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Tag: Italian immigrants

The Meat Markets of the South Village

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 […]

Business of the Month: Raffetto’s, 144 West Houston Street

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 […]

    Celebrating World Pasta Day

    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, […]

    The Legacy of Italian-American Entertainment Venues in 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 […]

    A Video Campaign to “Save the South Village”

    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 […]

    John’s of The Village

    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 […]

      Happy Anniversary to the Sullivan-Thompson Historic District!

      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, […]

      Sullivan-Thompson, a District of Immigrants

      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 […]

      St. Anthony of Padua

      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.  […]

      The Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua

      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 […]

      Who Wants Pizza? A Salute to Joe’s.

      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 […]

      Cool off at the Tony Dapolito Center

      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 […]

        History’s Mysteries: Ghost Sign on East 6th Street

        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 […]