Greenwich Village: A Century of Architectural Terra Cotta

A Lecture by Susan Tunick

Though Greenwich Village has always been known as an idiosyncratic and vibrant part of New York, many are unaware that this area was in the forefront of experimentation with American-made terra cotta. It is commonly assumed that terra cotta was not actively produced in this country until the 1870s and 1880s. However, new evidence shows that terra cotta was being used in architecture as early as 1849. A number of these buildings survive today, including a major example in the Village. We will focus on these early beginnings and move through major developments in terra cotta with examples from Greenwich Village, including a late example completed in the 1960s.