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Author: Jena Hinton

Alfonso Ossorio: Artist, Collector, Congregator

Alfonso Angel Yangco Ossorio was a Filipino-American Greenwich Village-based artist and collector with a quasi-religious devotion to the art world. An intense, synthesizing artist in his own right, Ossorio created a unique style that merged otherwise disparate, contemporary movements in the Post-war era, while playing a key role in launching the careers and serving as […]

Thrift Store Round-Up!

Here at Village Preservation, our love of preserving history and adaptive reuse extends beyond buildings to all manner of objects and materials that came before us. Luckily, our area is full of small businesses that share that same environmentally-conscious philosophy. We’ve previously shared some of our favorite thrift stores, and today we’re rounding up even […]

    The Guerilla Gardeners of El Sol Brillante

    As we’ve previously covered, the East Village in the 1970s was a far cry from the neighborhood we know today. But amidst the chaos of city negligence, architectural deterioration, and needless destruction, community members rose up to reclaim and rebuild their neighborhood with a new vision. The roots of that vision took hold and continues […]

      Tony Bennett’s Greenwich Village Start

      Tony Bennett (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023) was one of the most beloved jazz musicians of all time. Armed with a set of golden pipes and an even more golden heart, Bennett garnered near-universal admiration with a career spanning over seven decades. The landscape of music has shifted to become nearly unrecognizable since […]

      Yayoi Kusama’s Infinite Influence

      Many of the most revered artists of the past century were profoundly impacted by their time in and around our neighborhoods. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has risen above even those icons to become the top-selling female artist on the planet, all while developing a style that is as immersive as it is iconic.  Born March […]

      On This Spot: Highlighting Women Artists

      Here at Village Preservation we strive to highlight the lives and contributions of the many artists who lived, dreamed, and created profound works of art in our neighborhoods. Now, we’re excited to partner with On This Spot, a nonprofit digital mapping project, to do just that! On This Spot shares the inspiring stories of a […]

      José García Villa: Poet and “Pope of Greenwich Village”

      The cultural and artistic ecosystem of Greenwich Village has provided us with no shortage of literary giants to admire, study, and honor. Prominent among them, yet hardly ever mentioned in the canon of 20th century American poets, is José García Villa, an acclaimed Filipino poet lovingly referred to as the “Pope of Greenwich Village.”  Villa […]

      Thank You and Goodnight, Mrs. Maisel!

      For five seasons, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel had us slapping our knees and laughing from our bellies with its quick-witted humor and whimsical absurdity. Each character seemed to move at a mile a minute through their own struggles and ambitions, set against the backdrop of New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the […]

        Diane Burns: Native American Poet, East Village Prophet

        Native American poet Diane Burns was a luminous, integral fixture of the Downtown arts scene beginning in the 1970s until her death in 2006. Her poetic body of work contains achingly earnest descriptions of her personal experiences as a Native American woman to droll, prophetic indictments of early gentrification in the East Village. Born in […]

        Lewis Morris Rutherfurd: The Stargazer on Second Avenue

        Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (November 25, 1816 – May 30, 1892) was born in Morrisania, New York to a family who was already a familiar presence in American political history. His grandfather was U.S. Senator John Rutherfurd of New Jersey, whose own father, Lewis Morris, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. By all accounts, […]

        The Best Birdwatching in Greenwich Village and the East Village

        There comes a time each spring when one can’t help but marvel at the sights and sounds of our neighborhoods. The blooming magnolias and budding leaves are made even more beautiful by smiles on the faces of New Yorkers who seem to have finally defrosted after a long winter. But if you keep a close […]

          The Women of Village Preservation’s Online Archives

          Since our founding in 1980, Village Preservation has cultivated a staggering collection of historic research and resources. Among the jewels of this collection are our Historic Image Archive and our Preservation History Archive. The latter capture in images the history of our neighborhoods and other New York landmarks over the last two and a half […]

            Village Awardee Round-Up!

            Each year since 1991, Village Presentation has solicited nominations from the public to honor the people, places, businesses, and organizations that represent the spirit of our neighborhoods! We then gather at our Annual Meeting in June to present these amazing people, places, and institutions with a Village Award and celebrate their unparalleled contributions to the […]

              A Star Is Born: Barbra Streisand Live At The Bon Soir

              On the balmy evening of September 9, 1960, there seemed to be an even greater sense of possibility laced through the typically restless Greenwich Village air. This possibility could be traced to West Eighth Street, down thirty-one steep stairs, through the darkness of The Bon Soir, and into the club’s dressing room where 18-year-old Barbra […]

                “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” and Lorraine Hansberry’s 1960s Greenwich Village

                Many of us may daydream about being transported back to the bohemian Greenwich Village of the 1960s. Beyond our own imaginations, one particularly effective way to do that is via Lorraine Hansberry’s incisive play The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, revived at the Brooklyn Academy of Music from February 4 through March 24, 2023, the […]

                Nam June Paik: Father of Video Art, and Villager

                Nam June Paik (July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006), Korean artist and avant-garde visionary, is well-known for his pioneering video artistry. Less known, however, is that Paik, dubbed the “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 […]

                St. Mark’s Playhouse and the Negro Ensemble Company

                The 1960s saw immense change as calls for civil rights and racial justice transformed our cultural landscape. In tandem with these movements, many of which have their roots in our neighborhoods, Black artists across the country used their platforms to amplify the kaleidoscopic perspectives and experiences of black people in America. The Negro Ensemble Company […]

                2022 Small Business Holiday Gift Guide!

                Happy holidays, neighbors! If you’ve been struggling to find the perfect gift for the loved ones in your life, look no further. Village Preservation is spreading holiday cheer with a gift guide to help you shop, all while supporting the small, local businesses that make our neighborhood such a whimsical, wondrous place!  The shops on […]

                Literary Rebels: Five Banned Book Authors Connected to the Village

                Everyone knows our neighborhoods have been home to some of the world’s most celebrated literary icons. However, for some of these icons, their revolutionary writing has been a magnet for scorn and animus as much as it has been for admiration. These authors have often found their work censored by private individuals, government officials, or […]