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. In the 19th century, the neighborhood around the north side of Washington Square Park was a prestigious residential neighborhood. Developers looked to expand this […]
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. Friends; we have such great friends! Last year, as we set our sights on celebrating the extraordinary milestone of the 50th anniversary of the […]
The Village is a very far cry from the Nebraska prairie where Willa Cather spent much of her childhood. But her most productive writing period was indeed while she lived in various apartments in the Village, where she lovingly and vividly wrote about the people and places she knew and cherished from her childhood in […]
1950 was a seminal year in the life of the “last rock star poet,” Dylan Thomas (October 27, 1914 –November 9, 1953). On February 20th of that year the much-celebrated Welsh poet arrived in New York to begin what would be the most exhilarating yet grueling period of his career. The period between 1950 and […]
The classic Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, considered by many the greatest and most influential rock album of all time, was released on May 26, 1967 in the U.K., and June 2, 1967 in the U.S. The lasting influence of “the first concept album” is undeniable, but so too is the Village’s […]
2016 is coming to an end. What better way to ring in the New Year than at some of Bob Dylan’s old haunts? Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the most well known (including ones that have moved) so your New Year’s Eve won’t be Blowin’ in the Wind!
On Wednesday, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation will be hosting a walking tour on Dylan Thomas that will culminate in a visit to the White Horse Tavern on Hudson Street. The tavern is one of Thomas’s favorite haunts and the last place he drank at before he died. It is even rumored that his […]
As Halloween is right around the corner, we here at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation would like to satisfy your cravings for hauntings as you go out and wander the Village for candy. Preserving the Village not only means maintaining the old buildings and historic landscapes, but sometimes also the domiciles of the […]
Off the Grid often features images from GVSHP’s Preservation Archive and Oral History Project. The image archive includes approximately 300 images from ten different collections that document the architecture, cultural history, and preservation of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. This summer, we were pleased to accept two new images into the archive.
Today marks William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, although some sources say his exact date of birth is unknown. He never set foot in the Village – he lived before it was developed by European settlers – but Shakespeare would likely be pleased with the neighborhood’s vibrant literary history. How many other places can celebrate such a […]
On this day in 1950, the Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas arrived in New York City. Born in Swansea, Wales, Thomas left school at age 16 and became a journalist. In 1934, he won a poetry contest, unofficially beginning his literary career. Later that year his first book Eighteen Poems was published followed by […]
Pigeons shake their wings on the copper church roof out my window across the street, a bird perched on the cross surveys the city’s blue-grey clouds. Larry Rivers ‘ll come at 10 AM and take my picture. I’m taking your picture, pigeons. I’m writing you down, Dawn. I’m immortalizing your exhaust, Avenue A bus. O […]
