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Tag: 1960’s

Oral History: Maria Kenny of Kenny’s Castaway

In 1977, Pat Kenny opened Kenny’s Castaways at 157 Bleecker Street, a “dusty and dim New York music club” which for 36 years welcomed some of the most iconic performers in music. The legendary venue closed its doors in 2012, with so many heartfelt stories and condolences from longtime friends. But its legacy will not […]

Charlie Brown Makes His Stage Debut at Theatre 80, March 7, 1967

On March 7th, 1967, the delightful musical comedy, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, made its debut at Theatre 80 at 80 St. Mark’s Place in the East Village. With music written by Clark Gesner (and the book written by, “’John Gordon’…a collective pseudonym that covers Gesner, the cast members, and the production staff, all […]

    Women’s Work: Celebrating (More) Amazing Female Artists of the Village

    Scrolling through Off the Grid or any other collection of New York history, we’ve all become familiar with the legendary characters of the Village – Dylan, Kerouac, Hendrix, Duchamp, and the countless figures who have become synonymous with the neighborhood. Alongside them were incredible female creators who, although undoubtedly well-known, are sometimes forgotten. Today we […]

    Rare photos of the High Line being demolished in the 1960s tell the story of a changing West Village

    Few structures have had a more far-reaching impact upon the West Village and Chelsea than the High Line. Its construction in 1934, then partial demolition in the early ’60s, and final preservation and conversion into a park a decade ago have profoundly shaped the way these neighborhoods have changed over the last 85 years. And while […]

    The High Line is Dismantled and the West Side is Transformed

    There’s no overstating it – we at Village Preservation love our members and friends sharing old mementos and images of our neighborhood. Personal or family pictures taken of one’s surroundings or familiar spots often now become, years later, important historical documents. Case in point:  we’ve just added to our ever-growing Historic Image Archive a mini-collection of […]

    Tom Wolfe: New Journalism and the Women’s House of Detention

    Acclaimed author and journalist Tom Wolfe is known for his use of New Journalism (employing fiction-writing techniques such as sustained dialogue, well-developed characters, and vivid scenes) and for his best-selling books including The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) and The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987). After earning his Ph.D. in American Studies in 1957 and […]

    She Shot Andy Warhol

    The 1960’s was a turbulent decade marked by numerous notable murders, assassinations, and attempted assassinations (some of which, like the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination, the Bobby Kennedy assassination, and the murder of Kitty Genovese, have previously been chronicled on Off the Grid). But one may have shook downtown more deeply and personally than any […]

    Kitty Genovese and the Village

    On March 13th, 1964, Kitty Genovese was brutally raped and murdered in Kew Gardens, Queens. The crime, and Kitty Genovese’s name, became symbols of much more than this one savage act. Largely through reporting in the weeks that followed, the murder became a parable of sorts about the unravelling of society, increasing crime, racial fears, […]