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Category: Gansevoort Market

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 […]

When Gansevoort Market Fed the City and Its Ocean Liners

On August 8, 1848, an Act of Congress played a significant role in shaping the landscape of New York City’s commerce and infrastructure: it granted part of the land to help establishment of the Gansevoort Farmers’ Market and the West Washington Market. This helped lay the groundwork for what would become one of the most vibrant and essential markets in all of New York City.

When Gansevoort Market Fed the City and Its Ocean Liners

On August 8, 1848, an Act of Congress played a significant role in shaping the landscape of New York City’s commerce and infrastructure: it granted part of the land to help establishment of the Gansevoort Farmers’ Market and the West Washington Market. This helped lay the groundwork for what would become one of the most […]

Bringing Graham’s 19 Poses to Village Voices’ “Monument to Choice”

It makes sense to combine the artistry of Graham 2 with the historical preservation and inspirational work of Village Voices to create a unique experience for our neighborhoods. The result was an event that gathered community members to celebrate both the passage of the 19th Amendment and how far society still must go to ensure the rights of all people, and in particular those who are trans, non-binary, and women, have equal rights.

Neighbors, Elected Officials, and Preservationists Protest Demolition of Nine Landmarked Meatpacking District Houses

Last Thursday, Village Preservation was joined by Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, the Historic Districts Council, Save Chelsea, Save Gansevoort, a representative of State Senator Brad Hoylman, and Third Council District Democratic Nominee Erik Bottcher for a demonstration and press conference condemning the city and a developer tearing down most of nine city, […]

Things We’re Looking Forward To Doing Again, Part 3

We’re continuing to spend a lot of time thinking about things we used to do before the coronavirus outbreak, that we’re looking forward to hopefully doing again once things return to ‘normal.’  We’ve also been spending a lot of time going through our historic image archive at www.archive.gvshp.org, remembering some of those once-common activities, and […]

Beyond the Village and Back: 1083 Fifth Avenue Mansion and Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Harlem

Today we’re looking at two great New York City landmarks: 1083 Fifth Avenue, a beautiful Second Empire–style mansion located in the Expanded Carnegie Hill Historic District. and Our Lady of Lourdes Church, a Venetian Gothic–style Catholic Church located in West Harlem at 463 W 142nd Street that today serves a primarily immigrant congregation, and when designated was called “one of the oddest buildings in New York.”

“Our Village is Star in an Uptown Exhibit” — September 26, 1990

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 […]

Storefronts in Historic Districts — What You Need to Know

Stores and commercial spaces provide important services, products, jobs, and character to our neighborhoods and communities. Small businesses in landmarked buildings and historic districts have many wonderful assets, while also having NYC Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) rules to follow. The LPC recently released guidelines to help business owners get approval for changes and better understand […]

Business of the Month: Feast On Us, 645 Hudson Street

Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — help us to select the next.  Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo: click here to nominate your favorite.  Want to help support small businesses?  Share this post with friends. In that sweet spot where Greenwich Village meets […]

My Favorite Things: Andrew Berman Edition

  This post is part of a series about our favorite things in and about the Village. Andrew Berman, GVSHP’s Executive Director since 2002, has a plethora of favorite things about our neighborhoods, so it’s hard to press him for a discreet list.  But there are a few things that Andrew feels particularly passionate about, […]

New York Biscuit Stables

In the early 2000’s GVSHP conducted research that led to the designation of the Gansevoort Market Historic District. That research included photo surveys of the area. We recently added one such photo survey to GVSHP’s Historic Image Archive covering the northern area of the district above 14th street including the Chelsea Market, the old Nabisco factory, and the High […]

Walking the Meatpacking District With GVSHP’s Historic Image Archive

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 […]

When Maxfield Parrish’s Magic Came to Greenwich Village

The great American artist and illustrator Maxfield Parrish was born on July 25, 1870 in Philadelphia.  Born Frederick Parrish, he died more than ninety-five years later on March 30, 1966 in Plainfield, New Hampshire.  In between, he created some of the most stunning, iconic, and memorable paintings and illustrations of the late 19th and early […]

A Decision By the State Was An Important Milestone in Preserving Gansevoort Market

There were many moments to celebrate along the arc of fighting for the protection of the Gansevoort Historic District, also known as the Meatpacking District. One such milestone took place on July 17, 2002, when the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation determined, in response to an application by GVSHP, that […]

A Stroll Down West 14th Street: Religious Architecture

West 14th Street has a multi-layered history, preserved in its architecture, which reflects the development of the surrounding area as well as New York City itself. West 14th Street is also a border street, separating Greenwich Village to the south from Chelsea to the north. Save Chelsea’s President Laurence Frommer and I teamed up for […]

A Stroll Down West 14th Street: Commerce and Industry

West 14th Street has a multilayered history, preserved in its architecture, which reflects the development of the surrounding area as well as New York City itself. West 14th Street is also a border street, separating Greenwich Village to the south from Chelsea to the north. Save Chelsea’s President Laurence Frommer and I teamed up for […]

The End of the West Washington Market

On this day in 1954, the West Washington Market, which stood on the west side of West Street at Gansevoort Street for sixty-seven years, was demolished, ending its tenure as the City’s meat, poultry and dairy market center.  The Gansevoort Market area was actually home to three distinct markets that existed here at various times […]

Irish Churches of the Village

The following was originally written by Sheryl Woodruff and posted two years ago. It has been updated with new content. Read the original post here.  It seems that on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish or of Irish descent. The parade winds its way up Fifth Avenue, tourists and locals patronize the many Irish pubs that […]

A year ago today, the horrible Intro. 775 was heard, later passed

With a raft of demolition permits in the air, it reminds us that a year ago today one of the most anti-preservation pieces of legislation was first heard at the NYC Council Land Use committee. Intro 775 had a purported goal of protecting landmarks, but that notion was downright Orwellian to anyone familiar with the bill. Unfortunately, Intro. 775 became law in June of […]

The Air Up There

You can buy bottled water.  You can buy plots of land. And in New York (and some other places), you can buy air rights. But what are “air rights?” An increasingly common component of development across NYC, “air rights” are a type of development right in real estate.  The owner of a building sometimes has the right to use and develop […]

Celebrating 51 Years of Landmarking

Fifty-one years ago today, on April 19, 1965, the New York City landmarks law went into effect.  A year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the landmarks law has been spearheaded by Landmarks50, an incredible coalition of which Village Preservation is a member, led by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, the chair of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center. […]

Really, Really, Ridiculously Awful (and probably illegal) Billboards

Nine years ago today, on a freezing cold February day (like today), Village Preservation and hundreds of neighbors protested the Hotel Gansevoort billboards that had just been erected at the corner of Hudson and Gansevoort Street.  Village Preservation Exec. Dir. Andrew Berman’s statements then stand true today, “The Hotel Gansevoort profits in every way it can […]

The Old New Guy (gal) at GVSHP

  Happy New Year! Tomorrow will mark my four month anniversary working for GVSHP and it has been a whirlwind!  My quiet existence as an architectural historian ended on September 8 of last year as I was swept up in the tumultuous world of New York City Preservation.  Here are a few of the highlights […]

A Look Back at 2015 Programs

As 2015 comes to a close and 2016 approaches, here is a look back at GVSHP’s public programs for 2015. In all, we produced or co-sponsored 60 programs that drew almost 5,000 attendees. Our programs consisted of slideshows, lectures, book talks, panel discussions, interviews, museum visits, walking tours, and other formats. We chose different venues […]

Art in Odd Places 2015: RECALL

Today marks the 11th year and anniversary of the Art in Odd Places (AiOP) festival.  AiOP is a visual and performing arts festival that strives to present works outside the confines of traditional public space and stretch the boundaries of communication in the public realm.  The festival itself runs along 14th Street, all the way […]

The Flatirons of the Village and the East Village

On September 20th, 1966, the Flatiron Building was designated a New York City landmark.  One of New York’s most beloved and iconic landmarks, the Flatiron Building is known for (among other things) its unique shape, formed by the intersection of Broadway and 5th Avenue forming an acute angle amidst the otherwise right-angled, rectilinear street grid of Manhattan. […]

The Village Seen: Painter Patricia Melvin

Today is the second installment of a new occasional series, “The Village Seen,” to display the work of the many talented visual artists in our neighborhoods. Longtime East Villager Patricia Melvin has been painting downtown for more than three decades; you may have seen her stationed outside with her easel near Jefferson Market Library, St. […]

Happy Birthday, Gansevoort Market Historic District

On September 9, 2003, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Gansevoort Market Historic District. GVSHP led the fight to protect the important historically significant buildings in this neighborhood, and continues to fight today when those protections are threatened. In its designation report (read the two parts here and here), the LPC noted that the […]

Welcome to the New Whitney

The Whitney Museum of American Art opened its doors at its new location—99 Gansevoort Street—on May 1, 2015. Founded by sculpture and arts patron Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the museum famous for twentieth-century and contemporary art of the United States, first opened on West Eighth Street in 1931. The Whitney later moved uptown and beginning in 1966 […]

The Tree of Heaven in Washington Square

I recently read the novella Washington Square for the first time, eager to see how this 1880 work by Henry James might paint the Square of olden days. Although the story was absorbing – centering on the relationship between a successful physician and the grown daughter who disappoints him – it didn’t provide quite as […]

What was here before the West Coast (95 Horatio Street)?

We received several emails from readers asking about the history of their building following our post about Bagatelle. 95 Horatio Street, aka “The West Coast” is a 320-unit rental property that takes up almost a full block from Horatio Street to Gansevoort Street and Washington Street to West Street. This property encompasses nine lots that were […]

GVSHP summer programs

Although the summer months mean vacation time for some people, here at GVSHP, we don’t slow down! Our free public programs are still in full swing. This Wednesday evening we’ll present a program with our co-sponsors at The New School about the history of this Village institution. Julia Foulkes, Associate Professor of History, has entitled […]

What Was Here Before Bagatelle?

Many people know the restaurant Bagatelle located at 1 Little West 12th Street for their lavish brunch parties, where as one recent brunch reviewer stated “I’ve never seen so many bottles of Dom Perignon ordered in my life”. Bagatelle helped changed the face of NYC brunch in 2008 from a laid back Sunday afternoon meal to a […]

Program Recap: The Origins of Little Spain and The Whitney Museum

GVSHP presents free public programs all year long, at various venues throughout the East Village, West Village and everywhere in between. Our past two programs were particularly amazing, and got an especially enthusiastic reception from program participants. On Wednesday, May 20th we visited the Spanish Benevolent Society (founded in 1868) on West 14th Street near 8th […]

The Making of the Whitney Museum

The new location of the Whitney Museum, near the High Line in the neighborhood known as the Meatpacking District, has been in the news lately, and has drawn large crowds. Many New Yorkers know that the Whitney Museum has been on the Upper East Side, on the corner of Madison Avenue and 74th Street, for […]

Shop Local: Help For Your Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Gift

Valentine’s Day is almost here with almost no time left to waste! Due to the predicted below-freezing temperatures for this weekend, we’ve posted a last-minute sample list of local Village businesses that may be able to cover your flower and candy needs, featuring a sneak preview of photos from happy customers posted on Instagram: Sunny’s Florist  Location: […]

The Origins of Historic Preservation in Academia

Having recently completed my undergraduate degree in architectural and urban history, I have been exploring options for further education in the discipline. During my research in the academic backgrounds of notable persons in the profession, I was particularly struck by Jane Jacobs’s lack of qualified training in city planning. This revelation sparked a curiosity in […]

Historic Preservation, In Context

As a student of architectural history at NYU and having lived in New York for the past four years, it is still such a delight to be able to walk around and see such an eclectic mix of buildings in the same neighborhood; to see the old and the new nestled together either in congruent […]

Remembering the Original New Yorkers

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we thought that we should share a brief history of the original New Yorkers, the Lenape. When the Dutch arrived in New York in 1624, there were approximately 15,000 Lenape Indians living on Manhatta, translated as “the island of many hills.” It was later renamed by the Dutch “Manhattan.” Although […]

The Art of Frederick Brosen

As part of GVSHP’s ongoing programming, native New Yorker and world renowned artist Frederick Brosen will give a free talk and slideshow at Theater 80 on Tuesday, December 9th at 6:30pm. Brosen’s presentation will feature his selected watercolor works of locations in New York City, including paintings featured in GVSHP’s book Greenwich Village Stories. For his […]

High Line, Part 3

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 […]

End of Summer Reading: Greenwich Village Stories

The recent piece on PBS’ MetroFocus series about GVSHP’s book, Greenwich Village Stories (watch here) reminds me what a perfect end-of-summer read the book is (the book can be purchased here).  Where else can you find sixty-six reminiscences about the Village and East Village from some of the great musicians, politicians, performers, artists, writers, actors, […]

The Village is a Small World

Next Thursday evening GVSHP will present a program with photographer Richard Blair about his new book New York 1969. It’s a collection of some of Richard’s photos, mostly black & white and taken in New York circa 1969, paired with poems written by his father, Ed Blair.

That Hudson River Waterfront

I think I’m infatuated with Greenwich Village’s Hudson River waterfront. I can’t seem to get enough of it. Last month our good friend Dr. Robin Nagle spoke about the history of the Hudson River waterfront and its historic and current role in New York City sanitation. In June, one of our Village Award winners was […]

A Stroll Down 14th Street

From November 1975 to September 1976, artist Roy Colmer photographed more than 3,000 Manhattan doorways to create an art project called Doors, NYC.  The New York Public Library, which houses the collection, notes that the project “was as much an exploration of the serial possibilities of photography as of its ability to capture a place. […]

Sanitation on the Hudson River Waterfront

OK, let’s face, it, nobody likes to talk about or think about sanitation. Well, I shouldn’t say “nobody.” I know someone who not only thinks about and talks about sanitation, she is passionate about sanitation. Her name is Dr. Robin Nagle, and she is Anthropologist-in-Residence with the New York City Department of Sanitation. (It’s a […]

Before & After in the Meatpacking District

Greenwich Village, like the rest of New York City, has seen many changes over the years. What was once a marshy area of sandy hills before Europeans arrived became the location of farms and estates, and ultimately the destination for people of means escaping epidemics in Lower Manhattan.

Fighting Westway

In 2014 Village Preservation presented a program at the Community Room at Westbeth with author Prof. William W. Buzbee and his book, “Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the Regulatory War that Transformed New York City.”

Check for Violations Before Buying a Landmark

In continuation of our Landmarking 101 series, today we’re focusing on active violations on a landmarked property and just who is responsible for them. Whether you’re a broker or a prospective buyer, this is particularly important information to know! If you buy a property with unresolved violations, you become financially responsible for correcting them. That’s […]

Abingdon Square: 183 years ago…

On April 22, 1831, the City of New York acquired the land that is now one of my favorite places in the West Village, Abingdon Square Park. Once part of the vast Sir Peter Warren estate, Abingdon Square was named for Warren’s son-in-law, the Fourth Earl of Abingdon. We have written about this place before, […]

Ten Years Ago: Far West Village Protests, and Progress

April 18 and 19 mark two incredibly important Far West Village preservation anniversaries — each from 2004.  At that time, GVSHP and allied community groups were engaged in a heated battle to try to prevent the wholesale destruction of the Greenwich Village waterfront and Meatpacking District, both of which had recently become “hot neighborhoods” where […]

The Land of Meatpackers, Then Models, Then Moschino

Seven years ago, a picturesque swath of lower Manhattan by the Hudson River was listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. This official designation by government agencies marked another layer of recognition and protection of this unique area, traditionally known for cobblestones, hanging sides of meat, blood in the gutters, brick warehouses, […]

1980s Tax Photos: Then & Now

For today’s post in our Then & Now series, we thought we’d feature a few locations in our neighborhoods as they looked in the 1980s. Similar to last week’s post on using historic maps, the City of New York’s 1980s tax photos are an invaluable resource in helping us understand our built past. As with […]

Coming Soon — Greenwich Village Stories

GVSHP works to preserve the architectural and cultural heritage of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo in many different ways.  Landmark designations and zoning protections, though challenging to secure, can at least ensure the perpetuation of that special physical fabric.  But culture, while inevitably intertwined with that physical fabric, is more ephemeral; harder to quantify, and […]

Valentine’s Day in the Village

If you waited for the last minute to plan your Valentine’s Day evening or need to pick up a few more supplies, don’t despair. There are plenty of shops in the East and West Village that have just what you need to say “I Love You” to that special someone. Are you staying in and […]

Old Buildings, New Forms: Creative adaptive re-use in the built environment

On Tuesday evening, Village Preservation presented a program with architect, preservationist, and author Françoise Bollack about her new book, Old Buildings, New Forms: New Directions in Architectural Transformations, published by the Monicelli Press. It was a wonderful presentation, with images from her book of places all over the world where old buildings were saved instead […]

My favorite farmers’ market: Abingdon Square Greenmarket

Back in October, Village PReservation worked with our friends and neighbors at GrowNYC, Abingdon Square Conservancy, and the Abingdon Square Greenmarket on a history and photo project about Abingdon Square. We had a great time and really enjoyed talking with people at the market, and working with GrowNYC. Our guests were treated to cider from […]

Captains of Industry

As Election Day approaches, like many of you, we’re wondering what the future holds for New York City, as the Bloomberg Era will soon be coming to an end. Toward that end, all this Fall we have been looking back on what we have been able to accomplish over the last ten years, and thinking […]

The Anti-Chain Gang

Here in the world of preserving worthy buildings, there’s a question that often comes up. “Preserving buildings is well and good,” people say. “But what about preserving the personalities and pursuits that occupy those buildings?” That’s the next frontier. For the most part, meatpackers are mostly gone from the Meatpacking District, few struggling artists still […]

Ten Years of Progress on Landmark and Zoning Protections — And the Road Ahead

GVSHP is proud to share it’s new report “Ten Years – A Thousand Buildings – One Hundred Blocks:  A Decade of Progress on Landmark and Zoning Protections in the Village, East Village, and NoHo.” As we come to the end of the Bloomberg era, this meticulously detailed and richly photographed report examines what GVSHP has […]

440 West 14th Street: Then & Now

Near the southern end of the High Line, the Meatpacking District bustles with designer clothing stores, outdoor cafes, and trendy hotels. Tourists in particular flock to this area, and it can often be a source of amusement to watch club-goers navigate the bumpy Belgian block (aka cobblestone) streets in their fashionable stilettos. Many New Yorkers, […]

The Fate of the Lusitania

On September 13, 1907, the RMS Lusitania docked at Pier 54 on the Greenwich Village waterfront following its maiden transatlantic voyage. Pier 54, located at West 13th Streets, was the New York home for Cunard Line, a British shipping company.  The Lusitania docked safely that day, but eight years later the ship was sunk by a German U-boat […]

Happy Anniversary, Gansevoort Market Historic District!

On September 9, 2003, the Gansevoort Market Historic District was officially designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.  The designation not only culminated a three-year effort to protect the increasingly endangered Meatpacking District from the very real prospect of mass demolitions and oversized new development (such as the Hotel Gansevoort, which preceded the […]

This Day in Preservation History: Save Gansevoort Market Founded

On August 1, 2000, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation convened the first meeting of the Save Gansevoort Market Task Force.  This project of GVSHP eventually led to landmark designation for most of the Meatpacking District, State and National Register of Historic Places designation for the entire neighborhood, and two successful campaigns to prevent […]

Smorgasbord of Landmark Applications Tomorrow Run The Gamut

It may be the dog days of summer, but tomorrow the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) will hear nine applications for changes to landmarked properties in our neighborhoods, ranging from the Meatpacking District to the South Village and NoHo, and from minor changes to dramatic proposed makeovers. You can find information about the extent of these […]

Landmarks Preservation Commission Celebrates Gay Pride, Doesn’t Designate Gay Landmarks

The Landmarks Preservation Commission has recently begun creating on-line slide shows to showcase various history months as represented by some of the city’s roughly 31,000 landmarked properties.  In March, they highlighted Women’s History Month, and in February, Black History Month. Now for the first time, the LPC has also created a “Gay Pride Month” slide […]

Squatters of the Depression

As the city’s and nation’s economy works through its slow recovery, the New York public library reminds us how the last great national economic crisis affected our city. Though we commonly recall images of Depression-era squatters in Hoovervilles  in Central Park, various temporary encampments sprouted throughout the city during the 1930s — many of them […]

Views of Gansevoort Market

Since the first public market opened in the area in 1884, Gansevoort Market — or the Meatpacking District — underwent many changes in building form and use as the area became more commericalized over the decades. Though now associated with high-end boutiques, galleries, and restaurants, Gansevoort Market by the 1980s and 1990s was a collection […]

The Titanic & The Village

Today marks one hundred and one years since the RMS Titanic sank into the cold dark North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg over 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. Though the ill-fated liner never made it to New York, many sites in the city and right here in the Village are associated with the […]

Two Great Maps for One Great City

Do you recognize the three-dimensional map in this photo? Hint: half a century ago, the model-making team of Raymond Lester Associates was meticulously recreating the city’s five boroughs in preparation for a “universal and international” exposition that, next year, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. If you guessed that this is the Panorama of the […]