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Author: Lena Rubin

Club 57’s “Subterranean Spirit” on St. Mark’s Place

In 1978, a Polish emigré named Stanley Strychacki rented a basement space in a church at 57 St. Marks’ Place. The four-story-with-basement building, originally built as a private dwelling, was occupied by the Holy Cross Polish National Church throughout the mid 20th-century. Strychacki’s goal, along with co-founders Ann Magnusson and Susan Hannaford, was “to create an […]

Draper’s Observatories: Moongazing Up and Down the Hudson

In the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, a short train ride away from Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, lies a nationally landmarked building known as Observatory Cottage. The charming two-floor cottage was once a residential home, passed down through family generations. In the 1990s, it was bequeathed to a group of local residents interested in preserving the history […]

Out of the Broom Closet: Gay Activist & Village Wiccan Leo Martello

Leo Martello (September 26, 1930 — June 29, 2000) was a noted Wiccan priest, gay rights activist, Greenwich Village resident, and author. He was a founding member of the Strega Tradition, a modern form of Wicca informed by Italian heritage and ancestral teachings. During his life, he published a number of books on such esoteric subjects as […]

Research Resource: Surrealism in our Neighborhoods

Curious about the life and legacy of Surrealist & Dadaist artists in our neighborhoods? Check out this incredible research resource created by Paul McRandle and featured on his blog Surrealist NYC.  This interactive tool maps and explores the studios, homes, and collective social spaces of Surrealist artists who took refuge in Greenwich Village after World War […]

When the Village was Red: Celebrating the Legacy of the Paris Commune in our Neighborhoods

On March 18, 1871, the Paris Commune began — a three-month-long worker-led insurrection in Paris and experiment in self-governance. On that day, workers, anarchists, communists, and artisans took over the city, and began to re-organize it according to the principles of association, self-determination, and justice for all oppressed members of society. Notably, among the so-called Communards who participated in the uprising, many were […]

New Image Collections Shows Interiors of One of Our Most Intriguing Houses, and the Village in the 1960s

We’re proud to share the latest additions to our historic image archive, both donated by photographer Pryor Dodge.  The first shows the stunning interiors of 52 West 9th Street, the home and studio of his grandfather, renowned muralist William de Leftwich Dodge. The elder Dodge raised the roof of the house for his studio as so many […]

Women of the Mimeo Revolution: Diane DiPrima & Anne Waldman

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating, honoring, and advocating for the important contributions of women in our neighborhoods. And today we’re highlighting the innovative work of women poets in the mid-century mimeograph revolution.  As Rona Cran writes in “Space Occupied: Women Poet-Editors and the Mimeograph Revolution in Mid-Century New York City,” the downtown […]

“Artists in Revolt, Form New Society:” The 1913 Armory Show

On December 14, 1911, four artists assembled to discuss the world of new possibilities open to their field. They resolved to “[organize] a society for the purpose of exhibiting the work of progressive painters,” with the goal of highlighting “both American and foreign [artists]… favoring such work usually neglected by current shows & especially interesting […]

The Umbra Collective: “The Downtown Poets Stayed Downtown”

Like the New York branch of the Black Panther Party, the Umbra Poets Workshop started in an unidentified location somewhere in the East Village. Working to establish a Black poetic community counter to the mainstream in the 1960s and ’70s, the collective conducted readings, performances, and festivals, met to collaboratively workshop each others’ writings, contributed […]

‘People in Trouble’: A Case Study of the AIDS Crisis in Historical Memory

In her manuscript for the novel People in Trouble, lesbian author and activist Sarah Schulman tells of a fictionalized AIDS activist organization called JUSTICE. By the time People in Trouble reached the shelves a couple years later, however, the real-life activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) of which Schulman became an active […]

Public Characters: Brenda Coultas and Investigative Poetics on the Bowery

Taped into a small notebook are photos of vacant lots on First Street and Second Avenue. Elsewhere there is a photo of flowers and graffiti for Joey Ramone outside the former site of CBGB, on Bleecker and Bowery. Gathered together, these pieces of ephemera constitute contemporary poet Brenda Coultas’ The Bowery Project (published in the […]

    Small Business/Big History Program Expands – More Stores, More Stories

    We’ve added several new local independent businesses to our “Small Business/Big History” signage program, where we partner with great local businesses to promote neighborhood history and the wonderful services and products they offer. Take a tour in person or virtually, and learn a thing or two about the history of these buildings, streets, and neighborhoods, […]

    Following Backlash, City Drops Plan for Hotel Special Permit Requirement South of Union Square – Push for Real Protections

    Following a huge backlash from neighborhood residents, the City has withdrawn its much criticized rezoning plan to require special permits for new hotels in the area of Greenwich Village and the East Village south of Union Square. Village Preservation had led the criticism of the plan, citing the broad range of mistakes and oversights in […]

    New York School Painter Janice Biala’s “Pendulating Spirit”

    Beginning in 1948, the artists William Baziotes, David Hare, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko held a public lecture series entitled Subjects of the Artist. Regularly attracting a crowd of around one hundred and fifty people, the series eventually disbanded in 1950. It was then that Robert Goodnough, a masters’ candidate in art education at New […]

    Village Preservation and a Dozen Groups Issue SoHo NoHo Community Alternative Rezoning Plan

    De Blasio’s Just-Released SoHo/NoHo PlanWould Change the Face of Historic NeighborhoodsWith Massive UpzoningPlan Has Devastating Implications forNeighborhoods and Historic DistrictsAcross the City Late yesterday the de Blasio administration released details of their planned upzoning of SoHo and NoHo — and it’s even worse than we imagined. Here are some highlights: Virtually the entirety of the two […]

    First SoHo-NoHo Upzoning+Rezoning Public Meeting Next Monday, October 26, 6-8pm Sign Up To Speak TODAY!

    The first public meeting on the city’s proposal to rezone and upzone SoHo and NoHo will be next Monday from 6-8 pm. This will be the first time further details of the city’s proposal will be made public – the first step before a months-long public hearing and approval process. Here’s what we do know: […]

    Translation and Transformation: Carl Jung, Beatrice Hinkle, and Greenwich Village Bohemia

    Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist whose ideas about the human unconscious had a profound effect on literature, art, and philosophy. While he was a longtime corresponder and collaborator with Sigmund Freud, Jung eventually departed from traditional psychoanalysis to explore and document his own unique vision of the human mind, spirit, and personality. Among […]

    From our Director: Village Preservation and VillagePreservation.org

    Dear friend, Over the last year and a half, we’ve gone through a transformation. Our new name is Village Preservation, and in June we launched our new website: VillagePreservation.org. Both were designed to better fulfill our mission of celebrating, documenting, and preserving the incredibly rich architectural and cultural history of Greenwich Village, the East Village, […]