For nearly eight decades, Tony Hiss has observed Greenwich Village not simply as a neighborhood, but as a living continuum of history, memory, and change. In our latest oral history, Hiss offers a deeply reflective account of how place is experienced, remembered, and carried forward across generations. An author of fifteen books and a longtime […]
In the 1930s and 1940s, Greenwich Village was one of New York City’s most vibrant centers of jazz. Small clubs lined the streets, especially along Seventh Avenue South, where musicians and audiences gathered late into the night to hear a sound that was reshaping American music. Among the artists who performed in these rooms, few […]
Fred W. McDarrah did not photograph history from a distance. He stood inside it. Shoulder to shoulder with musicians, poets, organizers, and strangers who believed the street could still change the world. His photographs are not nostalgia. They are evidence. McDarrah’s lens followed the pulse of Greenwich Village and the East Village through the 1950s […]
Author: Anna Carl The following post was written by Anna Carl, Village Preservation’s Summer 2025 graduate-level intern. Anna was instrumental in creating our new-and-improved Greenwich Village Historic District Virtual Map and Tours. Introduction Village Preservation has just launched its new-and-improved Greenwich Village Historic District Virtual Map and Tours. The first version of this map was […]
On February 20, 1883, a fire broke out at the school affiliated with the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer. Located on East 4th Street between Avenues A and B, the Romanesque Revival-style Catholic school building was erected directly behind the main sanctuary in 1851-52. By the early 1880s, more than 900 children had enrolled, […]
Edwin Fancher (August 29, 1923 – September 29, 2023) was a co-founder and part-owner of The Village Voice, along with partners Dan Wolf and Norman Mailer, from the 1950s until the 1970s. The Voice functioned as a local alternative newspaper for Greenwich Village (and by extension for New York City) and as an important national arbiter of “hip” […]
On Thursday, December 8th, the audience of our program “Village Preservation at Westbeth Gallery’s Winter Show” had the opportunity to hear directly from artist and Westbeth resident Christina Maile. Christina is self described as trained as a landscape architect, her writing and visual work references colonialism, feminism and extinction and she is of Dayak and West Indian descent.
Everyone in the audience at the gallery very quickly became aware of the depth of knowledge Christina has to share about Westbeth Artists Housing. This program was a great introduction to the launch of Christina’s oral history with Village Preservation, which is available here on our website.
us through our history with insights that help us understand our own times as much as we begin to understand the past. We hope you check out James and Michelle’s work and continue to come along such journeys through Village Preservation’s programming.
Almost 200 years after it was first published, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven still terrifies and delights. The poem, about a forlorn lover tormented by a mysterious bird as he slowly descends into madness, permeated both critical circles and the popular consciousness, proving that the macabre could and should share a space with literary fiction […]
Villager, dancer, and choreographer Merce Cunningham is an artist whose work continues to live vibrantly in 2019, which marks Cunningham’s centennial. The Merce Cunningham Centennial is celebrating a century of artistic expression through events, presentations, and discussions about Merce, dance, and his influence on culture. This Village Preservation Oral History participant will continue to be […]
Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley) was born on September 7, 1936, in Lubbock, Texas. He was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer who was one of the pioneers of Rock and Roll as it emerged in the 1950s. His impact on music and musicians resonates to this day, and those who cite him as […]
GVSHP is excited to share our oral history collection with the public, highlighting some of the people and stories that make Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant neighborhoods. Each of these histories includes the experiences and insights of long-time residents, usually active in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life. […]
GVSHP is excited to share our oral history collection with the public, and hope they will shed more light on what makes Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant areas. Each of these histories highlights the experiences and insights of long-time residents, usually active in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life of […]
GVSHP is excited to share our oral history collection with the public, and hope they will shed more light on what makes Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant areas. Each of these histories highlights the experiences and insights of long-time residents, usually active in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life of […]
GVSHP is excited to share our oral history collection with the public, and hope they will shed more light on what makes Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant areas. Each of these histories highlights the experiences and insights of long-time residents, usually active in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life of […]
GVSHP is excited to share our oral history collection with the public, and hope they will shed more light on what makes Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant areas. Each of these histories highlights the experiences and insights of long-time residents, usually active in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life […]
Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — and we need your help selecting the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village or NoHo: just click here to vote for your favorite. Want to help support small businesses? Share this post with […]
Tom Bernardin has been a good friend to Village Preservation for some time. And it’s safe to say he is obsessed with the history of our neighborhoods. In his capacity as the unofficial historian for Julius’, the historic gay bar on the corner of West 10th Street and Waverly Place, he has given lectures and […]
