East Village resident Hettie Jones — beloved writer and poet, committed activist for social justice and preservation, and recipient of Village Preservation’s Village Award in 2019 — passed away on August 13, 2024, at the age of 90. Born in Brooklyn on June 15, 1934, Jones wrote more than 20 books over her long career, […]
This special two-part series explores Ai Weiwei’s experiences in two different East Villages — one in New York and the other in Beijing — both of which were hubs of artistic experimentation and influence. In the first installment, we explored Ai Weiwei’s formative years in New York, discussing his friendship with Allen Ginsberg and his […]
This special two-part series explores Ai Weiwei’s experiences in two different East Villages — one in New York and the other in Beijing — both of which were hubs of artistic experimentation and influence. In the first installment, we will delve into Ai Weiwei’s formative years in New York, where he developed both his career […]
The 1960s saw immense change as calls for civil rights and racial justice transformed our cultural landscape. In tandem with these movements, many of which have their roots in our neighborhoods, Black artists across the country used their platforms to amplify the kaleidoscopic perspectives and experiences of black people in America. The Negro Ensemble Company […]
Greer Lankton (she/her, April 21, 1958 – November 18, 1996) was an East Village-based multidisciplinary artist who worked in illustration, photography, and sculpture. She’s mostly known for creating lifelike paper-mache dolls of celebrities, and she explored themes around celebrity iconography, beauty standards, and the white feminine ideal. While not all of her dolls were of […]
Near the corner of Avenue A and East 11th Street is a townhouse with P E A C E written in abstracted geometric black lettering across the entablature of the bright white garden level façade of the home. The townhouse is graphic and playful in its facade, inviting anyone who walks by to stop, look […]
Part of our blog series Why Isn’t This Landmarked?, where we look at buildings in our area we’re fighting to protect that are worthy of landmark designation, but somehow aren’t landmarked. Where do the piano industry and radical workers’ rights movements intersect? The gorgeous historic cast-iron building at 28 East 14th Street is one such […]
Now that school is back in session and summer weather is having its last hurrahs, we’re all either living by the bell or remembering the days when we did. So many schools in our neighborhoods have come and gone over the decades, while others have stuck around. While all these schools served the function of […]
Today, 105 Second Avenue is a bank. The city moves on and overtakes what used to be at a given spot pretty quickly, but maybe you know that 105 Second Avenue was the home of the legendary Fillmore East from 1968 until 1971. It’s a narrow building with a brick facade and a domed roof, […]
The renowned painter Wolf Kahn was born on October 4, 1927. In his oral history with GVSHP, Wolf Kahn brought wit, snark, and great, detailed memories about his time in the Village and the role he played in the art scene there, attending salons, renting half his apartment to Robert De Niro Sr., and spending […]
August 8th, 2007 was a joyous day in the GVSHP office – because that’s when we first received written notice from the LPC than they planned to consider Webster Hall for landmark designation. GVSHP had worked hard to achieve this milestone, providing the LPC with a dossier of research on the historic hall and its […]
The Vesuvio playground, one of the few green spaces in the newly designated Sullivan-Thompson Historic District, is a true haven for South Village children. In the 1920s, the New York City Parks Department started buying land for playgrounds in the then-Italian-immigrant community.
