12 years ago tomorrow, our colleagues at the Municipal Arts Society sent a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission supporting our request for landmark designation of the Silver Towers/ University Village site. This superblock, located between Houston Street and Bleecker Street, LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street, contains three buildings designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, constructed between 1964 […]
It’s been over four years since the original It Happened Here: 80’s Music Videos graced the pages of Off The Grid. But like all good sequels, this one hopes to be worth the wait. These last dog days of summer often make one think of their misspent youth; and what better way to see how much […]
You never know what you might stumble upon when walking around the neighborhood. Recently I discovered that NYU had installed a sign on the grounds of the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers complex touting its landmark designation by the City in 2008. The signage appeared to indicate that the NYU administration was proud of the landmark […]
They’re next door neighbors, but they could not be more different. One is high-rise and concrete, the other low-rise and brick. One is modern and geometric, while the other is quaint and irregular. One is pre-planned and serene, the other — spontaneous, and buzzing with activity. Who is this odd couple? It’s Silver Towers and […]
On October 17, 1967, Pablo Picasso wrote in a letter that he agreed to allow his colleague, Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar, to reproduce a large-scale sculpture of “Bust of Sylvette” for the University Village/Silver Towers complex, which GVSHP later proposed and successfully fought to have landmarked. The sculpture is one of only two public outdoor […]
On August 12, 1964, ground was broken for the construction of 505 LaGuardia Place (then known as 505 West Broadway), the first of the three towers which, along with the giant Picasso sculpture “Sylvette,” form what was called University Village. The entire complex was built by NYU, and two of the towers are owned by […]
While we’re not yet technically at the ‘silver’ (i.e. 25th) anniversary, but November 18th Mark’s the date in 2008 when we were able to get Silver Towers in the South Village landmarked. On that day the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate this I.M. Pei-designed complex, first proposed by GVSHP in 2003, including its […]
