On Course to Return a Spinning Cube to Astor Place
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 … Continued
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Tag: Astor Place
Moving Locals Above Ground and Below: Mass Transit History in Our Communities
New York’s mass transit is the circulation system for our metropolis, allowing the city to survive and flourish even with the nation’s highest population density living in some very tight … Continued
2022 Village Awardee: Astor Place Hair Stylists, 2 Astor Place
Each year, Village Preservation honors the invaluable people, businesses, and organizations that make a special contribution to our neighborhoods at our Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This year, on June 14th, … Continued
National Farm to City Week Highlights the Bounty of Greenmarkets in our Neighborhoods
Did you know that National Farm to City Week begins the Thursday before Thanksgiving? This special week celebrates and recognizes the beneficial partnerships between rural and urban communities that make … Continued
Things We’re Looking Forward To Doing Again, Part 4
We’re continuing to spend a lot of time thinking about things we used to do before the coronavirus outbreak, that we’re looking forward to hopefully doing again once things return to ‘normal.’ … Continued
East Village Street Art Lives On
Art is in the DNA of New York City. It’s not only found in the many museums and galleries our city has to offer, but on the sidewalks under our … Continued
Fight to Save Our Neighborhood South of Union Square: From Bowlmor Demolition to the ‘Zero-Help’ Hotel Special Permit
On Saturday, November 14th, 2015, a crowd of over 150 people gathered across from the Bowlmor Lanes building at 110 University Place, which was in the process of being demolished … Continued
The Changing Face of Astor Place and Cooper Square
As we do every month, we just added some new historic images to the Village Preservation historic image archive from the latest Landmarks Permit Applications which we have reviewed. This … Continued
A Tour of the Bowery, From GVSHP’s Historic Image Archive and Urban Archive
The Bowery is Manhattan’s oldest street, predating European settlement. We don’t know exactly when native Americans first began to use this path. We do know that in those early days … Continued
A Great Tool for Seeing History Wherever You Are
My colleague, Director of Research and Preservation Sarah Bean Apmann (she tells me that “Exalted Majesty Tour Guide” also works as a title), led the first GVSHP walking tour that I attended – … Continued
23 Third Avenue: An Interesting History and Uncertain Future
If you look at Astor Place and Cooper Square on a map, it looks as though somebody took a lasso and tied a bunch of streets together. Multiple streets and … Continued
Remember ‘The Alamo’: A history of the Astor Place cube
On November 1, 1967, an enigmatic 20-foot-tall cube first appeared on a lonely traffic island where Astor Place and 8th Street meet. Though several months before the release of “2001: … Continued
The Alamo Turns 50!
On November 1, 1967, an 8′ x 8′ x 8′ 1,800-pound giant black cube was installed in Astor Place as one of 25 temporary public artworks by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. However, … Continued
A Tale of Two 50’s!
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 … Continued
Critical Public Meeting Tonight to Save Our Neighborhood!
Critical Public Meeting on Saving Third & Fourth Avenue Corridors in the East Village TONIGHT — Wednesday, September 13th Anyone who cares about overdevelopment in the area between 3rd and 5th … Continued
‘Tech hub’ part of spreading development virus
Op-ed by GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman in Read it here. To great fanfare, Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced plans for a slick new “tech hub” to be built … Continued
The People, United, Will Never Be Defeated
Have you heard that chant, or others like it, echoing off Greenwich Village buildings recently? I know I have, because the recent political goings-on have turned our city and country … Continued
Remember The Alamo? The Cube is Back
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 … Continued
Business of the Month: Astor Place Hairstylists, 2 Astor Place
Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — help us to select the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, … Continued
East Village Saturday Festivals Abound!
Village Preservation is fortunate to be participating in two terrific events this coming Saturday, September 17th and we invite our friends and readers to come and visit us! Astor Alive! … Continued
The Astor Place Riot
Recently we have been running a series in Off the Grid on the Village as the birthplace of modern drama. NoHo has its own history with drama, and as it … Continued
Astor Place Reconstruction Recalls Historic Streets, Mosaics & The Alamo
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 … Continued
The Flatirons of the Village and the East Village
On September 20th, 1966, the Flatiron Building was designated a New York City landmark. One of New York’s most beloved and iconic landmarks, the Flatiron Building is known for (among other … Continued
Wonderful Wednesdays: The Mosaic Man’s Work, and Hudson River Piles, Both Live On
Today you may be shaking your head over the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s shocking plan to de-calendar some 100 buildings from landmark consideration. But there’s plenty of good news in our … Continued
Astor Place Art Update
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 … Continued
A New Point of View
Can you identify the image in the photo above? On Monday evening, November 17th, we’ll present a program with photographer Janko Puls and his new book “Point of View New … Continued
Bibles Off Broadway
With the recent news that things are finally beginning to move with the city’s redevelopment of Astor Place, including pedestrianizing sections of Astor Place between Lafayette Street and Cooper Square and … Continued
Historic Station Sequel
Last week, amid the news of an added connection between the Broadway-Lafayette and Bleecker Street subway stations, we offered you the history of the Bleecker Street station, which is listed … Continued
Astor Place: Then and Now
Astor Place — in one form or another — has been part of Manhattan’s landscape for centuries. It follows the path of an old Native American trail that appears … Continued
Titanic Connections
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 … Continued
My Favorite Things: Alamo (the Cube)
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 … Continued
Kintecoying
The Department of Transportation’s plans to pedestrianize portions of Astor Place have caused quite a stir in the neighborhood, as they have the potential to obliterate the historic street configuration … Continued