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Tag: fifth avenue

Fifth Avenue’s Unique Public Transportation History

Have you ever considered that among Manhattan’s central avenues, Fifth Avenue is the only one without a dedicated subway line? There’s the A/C/E for 8th Avenue, 1/2/3 for 7th, B/D/F/M for 6th, and 4/5/6 for 4th/Park Ave… so what happened to Fifth Avenue, certainly as prominent a thoroughfare as all the rest? As a native […]

    Becoming Fifth Avenue: The Brevoorts

    “Becoming Fifth Avenue” is a series of posts in celebration of the bicentennial of the avenue, which was first laid out in 1824. The first segment, in Greenwich Village between Washington Square North and 13th Street, officially opened on November 1st of that year. To celebrate Fifth Avenue’s 200th Anniversary, Village Preservation has launched an interactive […]

    The Forgotten Fifth Avenue South of Washington Square Park

    If New York City streets had their own royal court, Broadway would be the old king and Fifth Avenue would be its fabulous queen. Just saying Fifth Avenue evokes glamour, iconic stores, incredible museums, and beautiful parks. Beginning here in Greenwich Village at the entrance of Washington Square Park, Fifth Avenue passes the Flatiron Building, […]

      Making Beautiful Music Together: The Grammy-Winning Artists #SouthOfUnionSquare

      Known for its eclectic ambiance and creative energy, the area South of Union Square has historically acted as a magnet for hundreds of musicians, painters, photographers, and the like. As a center of music history, dozens of South of Union Square spots hosted Grammy-award-winning musicians, singers, and producers that shaped the music industry we know […]

        Socialists, Communists, and Revolutionaries on Fifth Avenue #SouthOfUnionSquare

        New York’s Fifth Avenue rarely conjures up images of radicals or revolutionaries; it’s more commonly associated with high-end shopping, well-heeled cultural institutions, and corporate headquarters. But cross 14th Street, and all that changes, especially if you step back into the 20th and 19th centuries, when Fifth Avenue south of that great dividing line (and South […]

        Beyond the Village and Back: The Juilliard School

        The Juilliard School is one of the world’s most respected schools for the performing arts. Ensconced in its Lincoln Center home for more than 50 years, the school can boast an impressive list of alumni among actors, musicians, playwrights, and dancers: William Hurt, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Adam Driver, Tim Blake Nelson, and Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams (roommates in the 1970s), to name a few. And even though Juilliard is best known as an Upper West Side school, its origins in Greenwich Village in the early 20th century tie it in with an even older and more historic local institution.

        The Female Trailblazer Who Helped Build New York’s Landmarks #SouthOfUnionSquare

        The unprotected area South of Union Square has no shortage of trailblazers in the arts and architecture, in commerce, and in the arena of equality or advancement for women. But all those strains of the neighborhood’s pioneering and history-making spirit come together at one building where a largely forgotten figure in our city’s history toiled […]

        Why Isn’t This Landmarked?: 60 Fifth Avenue

        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. 60 Fifth Avenue, the former Macmillan Publishing Company Building/the former Forbes Building This eight-story building on the northwest corner of 12th Street and Fifth Avenue is located […]

        Why Isn’t This Landmarked? 70 Fifth Avenue

        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. This striking 12-story Beaux Arts style office building was constructed in 1912 by architect Charles Alonzo Rich for the noted publisher and philanthropist George A. […]

        Happy (Landmark) Birthday, Salmagundi Club!

        Let’s face it — 1969 was a big year. Our Executive Director Andrew Berman was born in January. The Greenwich Village Historic District was designated in April. The Stonewall Riots launched the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the United States in June. The first man landed on the moon in July, and a few days […]

          Fifth Avenue and 12th Street, Then & Now

          Today, the building that houses the Salmagundi Club at 47 Fifth Avenue is a bit of an odd duck. At four-and-a-half stories, the 1853 Italianate style rowhouse is sandwiched by taller apartment buildings on either side. To someone walking by, the stately old brownstone may almost look like the Little House from the Stuart Little […]

          Landmarked Lampposts

          We often hear of historic districts, individual landmarked buildings and State and National Register sites. But did you know that there are sixty-two lampposts and four wall bracket lamps that have also achieved designated landmark status in New York City? (Of course, there are several more that are protected within historic districts or are on […]

          72 Fifth Avenue, Then & Now

          Today we take a look back at a piece written by former GVSHP staffer Dana Schulz about an interesting piece of history on Fifth Avenue involving scandal, cigarettes, and urban policy. Read more from our Then & Now series on Off the Grid! In 1847, on Bond Street in London, a young man named Philip […]

          5th and 14th — Then and Now

          The New School’s new building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 14th Street is getting closer and closer to being completed.  After topping out back in May, the patinated brass and glass cladding has been steadily climbing the sides of the new sixteen-story building (full view below) which will house dorm units and library and […]