and hundreds of people came out to visit six wonderful Village homes at their own pace. The self-guided tour also included a bonus site: the former studio of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney at the New York […]

Titanic Connections

In the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, the 883 foot long, 50 ton, and reputedly unsinkable ocean liner the RMS Titanic sunk on its maiden voyage from England to New York off the coast of Newfoundland, after hitting an iceberg just before midnight the night before. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, […]

135 East 2nd Street, Then & Now

Walking along East 2nd Street, between Avenue A and First Avenue, you might have noticed a historic building that, in terms of its age and style, seems out of context with its immediate neighbors. It now serves as a residence, but what was it originally and who used it? And what’s with the parking lot […]

The Heroism Behind Father Fagan Park

The Village is full of beloved landmarks and winding streets familiar across the world.  However, one of the wonderful things about being involved with this vibrant community is discovering the spots cherished by local residents. Father Fagan Park, located at the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and Prince Street in the South Village, is one […]

My Favorite Things: East Eleventh Street Baths

One of my favorite things about historic architecture research is uncovering the fascinating histories of lesser-known buildings. When I worked at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, I researched and wrote the designation report for the East Eleventh Street Baths at 538 East 11th Street. So let’s take a look at what makes this East Village spot […]

Happy Presidents’ Day

Can you name the only United States president to be born in New York City? Here’s a hint: he served as the city’s Police Commissioner when the 9th Police Precinct Station House on Charles Street in the Far West Village was constructed in 1896-97.                      

Map It! Bleecker at Christopher Street

Have you ever come across a peculiar street pattern in the city and wondered how it became that way? It’s a topic that’s especially prevalent in the Village, where street development occurred long before the adoption of the Commissioner’s Plan of 1811. As many of our readers know, this plan is what formed the famed […]