Oral Histories - Village Preservation

Village 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.

New Releases

Edith Lyons

Edith Lyons (1906-2002) was one of the leaders in the seven-year battle with Robert Moses over the use of Washington Square Park as a thoroughfare to Lower Manhattan. Moses’ plan … Continued

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Leticia Kent

Leticia Kent (1928-1999) was an esteemed freelance journalist and long-time Villager. This oral history was conducted in anticipation of an interview Kent was scheduled to conduct with Jane Jacobs and … Continued

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Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urban planner, author, and activist. Jacobs discusses various preservation battles in which she participated while living in Greenwich Village, including the fight to prevent Robert … Continued

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Shirley Hayes

Shirley Hayes (1912-2002) was a community activist who led the successful fight in the 1950s against Robert Moses’ plan to extend a highway through Washington Square Park.

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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

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Edwin Fancher

Edwin Fancher (born 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

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Doris Diether

Doris Diether is 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 laws … Continued

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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

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Robert Zerilli

Robert Zerelli was raised in New Jersey and at the age of 18, he moved to New York City to work at the bakery founded by his great uncle in … Continued

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Virlana Tkacz

Virlana Tkacz was born in Newark, but had family connections to the Ukrainian community in the East Village, to which she eventually moved. She pursued theater at La MaMa under … Continued

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Lorcan Otway

Lorcan Otway, the owner of the Off Broadway Theater 80, located at 80 St. Mark’s Place, speaks about the theater’s history, as well as the cultural history of the East … Continued

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Marlis Momber

Born in 1943 in Berlin, Germany, Marlis has lived in Loisaida since 1975. Her photographs document the struggle of the mostly Puerto Rican people living in that part of Manhattan. … Continued

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Village Preservation Oral History Collection

New Releases

Edith Lyons

Leticia Kent

Jane Jacobs

Shirley Hayes

Margot Gayle

Edwin Fancher

Doris Diether

Ingrid Bernhard

Robert Zerilli

Virlana Tkacz

Lorcan Otway

Marlis Momber