October is Italian-American Heritage Month, a rich opportunity to reflect on the profound contributions of Italian Americans to our city and nation. Here in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, Italian immigrants and their descendants shaped neighborhoods, built small businesses, joined civic life, and wove their stories into the fabric of New York. At […]
An exciting feature of Village Preservation’s sizable Historic Image Archive is the ability to filter images by category, or “tag.” We have added tags to the more than 5,000 historic photographs in our archive, so that users can easily view images organized by their interests. To celebrate pride, we will explore images using the “LGBTQ+” tag, which […]
In an age where access to information is just a click away, digitized archives are becoming essential tools for researchers, students, journalists, and curious minds alike. When organizations make historical materials publicly accessible online, they’re not just preserving the past—they’re actively connecting it to the present and future. Village Preservation’s digitized archive of the Village […]
Our Historic Images from Landmarks Applications collection is one of the most extensive in our historic image archive. It is regularly updated with additional historic images that are included in local Certificate of Appropriateness applications to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. These provide invaluable documentation of our neighborhoods, and the newest batch includes a number of images of buildings […]
The latest addition to our historic image archive, the Susan De Vries — Federal Rowhouses in Lower Manhattan and Architecture Collection Part II, features roughly 350 images taken by Susan De Vries throughout Lower Manhattan in 1995. Susan De Vries is a historian, researcher and photographer who has been active in the preservation field for […]
After the Supreme Court Decision DOBBS v.JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION overturning Roe v. Wade was released on Friday, June 24, people took to the streets. It was no surprise that people hoping to make their voices heard looked to our neighborhoods as a gathering place. Two of the many protests and rallies that took place in New York City were held in Washington Square Park and Union Square. These protests were organized by intersectional advocacy groups across Labor, Defund the Police, Housing, Immigration, and LGBTQIA+ movements.
Our historic image archive is full of thousands of images that give us unique insights into New York City life. Recent additions show drag performances in the 1990s, the HighLine before it became a world-famous park and tourist attraction, and changes to our surrounding architecture over the years. The Robert Fisch collection is our most […]
Today we are proud to share the first part of a collection of hundreds of photos donated by longtime Greenwich Village resident Robert Fisch, primarily of the Greenwich Village of his youth in the 1980s, landmarks and familiar sights of the neighborhood and city in the decades since then, the former World Trade Center and […]
Village Preservation has recently added more than two dozen historic images culled from recent landmarks applications to our Historic Image Archive. This includes a series showing printed wall signs on buildings in the Meatpacking District, NoHo, and the West Village from the 1910s to the 1940s; an 1891 image of Clinton Hall (demolished) on Astor […]
David Werner Amram III is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings. He plays piano, French horn, Spanish guitar, and pennywhistle, sings, and is passionate about teaching music to newer generations. In 2014, Village Preservation conducted an oral history with Amram that explores his childhood, adolescent inspirations, young adulthood in Greenwich Village, amazing […]
In honor of the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, Village Preservation has assembled nearly 1,000 donated images documenting the World Trade Center, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the days and weeks following September 11, 2001. We have released the collections in our historic image archive. One of the many special collections we received was from […]
To mark the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, Village Preservation has assembled about 900 donated images documenting the World Trade Center, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the days and weeks following September 11, 2001. See all the images here. Village actor, artist, and writer Beverly Wallace donated over 500 9/11-related images to the archive. These photos were […]
This September will mark 20 years since the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center. Few New Yorkers were left untouched by this devastating assault, which shattered our city, our sense of safety, and our sense of selves. Residents of our neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan were particularly hard hit — from losing loved ones and […]
As we approach LGBTQ+ Pride Weekend, Village Preservation is proud to share with you a wonderful new collection in our historic image archive of donated images from Jillian Jonas chronicling the fiery and flamboyant downtown drag performance scene of the 1990s. Jonas, who was the house photographer at the legendary Boy Bar on St. Mark’s Place, also captured […]
Minetta Street is one of the most charming and unique “corners” of Greenwich Village. I say corners, of course, because this one block-long street literally bends at nearly a 45-degree angle between Minetta Lane and the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Bleecker Street. This narrow street features small 19th century homes and 20th-century apartment buildings, […]
There are so many gems in our vast 2,100+ image Historic Image Archive, sometimes it even takes us a while to realize what we have and identify some of our images. A recent example is our discovery that several images in our archive contained the work of a great 1980s street art star — one […]
Village Preservation has so many online resources available about the history of our area. But did you know that we now also have an incredible archive available online of the history of preservation efforts in our neighborhoods? This archive contains materials from organizations and individuals involved in historic preservation efforts, particularly those connected to Greenwich […]
The McDarrah family loves the Village. The late Fred W. McDarrah was a leading photojournalist and documentarian of late-20th century Greenwich Village. He was the primary (and often only) photographer for the Village Voice for decades, since the newspaper’s inception in 1955. He captured the counterculture of Greenwich Village and the East Village, Gay Rights, […]
One of our most recently landmarked buildings, the Roosevelt Building at 841 Broadway, has an exciting application for alterations which includes the restoration of its piers at the storefront level. Included in this application are some beautiful images of not just the building but Broadway, Union Square, and East 13th Street which we have just […]
Village Preservation has been, and continues to be, the guardian of many different archives. Still, our repository continues growing, and our newest online resource, the Preservation History Archive, is somewhat distinct from all the rest. Instead of relaying the broad history of our neighborhood, the Preservation History Archive holds original documents on the history of […]
As we do every month, we just added some new historic images to the Village Preservation historic image archive from the latest Landmarks Permit Applications which we have reviewed. This round had an intriguing one of Astor Place/Cooper Square from 1925 which shows how many of the striking historic buildings remain from that time (largely […]
In our series Beyond the Village and Back, we take a look at some great landmarks throughout New York City outside of the Village, the East Village, and NoHo, celebrate their special histories, and reveal their (sometimes hidden) connections to the Village. Our Historic Image Archive is a veritable treasure trove of images that depict New […]
When conducting research for our Greenwich Village Historic District 1969-2019 Maps and Tours, we discovered that investigative journalist Ida Tarbell, artist Hans Hofmann, and one of our favorite preservationists, Margot Gayle, all lived in the same building at 38-44 West 9th Street, although none at the same time. So today we take a deeper dive […]
New Yorkers love their small businesses, so it was no surprise that the plight of East Village mainstay Gem Spa drew so much attention and support from local residents and visitors alike. The almost 80-year-old corner stand has always sold a plethora of handy items, from snacks to newspapers, drinks to hats, toiletries and sunglasses […]
Last week we looked at readers’ top five choices of 2018. Today, check out some of our favorites : Who Doesn’t Love Carole Teller? A resident of the East Village for over fifty years, Carole Teller so beautifully and thoroughly documented her neighborhood’s architecture, daily life, and many quirks, that we had to dole it out in multiple parts […]
GVSHP just added 29 new historic images to our archive taken from current public applications to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) for significant changes to landmarked buildings in our neighborhoods. Historic photos are typically included in applications to provide explanation or context for proposed changes in historic districts or to individually landmarked structures, and GVSHP […]
With the colder air, the shorter days, and the mania of holiday planning that come with late November, it seems right to start spending more time in the warm, comfortable indoors. And looking through our Historic Image Archive, while our neighborhood’s building facades and street life take center stage, it’s also nice to note the […]
There are limitless things to discover among the astounding collections of photographs by Carole Teller in GVSHP’s Historic Image Archive. A resident of the East Village for over 50 years, Carole so beautifully and thoroughly documented her neighborhood’s architecture, daily life, and many quirks, we have had to dole it out in multiple parts (see Part […]
The Village’s misfits, we know quite well, are very dedicated, special kinds of misfits. Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground certainly fall into this category. Everyone remembers when they were unknown, fighting for their unusual sounds and visions, giving voice to the fringes of NYC culture. That’s where Lou Reed could be found. August 23rd, […]
Every month, GVSHP posts the upcoming applications for changes to landmarked properties in our neighborhoods that are significant enough to warrant a public hearing, known as certificates of appropriateness. Typically included in these applications are old photos of the properties which can serve to provide explanation or justification for proposed changes to landmarked structures. GVSHP […]
Last week we shared an online Historic Bowery Walking Tour. This week we are sharing a walking tour of the Gansevoort Market Historic District, landmarked in 2003 thanks to efforts by GVSHP. Back in 2002 GVSHP wrote: “Gansevoort Market is one of Manhattan’s defining neighborhoods – gritty, hard-working, low-rise, with its own special character, and a rich collection […]
As we add images to our Historic Image Archive, we try to provide as much identifying information as possible on each one. Sometimes the images come to us with the exact location of the image, date, etc. Sometimes they come with no information whatsoever, and we have to comb our files, mental and otherwise, to try to […]
We at GVSHP were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Romana Raffetto of Raffetto’s Fresh Pasta, located at 144 West Houston Street. She was a great friend to GVSHP over the years, supporting South Village preservation efforts and providing us with an oral history, along with her son Andrew. We remember and honor Romana, […]
Over 80 new historic photos taken by Carole Teller were recently added to the GVSHP Image Archive. Every time we add photos to our collection, we uncover some great stories, like when a woman emailed us that her mother was the subject of this photo, a man let us know this is the only existing photo of his grandfather, […]
One of the facts of life that has always bummed me out is that I can’t visit history, to experience the past first-hand. Thankfully, though, GVSHP has just released Part 2 of our Historic Image Archive collection “Carole Teller’s Changing New York”. While the entire Carole Teller collection offers a wide-ranging view of New York […]
On January 3, 2017, GVSHP launched our Civil Rights and Social Justice Map. Something in the air told us there might be a hunger and need for this kind of information. But even we would not have guessed that the map would receive over 70,000 views in that time, with its praises sung in BrickUnderground, […]
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 – our Bleecker Street walking tour – and I was so lucky to have been there. I have walked up and down Bleecker Street countless times, […]
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 her family tree. She grew up with abolitionists and suffragists, and watched Jane Jacobs get arrested protesting the proposed Lower Manhattan expressway. She threw literary […]
Gone but not forgotten, the Village is as much defined by what is above as much as it is by who is below. Though burials in Manhattan were officially banned by the Common Council of New York City in 1852, a handful of spaces continued to serve the deceased up through the 20th century and […]
Last night, GVSHP presented a free public program with James & Michelle Nevius, authors of the new book, “Footprints in New York”. James & Michelle are historians and tour guides who offer historic walking tours of many different New York City neighborhoods, but last night’s program focused on people and places of Greenwich Village. At […]
Congratulations to our friends at The High Line! The third and final section of the park will open to the public this Sunday, September 21st. GVSHP has a special kinship with The High Line. I mean that is what historic preservation is all about! GVSHP was one of the earliest endorsers of the plan to […]
This image from the GVSHP Archive features an idyllic view of people gathering on the sidewalk outside of First Presbyterian Church in winter. The image is taken at 12th Street and Fifth Avenue, looking south. Indeed, the Church of the Ascension, at 10th Street, is visible as well.
One of the most frequent questions we get at GVSHP is where to find historic photographs. We have focused on this topic before here at Off the Grid, but the newly created online gallery at the New York City Municipal Archives is such an excellent resource, we thought it deserved another look.
The Atlantic Cities featured an article called “A Brief History of NYU Land Battles” on its site this past Tuesday, before the City Council Land Use Committee voted nearly unanimously to approve a slightly modified version of NYU’s massive proposed Village expansion plan. The article details the history of four different university developments the Greenwich […]
