Art Smith was an influential American jewelry designer who gained popularity in the mid-20th century for his bold and abstract designs. At his studio in Greenwich Village, Smith created unique theatrical pieces, inspired by surrealism and biomorphism. His jewelry was meant for everyday wear, designed to be comfortable enough for daily use but suitably eye-catching […]
108, 110, 112, and 114 Waverly Place are a curious collection of houses. They are all that remain of nine houses built in 1826 for city comptroller Thomas R. Mercein. What were originally federal style houses have all been extensively altered throughout the years, resulting in a diverse spread of architectural styles. Maybe this eclecticism […]
As we close the chapter on yet another wild and successful of year of public programs at Village Preservation, we wanted to take the time to reflect and highlight some of 2021’s best moments. Despite the twists and turns of this year’s ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, we’ve hosted 80 different educational lectures, book talks, and walking […]
Cary Grant: a name synonymous with Hollywood glamor in the mid-20th century. He tumbled and swanned, he looked equally incredible in a pristine tuxedo and in Katherine Hepburn’s fur-embellished silk robe in Bringing Up Baby, where he does a little jump and quipping, “I just went gay all of a sudden!” From Holiday to To […]
You don’t need a map to know that the East Village has long been a haven for artists. But it can certainly help illuminate the spots in our neighborhood with legendary artistic pasts. GVSHP’s new online tool East Village Building Blocks contains information about every building in the East Village, many of which were the studios […]
1968 was a big year for New York City and the world – music, arts, staggering political and social change. And, in the midst of it all, a tan block-square collection of connected buildings known as the Bell Telephone Laboratories was transformed into the Westbeth Center for the Arts. A key component of that transformation […]
Last Tuesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) handed preservationists what may seem like a small victory, but was nevertheless an important one. The LPC denied an application to remove a 1930 studio window from 246 West 11th Street, an 1842 Greek Revival row house in the Greenwich Village Historic District. The applicant proposed to replace it with a […]
On August 7th, 1967, the J.M. Kaplan Fund and the newly-constituted National Endowment for the Arts announced plans for a project that would help transform Greenwich Village, New York, housing for artists, industrial buildings, and older industrial cities across the world. The project was the conversion of the disused former Bell Telephone Labs on the […]
We’re just under two weeks away from our annual house tour. We hope you’ll be joining us! Six Village townhouses will be opening their doors to help benefit the work of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Tickets can be purchased here. One of the homes on this year’s tour has a special connection […]
This October, GVSHP is presenting a course that explores historic preservation by examining changing styles of housing, changing housing laws, and urban renewal in the twentieth century. While the course was developed specifically for practicing real estate brokers, I was reminded while sitting in on a recent lecture how much these issues are relevant (and […]
These beautiful late summer days have got us thinking about sun and sky. Which has us thinking about that most iconic of Village architectural features, the artist’s studio. So we thought we’d use the occasion of these warm August days to conduct a brief survey of some of our favorite artist’s studio windows in the […]
MacDougal Alley is one of those hidden enclaves of Greenwich Village that many passersby may not notice, but if they do they are treated to a wonderful piece of city history. Many of the residences here were former stables built beginning in 1833 when the alley was formally created as a private court to serve […]
Last week we received written confirmation from the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) that they intend to hear and vote upon the remaining section of our proposed South Village Historic District north of Houston Street before the end of the year. To say this was a long time coming would be a vast understatement. GVSHP has […]
