Margot Gayle
Margot Gayle (1908-2008) led the grassroots effort to save the landmark Jefferson Market Courthouse building in Greenwich Village and transform it into a library. Gayle begins this interview by discussing … 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.
- Activists & Advocates
- Arts
- East Village
- Greenwich Village
- Immigration
- LGBTQ
- Local Business
- Preservationists
- South Village
- Westbeth
Preservationists
Edwin Fancher
Edwin Fancher (b. 1923) was a co-founder and part-owner of the Village Voice from the 1950s until the 1970s. In this oral history, Fancher describes the origins of the Voice—how … Continued
Full Transcript
Doris Diether
Doris Diether (1929-2021) was a long-serving member of Manhattan’s Community Board 2 and Greenwich Village preservationist. Diether helped found Save the Village, a campaign focused on reforming zoning and rent … Continued
Full Transcript
Ingrid Bernhard
Ingrid Bernhard and her husband, Sven, were Swedish nationals who met in New York and lived in a farmhouse on the Upper East Side sometimes known as “Cobble Court” or … Continued
Full Transcript
Frances Goldin
Fran (1924-2020) was a successful Manhattan literary agent and activist in practically every progressive movement of the past 70 years on the Lower East Side. A fighter for equitable housing, … Continued
Full Transcript
Marilyn Appleberg
A published author, Appleberg (b. January 6, 1944) has been committed to neighborhood betterment since she moved to the East Village in 1969. She is the founder and president of … Continued
Full Transcript
James Stewart Polshek
James Stewart Polshek (February 11, 1930–September 9, 2022) has lived in Greenwich Village since 1955, and his career as an architect has included buildings across the globe. His work in … Continued
Full Transcript