For most of its existence, pedestrians were able to freely and joyfully spin the black monolith known as the “Alamo” (more commonly referred to as the Astor Place Cube, or just “the Cube”) that sat between Lafayette Street and Cooper Square. That freedom to rotate came to an end in April 2022, after structural damage […]
Fifty years ago today, the musical Hair premiered at The Public Theater. The first rock musical, it would go on to become a pacifist symbol throughout the world and bring groundbreaking innovations to the American musical theater genre. As we remember this 50th Anniversary, we are preparing to celebrate another 50th that’s right up the street […]
The final pieces of the renovation of Astor Place will be unveiled and dedicated tomorrow. Thanks to the creative verve of Jim Power, aka the Mosaic Man, and the support of the Village Alliance Business Improvement District and City Lore, and many more, GVSHP is excited to participate in the unveiling of the Astor Place […]
One of the most beloved public works of art was reinstalled in our community yesterday, after a two year hiatus. According to the NYC Department of Design and Construction, The Alamo Sculpture was originally installed in 1967 as part of “Sculpture and the Environment”. The Cube by Bernard “Tony” Rosenthal was one of 25 temporary art […]
If you are one of the over 100,000 people a day that make your way through Astor Place or Cooper Square, you cannot help but notice the amazing amount of progress that is evident by the workers on the long awaited reconstruction. The cement is still drying in some parts, but more of the major components of […]
A Keith Haring sculpture (Self Portrait; 1989) has recently appeared in front of 51 Astor Place at the corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark’s Place. In both his life and artworks, Haring is deeply connected to our neighborhoods. Over the years, GVSHP has looked at Haring’s ties to places within the neighborhoods we cover […]
It’s fall, 1967. A one-ton steel cube is dropped by the Lindsay administration into the middle of a grimy traffic island in an increasingly dodgy part of town. Instantly scuffed and plagued by graffiti, the hulking, monochromatic form could have easily been dismissed as a bland mid-century beautification scheme. A stark gift to the people […]
