East 7th Street: Anatomy of an East Village Block

A Presentation by the NYU Public History & Archives Class

With a varied and colorful history reflected in its architecture, East 7th Street could be considered a microcosm of the East Village itself. To the west, the street encompassed part of Peter Stuyvesant’s old Bouwerie; to the east, historic rowhouses remind us of the early days of the working waterfront. In conjunction with Village Preservation’s architectural resource survey of the East Village, students in the Introduction to Public History course in NYU’s Public History and Archives program will present their semester-long research about the social history of this fascinating street. The students, each of whom focused on a different block along East 7th Street, will discuss how they went about their research and will present their findings.