Otis Kidwell Burger
Otis Kidwell Burger (1923-2021) lived on Bethune Street for 58 years, where her life intertwined with some of the most intriguing and important figures in the Village during that time. … Continued
Full TranscriptVillage Preservation Oral History Collection
Village Preservation’s Oral History Project includes interviews with some of the great artists, activists, business owners, community leaders, and preservation pioneers of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. It captures and preserves their first-person perspective on the important histories they witnessed or of which they were a part.
Click here for an alphabetical list of our entire Oral History Collection.
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Paula DeLuccia Poons
Paula DeLuccia Poons (b. 1953) and her husband Larry Poons have lived at 827-831 Broadway since 1977. Both are artists, following a long tradition of artists who have taken refuge … Continued
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Beverly Moss Spatt
Beverly Moss Spatt (b. 1924) has been a leading figure in New York City planning and preservation for over fifty years. In this oral history she discusses growing up in … Continued
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Robert Sanfiz
Robert Sanfiz (b. March 20, 1969) has been the Executive Director of La Nacional since 2008. La Nacional is the 150-year-old Spanish Benevolent Society located on West 14th Street, which … Continued
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Arthur Levin
Arthur (Art) Levin (b. 1936) has served as a Village Preservation Trustee for over 20 years, including as President since 2012, overseeing a period of organizational growth. Art grew up … Continued
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Valerio Orselli
Orselli (b. 1949) immigrated from Italy to Brazil in 1954 and to New York in 1960. He has been a passionate advocate for affordable housing for almost 50 years, especially … Continued
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Fred Bass
Bass (1928-2018) joined the family business, the Strand Bookstore, at the age of 13 when it was located on 4th Avenue. In 1956 he took over the business, and in … Continued
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Tod Williams
Architect Tod Williams (b. May 11, 1943) worked with Richard Meier during the conversion of Westbeth from an industrial building to artist’s housing in the late 1960s and early 70s. … Continued
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Peter Ruta
A renowned painter who focused on views of Lower Manhattan, Ruta (1918-2016) painted for nearly seventy years and lived in Westbeth since its opening in 1970. Born in Germany, he … Continued
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Richard Meier
Architect Richard Meier (b. October 12, 1934) was commissioned in 1967 to renovate the former Bell Laboratories in Greenwich Village into the affordable artist’s housing Westbeth.
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Joan Davidson
Daughter of J.M. Kaplan and a member of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, Joan Davidson (b. 1927) coordinated the founding of the Westbeth Project, an artist’s residence in the West Village.
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Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham (1919 -2009) was an American dancer, choreographer and leader of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, located since 1971 at Westbeth in the West Village.
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