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Tag: george washington

Gen. George Washington Establishes HQ at Richmond Hill, April, 1776

Richmond Hill was a Colonial estate built on a 26-acre parcel of the “King’s Farm” in 1767 by Major Abraham Mortier, paymaster of the British army in the colony. Located southeast of the modern intersection of Varick and Charlton Streets, it served as George Washington’s headquarters in April-May and June-August of 1776, a period of […]

From George Washington to Hudson Square: The history of the Charlton-King-VanDam neighborhood

It’s an often-overlooked enclave with the largest concentration of Federal and Greek Revival style houses in New York City. Its origins can be traced back to historical figures as esteemed as George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jacob Astor, but it’s just as deeply connected to Italian immigrants and radical 20th-century innovators. The […]

President’s Day Roundup!

Happy President’s Day! Though the Village is only one neighborhood in our great, big country (though ask any resident and they will say the Village should be its own country!), it has some distinct connections to several few of our nation’s past presidents.  To celebrate the day, we are doing a roundup of our presidential […]

Thomas Paine, the American Crisis, and Greenwich Village

“These are the times that try men’s souls…” so says the opening line of the first pamphlet of the series, The American Crisis, written by Thomas Paine, which was published on December 19, 1776, in the Pennsylvania Journal.  Paine, an eighteenth-century philosopher and author of the Enlightenment, was known as the ‘Father of the American Revolution,’ in large […]

Happy Birthday, George Washington (sort of)

George Washington was born on February 22nd, and his birthday was unofficially celebrated by Americans on that date throughout the 19th century. February 22nd finally became a federal holiday in 1879. The holiday was celebrated on February 22nd until 1968, when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Law to provide annual observances of certain legal […]

What happened on this day in 1789?

On this day, April 30th, in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States of America. After leading the Continental Army to victory over Britain in the War for Independence, Washington was a popular leader and logical choice. His first inauguration took place right here in New York City, at […]

Celebrating Washington’s Birthday

This post is the third in a three-part series about holidays held in the Village, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2014 Intro to Public History course. In conjunction with the public program held on Wednesday, December 17th, each group was also tasked with sharing their discoveries with us on Off […]

Looking Up: The Washington Square Arch

  This post is part of the Looking Up series, which explores the unique architectural and historical stories that can be discovered when we raise our gaze above the sidewalk, the storefront, and the second floor. The Washington Square Arch is something that many people who live in the neighborhood can easily take for granted. […]

Greenwich Village Generals

This week, the Fourth of July holiday has us here at Off the Grid thinking about the connections the Village has to the Revolutionary War. While the Village remained a pastoral suburb of the city proper during the war, there are some reminders of the fight for independence in the neighborhood.