December is South Village Month, when we celebrate the incredible neighborhood south of Washington Square and West 4th Street. Village Preservation kicked off the effort to preserve this endangered historic neighborhood in December 2006, and completed the process in December 2016 with the designation of the third and final phase of our proposed South Village Historic District. It […]
The veneration of a martyred-thirteen-year old virgin once brought residents of the South Village together in celebration every August 11th. A special mass would kick off the event, which was anchored at the intersection of Sullivan Street and West Houston by a tall, papier-mâché tower atop which stood a statue of the martyr and a […]
In the latter half of the 19th century, Manhattan and Brooklyn became centers of everyday life for thousands of Italian immigrants entering the United States. Their numbers started off small — the 1860 federal census showed just 1,067 Italian-born people living in New York City and Brooklyn — but grew quickly by the end of […]
Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — help us to select the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo: click here to nominate your favorite. Want to help support small businesses? Share this post with friends. La vita è una combinazione di pasta e […]
Not to be confused with National Pasta Day on October 17th, World Pasta Day was established on October 25th, 1995 by forty pasta producers from around the world gathered at the first World Pasta Congress. Two areas in our neighborhoods were hubs of Italian immigration and settlement in the late 19th century. The South Village, […]
In 2007, Village Preservation published “The Italians of the South Village” by Mary Elizabeth Brown, Ph.D. The report is exhaustive and highlights buildings, people, and dynamic histories of a long-storied community in an historic neighborhood. The report opens with a map of Italian-American Sites in the South Village, which lists 45 sites in this relatively […]
We don’t know much about Nicosia Graziano’s story. But the few details we do have are emblematic of what many immigrants to this country one hundred to two hundred years ago went through, especially Italian immigrants.
On Columbus Day in 2012 ( which was on October 8th), Village Preservation launched its “Save the South Village” video campaign. Columbus Day is traditionally a time to celebrate the contributions made by Italian-Americans to our country. Our “Save the South Village” video campaign began as an effort to highlight the incredible history (Italian-American and […]
No, this post is not about where to find public restrooms in the Village. It is, though, about a very important part of New York City’s culture: Italian cuisine. Italian Immigrants have made a lasting impact on both Greenwich Village and the East Village, both of which had significant Italian immigrant and Italian-American communities. Many […]
Immigration means something different to everyone — it reminds us of our ancestors, of how the world is constantly changing, or of how, as people, we are always on the move. Our neighborhoods, and New York City in general, are a global hub for movement and have been for hundreds of years. This history is […]
Immigration history in New York City is long, storied and full of notable events and movements which are personal and political. The City of New York is the ultimate city of immigrants and migrants. On April 17, 1907, more immigrants entered the U.S. through Ellis Island than any other day in history – it took 11,747 people […]
Lucy Cecere, who passed away on March 19, 2011, at the age of 89, was small in stature, but a true giant in a neighborhood of outsized personalities in which she lived her whole life. She was someone who deeply loved her Greenwich Village neighborhood and was willing to fight to preserve it. She and her husband […]
On this date in 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to designate the final piece of GVSHP’s proposed South Village Historic District, an incredibly important part of our rich history. After a hard-fought, ten-year campaign led by GVSHP, three new historic districts were created including the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II in 2010, the South Village Historic District in 2013, […]
The recently landmarked Sullivan-Thompson Historic District is one of the first historic districts in New York City so designated almost exclusively based upon its immigrant history and working-class architecture. As stated by the LPC research staff in their presentation before the Commissioners’ vote, “The architecture in the proposed district reflects the waves of immigration that […]
The following was originally posted by Drew Durniak. It showcases one of the South Village’s most significant and historic presences both architecturally and culturally, St. Anthony of Padua. It is located at the corner of West Houston and Sullivan Streets at the north end of the third phase of GVSHP’s proposed South Village historic district. […]
This Thursday evening, September 25, we will present the third program in our series “OMG!: Churches and Synagogues of Greenwich Village.” Father Joseph Lorenzo, O.F.M., pastor at the Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua, will present a slideshow and history of the church and the parish. Our previous programs in this series were The […]
On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot while visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York; he died eight days later on September 14. Both the man responsible for the assassination, and the man who assumed the presidency as a result, had some interesting connections to our neighborhoods. McKinley was only the third […]
Now that I have your attention, what I have to say isn’t just about pizza. It’s about what we already know: Greenwich Village is a really special place. Why would you ever want to leave? Imagine if you had a successful business in New York City – any neighborhood in New York City – and […]
Summer makes one think of our public pools and recreation centers (whether they’re open or not). The first one that came to mind was the Tony Dapolito Center, which opened on May 6, 1908. Located on 7th Avenue between Carmine and Clarkson Streets, this South Village recreation center is named after the late “Mayor of […]
We are thrilled to share with you the news that GVSHP successfully nominated the South Village to the Preservation League of New York State’s “Seven to Save” list — their bi-annual list of the seven most significant, endangered historic sites in New York State. The announcement was made yesterday morning by the League’s president, Jay […]
Strolling through Father Demo Square at 6th Avenue and Carmine and Bleecker Streets, one might naturally assume that the name of the park has something to do with the neighboring Our Lady of Pompei Church, whose bell tower rises over the west end of the plaza. That assumption is correct, but who really was Father […]
Many vestiges of the immigrant communities that called the East Village home remain to this day. The area in and around First Avenue and Avenue B between East 11th and East 12th Street was once a thriving Italian-American community. Our research on each of the thousands of buildings in the East Village has helped us […]
Talk about 6 degrees of separation! A half- painted over, fading ghost sign (old hand painted advertisement) on a wall of a tenement building at 620 East 6th Street has more random connections than Kevin Bacon. If you’re curious to find out how an old ad on a wall on East 6th Street is connected to “The […]
