A half block north Perry Street, on Hudson Street in the heart of Greenwich Village, sits a rather plain, mid-19th century brick townhouse with large white-paned windows. This perhaps otherwise unremarkable looking building offered Jane Jacobs a front-row seat to a perpetual performance of what she called the New York City street ballet, her observations […]
The long-term partnership between Willa Cather and Edith Lewis has been reflected on and written about as a symbol of female empowerment and LGBTQ+ history for years. Today, we reflect on Edith as the close companion of Willa Cather and the many chapters of her life. Edith Lewis was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on December […]
Women’s History Month gives us yet another opportunity to celebrate the marvelous and groundbreaking women who have lived and worked in our neighborhoods. Today we look at two pioneering women who lived and worked on Bank Street: Willa Cather and Lucy Sprague Mitchell. Bank Street Many of our streets are beloved by their residents and […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. The kooky, sparkling Auntie Mame — the central character of Patrick Dennis’ beloved novel of the same name — burst into popular culture the […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. The streets, parks, and squares of the Greenwich Village Historic District are named for a unique collection of historical figures. In honor of the […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Check out our year-long activities and celebrations at gvshp.org/GVHD50. Walking back to the office after a rally for landmarking the interior of the White Horse Tavern, I saw the most delicious architectural pineapples along West 11th Street. You […]
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and celebrations. Walking around Greenwich Village is a treat for those who live, work, or visit here. The unique architecture and character of the neighborhood have […]
American architect Richard Meier was born on this day in 1934. Over the course of his nearly sixty-year career Meier has designed countless buildings all over the world and received numerous prizes including the Pritzker Prize in Architecture in 1984, the AIA Gold Medal in 1997 and the Architizer Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Arguably best […]
If you’re walking down the sidewalk and see someone with a small notebook, staring up at a historic building as he jots down a charming sketch of an architectural detail, then you just might have stumbled upon artist Nick Golebiewski. And you might never guess that what Nick’s doing is actually creating content for an […]
Let’s talk about…gentrification. Did your heart just start racing? The term gentrification and its many implications is such a hot button issue, so complex and layered, that just reading the word may strike dread in your heart. The term was first coined by British sociologist Ruth Glass in 1964, and she defined it as a […]
Charles Busch is the quintessential Villager. A prolific playwright and actor, he has lived in the West Village for most of his adult life. This reporter has been a life-long fan of Charles and so on this, his ??? birthday, I caught up with him amidst his busy schedule to ask him for his thoughts […]
You don’t have to live in the Village to celebrate the birthday of John Lennon, who was born on October 9th, 1940. But Villagers, and those who love the Village, have a special reason to celebrate the birth of one of the greatest and most transcendent popular musicians of the late 20th century.
Want to learn more about Bella Abzug and other feminist and civil rights pioneers like her? Visit GVSHP’s Civil Rights and Social Justice Map. Bella Savitzky Abzug was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Russia on July 24, 1920. First elected on November 3, 1970, she would become a U.S. congresswoman, leading […]
Sometimes determining the provenance of a street’s name is fairly easy. It is true for Bank Street in Greenwich Village, which was named for … you guessed it … a branch of the Bank of New York, which located to the area during New York’s first yellow fever epidemic in 1799. Today we will look […]