October is known for the autumnal changing of the leaves, Halloween, and of course Archtober, the month-long celebration of all things architecture across the five boroughs. Village Preservation, an event sponsor, highlights noteworthy historic buildings in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, as well as some of our city’s great landmarks that have some […]
One of the East Village’s earliest designated but perhaps least well known landmarks, is the Church of the Immaculate Conception and Clergy House, located at 406–412 East 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, and designed a NYC landmark June 7th, 1966, just 8 months after the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission began designating landmarks, showing how highly they thought of […]
“South of Union Square, the Birthplace of American Modernism” is a series that explores how the area south of Union Square shaped some of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. Throughout the 20th century, the area south of Union Square attracted painters, writers, publishers, and radical social organizations, many of whom were […]
The Gilded Age in New York City, from roughly the end of the Civil War to 1900, is a cacophony of contradictions. On the surface, the era was defined by excess, luxury, materialism, abundance, technical advancement, and extreme new wealth, which brought with it unprecedented corruption, inequality, and unrestrained greed. The Gilded Age is easily […]
February is Black History Month. We here at GVSHP are celebrating it by highlighting different sites and locations of significance to African-American history in the Village. A great source for this is our recently-released Civil Rights & Social Justice Map. Here are just two incredible entries from there:
14th Street is an eclectic ecotone; it’s not only the upper boundary of the Village but also the lower Boundary of Chelsea and Gramercy. It’s not surprising then that this street hosts a unique collection of architectural styles, a few of them having been designated as city landmarks. Today marks the anniversary of two such […]
In 1985 the MTA founded what was then called Arts for Transit and Urban Design (now called Arts & Design) as part of an ambitious capital improvement program meant to reverse years of subway system decline. At that time, MTA leadership determined that original and engaging art was a vital part of the rebuilding effort, […]
Today marks the 11th year and anniversary of the Art in Odd Places (AiOP) festival. AiOP is a visual and performing arts festival that strives to present works outside the confines of traditional public space and stretch the boundaries of communication in the public realm. The festival itself runs along 14th Street, all the way […]
Chess tables have been a staple of New York City public parks for decades. While the first ones appeared in parks during the 1940s, the popularity of “street chess” as it is known, came about beginning in the 1960s when a man named Bobby Hayward set up a chess set on top of a garbage […]
The history of Broadway is a diverse one. In our neighborhood, this famous thoroughfare has seen upscale townhouses be replaced by store-and-loft buildings, many of which have since been converted to apartment buildings. For a long period of time, clothing manufacturing was prevalent here. And where there was clothing manufacturing there were always sewing machines. […]
Much has been said lately about the potential sale of 121 Charles Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District. This summer, members of the Glass family (owners of the house for nearly a century when it was located on York Avenue) contacted us about their concern for the house’s future. They also sent us some […]
From November 1975 to September 1976, artist Roy Colmer photographed more than 3,000 Manhattan doorways to create an art project called Doors, NYC. The New York Public Library, which houses the collection, notes that the project “was as much an exploration of the serial possibilities of photography as of its ability to capture a place. […]
Welcome back to another post in our Throwback Thursday series where we feature everyday scenes of yesteryear. I recently came across some neat market photos taken by Andrew Herman as part of the Federal Art Project. The ones featured today were all taken in the 1930s on First Avenue between today’s St. Mark’s Place (referred […]
Today we thought we’d feature a few designs by the late 19th century architecture firm of D. & J. Jardine. A prolific firm in New York City in general, the work of D. & J. Jardine can also be found in five historic districts and at one individual landmark between Houston and 14th Streets. Brothers […]
The New School’s new building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 14th Street is getting closer and closer to being completed. After topping out back in May, the patinated brass and glass cladding has been steadily climbing the sides of the new sixteen-story building (full view below) which will house dorm units and library and […]
In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place each year from September 15th to October 15th, we wanted to highlight an institution in our neighborhood that has dedicated itself to the promotion of Spanish culture for nearly 150 years.
Today, we think of Times Square when we think of the theatre district, but over 100 years ago, 14th Street centered around Union Square was full of theatre houses. The photo above shows what 136 East 14th Street looked like in 1908 when it was occupied by the Theatre Unique. It’s hard to believe that […]
In the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, the 883 foot long, 50 ton, and reputedly unsinkable ocean liner the RMS Titanic sunk on its maiden voyage from England to New York off the coast of Newfoundland, after hitting an iceberg just before midnight the night before. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, […]
Did you know that the iconic department store Macy’s actually started out right here in the Village on the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue & 14th Street? Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission payed homage to this past by voting to calendar the lovely Neo-Classical building at 56 West 14th Street – part of the original […]
