Our 2018 Resolutions
Happy New Year! We here at GVSHP hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and look forward to 2018! Like many people everywhere, GVSHP has also made some resolutions for the … Continued
Happy New Year! We here at GVSHP hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and look forward to 2018! Like many people everywhere, GVSHP has also made some resolutions for the … Continued
By Matt
Greenwich Village is known as the birthplace of many things – the modern gay rights movement, Off-Broadway theater, the New York School of artists and poets, the “new urbanism” pioneered … Continued
My colleague, Director of Research and Preservation Sarah Bean Apmann (she tells me that “Exalted Majesty Tour Guide” also works as a title), led the first GVSHP walking tour that I attended – … Continued
A film industry location scout with a keen eye for settings, Meredith Jacobson Marciano has been an East Village resident since 1986. An avid photographer with an eye for pop … Continued
The Center for Migration Studies of New York is a think tank and educational institute devoted to the study of international migration, the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, … Continued
Last time we put out a call to the public to help us solve some mysteries in historic photos, we got a great response. While we have identified many of … Continued
West Village history can’t be said to live in any one person, but Otis Kidwell Burger has seen a great deal of it, and holds a great deal more in … Continued
On November 1, 1967, an enigmatic 20-foot-tall cube first appeared on a lonely traffic island where Astor Place and 8th Street meet. Though several months before the release of “2001: … Continued
On November 1, 1967, an 8′ x 8′ x 8′ 1,800-pound giant black cube was installed in Astor Place as one of 25 temporary public artworks by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. However, … Continued
Few structures have had a more far-reaching impact upon the West Village and Chelsea than the High Line. Its construction in 1934, then partial demolition in the early ’60s, and … Continued
There’s no overstating it – we at Village Preservation love our members and friends sharing old mementos and images of our neighborhood. Personal or family pictures taken of one’s surroundings or … Continued
Walking on East 9th Street the other day I saw a new and surprising element on the Mud Cafe storefront at 307 East 9th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, … Continued
This is an update of a post written by former GVSHP staffer Andito Lloyd. The seminal tome of the Beat generation, Jack Kerouac’s novel, “On the Road,” was published on September … Continued
Carole Teller’s rich collection of photographs of our neighborhoods over the last half century, which she generously donated to GVSHP, have created quite the buzz on the web of late, … Continued
By Matt
It was August 23 of 1813 when the Common Council of New York City officially put the name “The Bowery” on the books as a city street name. But New … Continued
One of many wonderful things GVSHP does is accept donations of old photos for our historic image archive, so we can share them with the world. Old photos of course … Continued
Gansevoort Market, a giant, open-air farmer’s market located on the enormous block between Gansevoort and Little West 12th streets, Washington and West Streets, officially opened for business on June 15, … Continued
The classic Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, considered by many the greatest and most influential rock album of all time, was released on May 26, 1967 in … Continued
In 2014, Village Preservation conducted an oral history interview with Veselka owner and Village Preservation Trustee Tom Birchard. Tom is the son-in-law of Veselka’s original owner, who in 1954 bought … Continued
Browsing through GVSHP’s recently updated image archives, I came across photographs of the Variety Theater, which was, once upon a time, a favorite place of mine to go and see … Continued
GVSHP recently released 90 new images on the GVSHP image archive. Almost half of them date to the early years of GVSHP, when we were known as the Greenwich Village Trust … Continued
41 years ago today, New York City was a much different place than it is today. By almost every measure it was dirtier and more dangerous. Many viewed the city as … Continued
As 2016 fades into memory, we wanted to look back on all that GVSHP accomplished during the year, and what we have to look forward to in 2017. In 2016, … Continued
JUST SIX DAYS LEFT IN 2016! 2016 was a year of incredible accomplishments for GVSHP. Help us keep the progress going, and protect what we hold dear about our neighborhoods.
On September 21, 1965, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held its very first public hearing. Twenty-eight buildings were on the agenda, including five in Brooklyn, fifteen in Manhattan, one in the … Continued
On August 16th, 1966, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District. This small but distinct neighborhood is part of the South Village. It sits on a street grid … Continued
Longtime GVSHP member Miriam Cahn has called the Village her home for over 45 years. She was a special education teacher at Lennox Hill Hospital for many years before retiring … Continued
On February 4, 1976, the film Next Stop, Greenwich Village premiered. Many movies, television shows, and plays have taken place in the Village, displaying the unique characteristics of the neighborhood, but arguably, … Continued
By Lauren
Edna St. Vincent Millay was born on February 22, 1892 in Rockland, Maine. But the Village was always in her blood; her middle name, St. Vincent, came from the Greenwich … Continued
By Ted
Off the Grid often features images from GVSHP’s Preservation Archive and Oral History Project. The image archive includes approximately 300 images from ten different collections that document the architecture, cultural … Continued
By Sheryl
One of the many tools historic preservationists use in their work is historic images. They are an invaluable resource in seeing firsthand how our built environment has changed and stayed … Continued
By Sheryl
This week, research requests to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation converged and pointed us to a unique image in our Historic Image Archive. Titled “The old pear-tree planted … Continued
By Sheryl
In the past Off the Grid has taken a look at some of the architecture surrounding Tompkins Square Park, including St. Brigid’s Church, the Tompkins Square Lodging House for Boys, … Continued
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 … Continued
By Amanda
On August 2, 1962, a group of concerned citizens protested in front of Pennsylvania Station, the McKim, Mead, and White Beaux Art structure in pink granite that spanned two full … Continued
By Sheryl
Strolling through Father Demo Square at 6th Avenue and Carmine and Bleecker Streets, one might naturally assume that the name of the park has something to do with the neighboring … Continued
61 Washington Square South, before it was demolished in 1948, was known as the House of Genius, part of the so-called genius row named for the artists and writers who … Continued
CBGB, the legendary rock club on the Bowery and Bleecker closed its doors on October 15, 2006, due to lease issues, 33 years after it opened. The last evening at … Continued
With the recent news that every Law & Order television episode will soon be available in one mammoth 104-disc set, we thought we’d round up this week’s posts with a … Continued
By Drew