On August 8, 1848, an Act of Congress played a significant role in shaping the landscape of New York City’s commerce and infrastructure: it granted part of the land to help establishment of the Gansevoort Farmers’ Market and the West Washington Market. This helped lay the groundwork for what would become one of the most vibrant and essential markets in all of New York City.
On August 8, 1848, an Act of Congress played a significant role in shaping the landscape of New York City’s commerce and infrastructure: it granted part of the land to help establishment of the Gansevoort Farmers’ Market and the West Washington Market. This helped lay the groundwork for what would become one of the most […]
I moved to the West Village, all the way west, tucked between the Meatpacking District and the Hudson River, in 1991 at the age of four. My family first lived on Barrow Street and then Bank Street, both between Washington and West Streets, and both within the West Village Houses complex. When you hear the […]
Village Preservation’s proposed South of Union Square Historic District was recently named one of 2022-2023’s “Seven to Save” — the biannual list of the most important endangered historic sites in New York State — by the Preservation League of New York State. This designation shines a spotlight on the incredibly valuable and varied architecture of […]
Last Thursday, Village Preservation was joined by Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, the Historic Districts Council, Save Chelsea, Save Gansevoort, a representative of State Senator Brad Hoylman, and Third Council District Democratic Nominee Erik Bottcher for a demonstration and press conference condemning the city and a developer tearing down most of nine city, […]
Please join Village Preservation, the Historic Districts Council, and Save Chelsea this Thursday at 1 pm for a rally and press conference at 14th Street and Ninth Avenue to protest the city-approved near-complete demolition of nine landmarked 1840s houses at 44-54 Ninth Avenue/351 West 14th Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District, and to demand […]
City agencies have continued to refuse to provide information about the basis for deciding that nine landmarked 1840s houses at 44-54 Ninth Avenue/351-55 West 14th Street in the Meatpacking District are “unsafe” and in imminent danger of collapse unless demolished (all but the party walls), even though there are no signs of stress, cracking, listing, or other […]
Village Preservation has been, and continues to be, the guardian of many different archives. Still, our repository continues growing, and our newest online resource, the Preservation History Archive, is somewhat distinct from all the rest. Instead of relaying the broad history of our neighborhood, the Preservation History Archive holds original documents on the history of […]
There were many moments to celebrate along the arc of fighting for the protection of the Gansevoort Historic District, also known as the Meatpacking District. One such milestone took place on July 17, 2002, when the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation determined, in response to an application by GVSHP, that […]
On November 14, 1851, Herman Melville’s magnum opus, Moby-Dick, was published. Unlike the search for a white whale, it isn’t difficult to find Melville’s deep connection to the Village, as his grandfather is the namesake of Gansevoort Market.
Gansevoort Market, a giant, open-air farmer’s market located on the enormous block between Gansevoort and Little West 12th streets, Washington and West Streets, officially opened for business on June 15, 1884. This was the former site of Fort Gansevoort, and is now the home of the Gansevoort Market Meat Center and the Whitney Museum. That […]
During the holiday season we reflect back on the past year. Here at GVSHP we’ve certainly had some big accomplishments. We have also had a lot of wonderful support from our members and neighbors, but we need your help to continue the fight. Please consider GVSHP in your year-end giving! Alice Carey and Geoffrey Knox, […]
On September 9, 2003, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Gansevoort Market Historic District. GVSHP led the fight to protect the important historically significant buildings in this neighborhood, and continues to fight today when those protections are threatened. In its designation report (read the two parts here and here), the LPC noted that the […]
Congratulations to our friends at The High Line! The third and final section of the park will open to the public this Sunday, September 21st. GVSHP has a special kinship with The High Line. I mean that is what historic preservation is all about! GVSHP was one of the earliest endorsers of the plan to […]
Greenwich Village, like the rest of New York City, has seen many changes over the years. What was once a marshy area of sandy hills before Europeans arrived became the location of farms and estates, and ultimately the destination for people of means escaping epidemics in Lower Manhattan.
Seven years ago, a picturesque swath of lower Manhattan by the Hudson River was listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. This official designation by government agencies marked another layer of recognition and protection of this unique area, traditionally known for cobblestones, hanging sides of meat, blood in the gutters, brick warehouses, […]
On October 26, 1825, New York Governor DeWitt Clinton began a voyage on the Erie Canal in Buffalo, NY, finishing nine days later on November 4th in the Narrows of New York harbor, where he poured two containers of water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic Ocean. Prior to the creation of this canal, an […]
Near the southern end of the High Line, the Meatpacking District bustles with designer clothing stores, outdoor cafes, and trendy hotels. Tourists in particular flock to this area, and it can often be a source of amusement to watch club-goers navigate the bumpy Belgian block (aka cobblestone) streets in their fashionable stilettos. Many New Yorkers, […]
The Meatpacking District—or to preservationists the Gansevoort Market Historic District—was the scene of many a New Year’s Eve party this past Monday night. But as the neighborhood’s most recent name suggests, this area has an interesting industrial past. We here at Off the Grid thought we would post some historic images of the neighborhood, for […]
Part of GVSHP’s work with the community is our Preservation Watch program —a way to help ensure that landmarks, buildings, and zoning violations are reported and the law enforced, and to preserve our neighborhood’s historic integrity. GVSHP wants to ensure that such violations are reported and acted upon as swiftly and thoroughly as possible. That […]
This coming Sunday will mark the ninth anniversary of the designation of the Gansevoort Market Historic District. The first new district to be enacted in the Village since the first Greenwich Village Historic District in 1969, Gansevoort Market was designated as a mercantile district consisting of industrial, commercial and residential buildings historically linked to the […]
On June 14, 1884 – or 128 years ago today – a municipally-sanctioned public market was opened on the five-sided block bounded by Little West Twelfth, Washington, Gansevoort, West Streets and Tenth Avenue. Vendors primarily from New Jersey and Long Island came by ferry to sell produce. As you can see in the photo above, […]
Though the character of Gansevoort Market has certainly undergone many changes over years, there are certain buildings and views that have remained remarkably intact. One such location where you can peer back in time is at Gansevoort Plaza, where Greenwich Street/9th Avenue, Gansevoort Street, and Little West 12th Street intersect. Though much new development has […]
Last night, Community Board 2’s Traffic & Transportation Committee reviewed proposed revised design elements and street furniture for Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District. The Meatpacking Improvement Association (which will be responsible for maintaining the public plazas) has been working with the Department of Transportation (DOT) on the proposal, which can be seen below:
Did you know that the iconic department store Macy’s actually started out right here in the Village on the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue & 14th Street? Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission payed homage to this past by voting to calendar the lovely Neo-Classical building at 56 West 14th Street – part of the original […]
As promised in today’s earlier post, we have photos of the revised designs for 837 Washington Street that were presented today at a public meeting of Landmarks Preservation Commission. In response to the concerns raised by the Commission during the last hearing on November 2010, the architect knocked two stories off the proposed addition and […]
A revised iteration of the proposal to build a towering addition atop the 1938 Moderne-style building at 837 Washington Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District will be shown today to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Check back this afternoon for photos of the latest plans! This will be fifth time the LPC has seen a […]
Each week we spend a great deal of time tracking applications coming before the Landmarks Preservation Commission for work on historic buildings in our neighborhood (photos and status updates to these applications can always been seen on our Landmarks Applications Webpage). Rarely does one catch our eye – and make us smile – the way […]
