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Author: Dena Tasse-Winter

Continuing Ed Rocks in the East Village

Each Fall and Spring semester, Village Preservation offers a Continuing Education Course for Real Estate Professionals. Designed to fulfill all legal requirements for the compulsory 22.5 hours of continuing ed credits for real estate licensees, the course is also open for the general public to audit at a discounted rate. Our home base for the […]

Art Deco’s Anniversary

On April 28, 1925, the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, or “International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Art,” opened in Paris, France. This was the official launch of an architectural and artistic style that had already been percolating, defined by molded masses and geometric forms, bold colors, sharp kinetic lines and […]

You’re Invited to the Spring House Tour Benefit

The Spring House Tour Benefit is one of my favorite Village Preservation events, and it’s something I look forward to all year. It was the very first event I got to be part of when I joined the team almost two years ago, and it epitomizes a lot of the beautiful things about our neighborhood […]

    Tragedy Led to Critical Reforms in Greenwich Village and the East Village

    On February 20, 1883, a fire broke out at the school affiliated with the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer. Located on East 4th Street between Avenues A and B, the Romanesque Revival-style Catholic school building was erected directly behind the main sanctuary in 1851-52. By the early 1880s, more than 900 children had enrolled, […]

    Preserving and Honoring Women’s History

    For decades, Village Preservation has been advocating for the landmark designation of buildings in our neighborhoods significant not only for their architectural merit, but for the many important layers of cultural heritage present at these sites. We’ve had some great successes, and achieved landmark status for places including: Yet landmarking buildings for their cultural significance […]

    (Temporarily) Hidden in Plain Sight: What is Revealed When a Building is Lost?

    Our blog series “Hidden in Plain Sight” highlights the many architectural curiosities and unique features found on buildings throughout our neighborhoods — details you might not notice on first pass, but if you’re paying attention, they tell easily overlooked and often forgotten stories. In late 2024, a loss that we knew was imminent arrived: the […]

    LGBTQ+ Heritage Will Always Be Integral to the Greenwich Village Story

    Stonewall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 1999, following a nomination process that included Village Preservation (then known as the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation) and the now-defunct Organization of Lesbian and Gay Architects and Designers. The following year, the site, which comprises the Stonewall Inn, the adjacent […]

    Taking A Walk Through Time Along Little West 12th Street

    Stretching just two short blocks between 9th and 10th Avenues (with Washington Street in between), Little West 12th Street is a unique street situated within the Meatpacking District, on the northern edge of Greenwich Village. Diminutive in name and extent, Little West 12th Street represents a big story about the development of this part of […]

    Fifth Avenue’s Unique Public Transportation History

    Have you ever considered that among Manhattan’s central avenues, Fifth Avenue is the only one without a dedicated subway line? There’s the A/C/E for 8th Avenue, 1/2/3 for 7th, B/D/F/M for 6th, and 4/5/6 for 4th/Park Ave… so what happened to Fifth Avenue, certainly as prominent a thoroughfare as all the rest? As a native […]

      Jenny and The Cat Club: A Fictional World Based in the Real Greenwich Village

      The year is 1944, and in a brick row house by a lush Greenwich Village garden lives a “shy little black cat” named Jenny Linsky with her caretaker, the old sailor Captain Tinker. While the particular adventures and fanciful musings of this feline may have come from the creative imagination of author and illustrator Esther Averill, the cat, her owner, and the Village locations where these tales are set were all quite real.

        Celebrating the South Village Historic District

        Village Preservation has declared December to be South Village Month! Why, you ask? Well, we kicked off our campaign to seek landmark designation for the entire South Village and its remarkable multilayered architectural and cultural histories in December 2006, achieved landmark designation for the South Village Historic District (which was the second of what ended […]

        Three Renowned Village Architects, Born in November

        Are Scorpios the most architecturally attuned astrological sign? This is the question that came to mind when I realized that three of New York City’s and the Village’s most celebrated and renowned architects were all born in early November. I know next to nothing about the Zodiac, but according to a Google search, Scorpios are […]

        Greenwich Village Authors on Autumn

        “O hushed October morning mild,Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,Should waste them all.” — Excerpt from the poem “A Boy’s Will” by Robert Frost, who lived at 107 Waverly Place. So many incredible, diverse literary icons have lived in Greenwich Village, drawing inspiration from their surroundings. Village Preservation’s “Homes and […]

        Unusual and Unexpected NYC Landmarks

        Village Preservation recently published a report analyzing NYC landmark designations from 1965 to the present. In this first-of-its-kind intensive study of all 38,000 properties landmarked in New York City since the establishment of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, VP’s Executive Director Andrew Berman analyzed trends by mayoral administration – read the full report here. In […]

          NoHo’s Grand Cast Iron-Fronted Buildings

          The cast iron buildings of the NoHo Historic District tell a tale of industry and innovation during a pivotal phase of the neighborhood’s and New York’s development. As the Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report notes, “the NoHo Historic District features many distinguished cast-iron-fronted buildings built between 1858 and 1888.” The report goes on to explain […]

          Exploring the Many Row Houses of the Village Preservation Historic Image Archive

          If we had to pick just one type of building to represent our neighborhoods, the top contender would almost undoubtedly be the row house. A ubiquitous feature of 19th-century urban streetscapes, many of these homes are happily still present throughout New York City (particularly in Manhattan and Brooklyn), and are plentiful in number in our […]

          Happy Anniversary, NoHo Historic District!

          The NoHo Historic District was designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission on June 29th, 1999. Within its bounds are buildings significant for their innovation in architecture, like some of the city’s oldest cast iron structures, early instances of adaptive reuse, and even one of its first skyscrapers, and for their layers of cultural heritage, […]

          Greenwich Village Immortalized, in LEGO!

          Have you heard the exciting news? Village Preservation has released a special edition Greenwich Village building set made of genuine LEGO bricks! Composed of 449 pieces, the incredible miniature display depicts some of the most emblematic landmarks of the Village, from the Jefferson Market Library, to Stonewall, to the Washington Square Arch and Fountain, plus […]

          LGBTQ+ History in the Image Archive: Utilizing the New Tag Feature

          A new and exciting feature of Village Preservation’s sizable Historic Image Archive is the ability to filter images by category, or “tag.” We have painstakingly tagged every single one of our nearly 5,000 historic photographs (an ever growing number), so that users can easily view images organized by their interests. As an example, the “LGBTQ+” […]

          Historic Hotels of the West Village Waterfront

          When Village Preservation submitted its proposal requesting landmark protections for the Far West Village in 2004, we recognized the many building typologies that are prevalent in this historically industrial waterfront area. In particular, our report indicated that the neighborhood “contains an unusually high concentration of certain building types that cannot be found in such abundance […]

          Black American History Revealed at Endangered House on West 13th Street

          Village Preservation has been actively campaigning to designate 50 West 13th Street as an individual landmark since 2020, when it was still home to the 13th Street Repertory Company. Unfortunately, the theater had to let go of their lease in 2022, and as a result, the fate of the building is now uncertain, making the […]

          Celebrating the Impact of the Landmarks Law in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo

          The New York City Landmarks Law was enacted on April 19, 1965, by Mayor Robert Wagner. It was the culmination of a lengthy and laborious process, spurred in part, famously, by the demolition of the original Beaux-Arts Penn Station in 1963. Though the loss of the grand McKim, Mead & White train station was consequential, […]

          The Village in Bloom

          Early spring is a magical time in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. As we recently discussed, the season has long been a source of inspiration for poets, artists, and musicians associated with the neighborhood. Among the clearest, and most joyous, markers of warmer weather to come are the trees as they begin to […]

            Spring Inspires Poetry in Greenwich Village

            “For two weeks or more the trees hesitated;the little leaves waited,carefully indicating their characteristics.” — Excerpt from the poem “A Cold Spring” by Elizabeth Bishop, who lived at 16 Charles Street. The spring equinox has arrived, and New York City is tentatively embracing a warmer season: our parks and streetscapes are starting to bloom with […]

            Celebrating Even More Women Artists #SouthOfUnionSquare

            This is the latest installation of “South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism,” a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Village Preservation’s proposed South of Union Square historic district attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations […]

            The Annual Village Awards: Spotlight on the Regina Kellerman Award for Preservation

            One of Village Preservation’s most beloved traditions is our Annual Meeting and Village Awards, in which we celebrate our achievements of the past year, and honor invaluable local leaders, institutions, businesses, places, and organizations in our neighborhoods. Fondly referred to as the “Oscars of the Village,” these awards showcase the remarkable people and places that […]

            Carole King’s Greenwich Village Connections

            The 2024 Grammy Awards set a new record for female artists: women won all nine of the top telecast categories. This incredible milestone in music could never have been reached 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 […]

            Kerouac and Catholicism in Greenwich Village

            “…really a story about two Catholic buddies roaming the country in search of God.” So said Jack Kerouac about his book, “On the Road,” soon after it was published in 1957. As we’ve discussed on this blog before, though known for his nomadic lifestyle, Kerouac had strong ties to Greenwich Village. Famous as a pioneer […]

            Celebrating the Origins of the South Village

            December is South Village Month – join us in celebrating this vibrant neighborhood all month long! In December 2016, following a multi-year advocacy campaign spearheaded by Village Preservation, the Sullivan Thompson Historic District was landmarked by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. This dozen-block, 175-building district designation was the culmination of a campaign formally begun by […]

            Pier 40’s Murals Illustrate Local History

            Pier 40 was built between 1958 and 1962 for the Holland America Cruise Line, and became the largest passenger and freight terminal in the Port of New York at the time of construction. Jutting into the Hudson River and effectively extending Leroy, Clarkson, Houston, King, and Charlton Streets west into the water, the pier was […]

            Retracing the Stories and Homes of Early Village Preservationists

            By the time the demolition of McKim, Mead & White’s monumental Penn Station commenced on October 28th, 1963, advocates had been fighting to save the Beaux Arts building for several years. This has often been referenced as the “beginning of the historic preservation movement” in New York City, and while it certainly was a catalyst […]

            NoHo’s Original Superstore: From Wanamaker’s to Wegmans

            During the years 1903 to 1907, construction was underway for an imposing steel frame structure located on the block bounded by Broadway, Fourth Avenue, and East 8th and 9th Streets. A second phase of construction occurred in 1924 to subsume the “Jones Building,” an existing nine-story commercial building at the northeast corner of Broadway and […]

            Hudson River Park’s Estuarine Sanctuary

            We have gratefully reached that point in September in New York City when the weather is close to flawless, with clear blue skies, moderate temperatures, and a light westerly breeze. A respite from the humidity of August and a welcome reminder that fall approaches, it is also a great time to reflect on one of […]

            Tribute in Light

            Since September 11, 2003, twin pillars of light have pierced the Lower Manhattan sky from dusk to dawn each year, briefly reverting our skyline to an impression of its previous self. First implemented as a months-long temporary art installation in early 2002 to commemorate the September 11th attacks, Tribute in Light was reinstalled on the […]

            Ghost Signs Abound in Our Historic Image Archive

            A year or two into my career as a historic preservationist, I was accused (in good humor) of being a warden of “the ephemera of New York.” I tended toward a particular interest in protecting the seemingly minor and often transient aspects of our built environment: attributes such as vault lights, sidewalk grates, and paving, […]

            The Linda Yowell Image Collection: Capturing the West Village’s Charm and Evolution Over the Decades

            Village Preservation’s Historic Image Archive is a treasure trove of photographs that display the visual history of our changing neighborhoods and notable New York City landmarks and sites. We are fortunate to have recently added to that a collection of images from Linda Yowell, a longtime Village Preservation Trustee, valued chair of our Preservation Committee, […]

            The Founding Sisters of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

            The Smithsonian Institution is a treasured facet of American culture, founded by the U.S. government on August 10, 1846 “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” The Smithsonian is the largest complex of museums, education centers, and research institutes in the world. While its main branch may be situated on the Mall in Washington D.C. […]

            The Strange Case of Seventh Avenue South

            One of the best things about walking around our neighborhoods is the delight in looking up and discovering a beautiful or unique feature of a building. You can traverse the same street a thousand times, and on the thousand-and-first pass, a stone detail or a colorful window sill that you’ve never noticed before might catch […]

            Ice Cream and a Scoop of History

            There’s a particular exuberance in the air as spring gives way to summer in the Village. We love June around here for many reasons: seeing all the people and pets out and about, fountains flowing in parks, rainbow flags in windows of small businesses to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and cafes with tables full of […]

            Carol Janeway: Ceramicist and Fierce Village Advocate

            It is a well-known and celebrated fact that countless visual artists have lived and worked in Greenwich Village over the years. These talented individuals have made the neighborhood their home, drawn to the historic architecture and vibrant culture spurred by fellow creatives. One artist, perhaps lesser known in the mainstream but certainly influential within her […]

            Riccardo Spina Image Collection — A Window Back to Greenwich Village a Half Century Ago

            One of the delights of working in the field of historic preservation is getting to regularly dig into old image archives, where unique, wonderful, and fleeting glimpses into the past await, captured from the perspectives of individuals who lived and worked in these neighborhoods. Riccardo Spina, whose family first arrived in Greenwich Village from Italy […]