Village Preservation kicked off its campaign to honor, document, and seek landmark designation for the South Village and its remarkable immigrant and artistic histories in December 2006, and completed the effort in December 2016 with designation of the third and final phase of our proposed South Village Historic District, the largest expansion of landmark protections in the neighborhood since 1969. […]
You’re probably not that likely to associate military veterans with Greenwich Village and the East Village; in the popular mind, the neighborhoods’ profile is much more strongly associated with peace movements and anti-war protestors (though of course some veterans have played key roles in those efforts). But in fact, reminders of, tributes to, and memorials […]
On March 4, 1789, the U.S. Constitution went into effect as the first Congress met at Federal Hall on Wall Street, ushering in the form of government we utilize in this country to this day. It also was effectively the starting point for a form of architecture that shared the same name as the new […]
Dr. Robert Hogan, resident of 175 MacDougal Street, started the Irish Emigrant Society in 1841.
The streets, parks, and squares of Greenwich Village are named for a unique collection of historical figures. Last year in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Greenwich Village Historic District we developed a guide to how many of the locations within the Greenwich Village Historic District got their names. Today we go beyond the […]
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. The quest for […]
You will be hard pressed to find an establishment in New York City that has survived for as long as 92 years! Well my friends, Caffe Reggio has earned that distinction. Located at 119 MacDougal Street and celebrating its birthday on August 29th, Caffe Reggio opened in 1927 and is one of this writer’s favorite […]
The Village in the 1960s was a hotbed of creativity. In one of the most defining moments of that decade, in January 1961, a twenty-year-old Bob Dylan moved here to play the clubs and become a recording artist. Photographer Fred W. McDarrah was the photographer behind the Village Voice at the time. McDarrah had a […]
On March 7th, 1898, Our Lady of Pompeii Church was incorporated as a separate parish. This South Village icon has been serving the neighborhood since 1926, but Our Lady of Pompeii has been a part of the Village since 1892. In addition to serving the neighborhood, Our Lady of Pompeii also has a connection to […]
Charles Busch is the quintessential Villager. A prolific playwright and actor, he has lived in the West Village for most of his adult life. This reporter has been a life-long fan of Charles and so on this, his ??? birthday, I caught up with him amidst his busy schedule to ask him for his thoughts […]
Gone but not forgotten, below is a list of just some of the individuals who have carried honorary titles in connection to the Village. Each one was influential in the arts or in advocating for the unique character of the neighborhood. Their legacies will forever remain testaments to how they shaped the Village, and how the Village […]
On this day in 1936, David Kenneth Ritz “Dave” Van Ronk was born. Van Ronk was a highly influential figure in the American folk music revival and Greenwich Village music scene of the 1960’s. He even earned the nickname the “Mayor of MacDougal Street”.
Its been almost two years since the Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel announced the LGBTQ Heritage Initiative by the National Park Service (NPS) outside the Stonewall Inn. As part of this initiative, a theme study was undertaken to identify significant places and events associated with LGBTQ Americans for the inclusion in the parks and programs […]
Five years ago we wrote about the terrible, deteriorating conditions at 43 MacDougal Street, a landmarked, 1846 Greek Revival townhouse at the corner of King Street in the King-Charlton-VanDam Historic District. The building had been neglected to the point of near-abandonment for over a decade. With a rainy week ahead, we were worried the historic structure […]
There are many reasons to celebrate the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States. Not only did she change the role from passive hostess to active political leader, she also became an outspoken politician in her own right. During her time as First Lady (from 1933 to 1945), Eleanor Roosevelt […]
(This post is part of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) Dave Van Ronk came to the Village in the 1950s, after twice shipping out with the Merchant Marine. He lived at 15 Sheridan Square, a section of […]
On Sunday 9 April 1961, Washington Square Park was full of folk musicians and their friends. The park had become a gathering place for them starting in the 1940s, when the likes of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie began singing and socializing there. A permit was required at this time, but was considered a formality […]
(This post is part of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) We all know Allen Ginsberg. He lived in the East Village for more than thirty years, with his partner, Peter Orlovsky. He met Lucien Carr, Jack Kerouac, […]
(This post is part of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) Henrietta Rodman was born in Queens, in 1877. In 1904, she graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University. She began her career teaching English and working as a […]
(This post is part of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) Paul Clayton was a mentor and friend to Dave Van Ronk, a friend to Liam Clancy, and later a mentor to Bob Dylan. (It is said that […]
(This post is the first of a series on the history of the LGBTQ community in Greenwich Village.) It is easy to assume, in the aftermath of the Stonewall riots, that Greenwich Village’s LGBTQ history happened entirely on Christopher Street. Of course, there’s a lot more to LGBTQ history in the Village than Stonewall, just […]
Many longtime residents of the Village have wondered about the fate of 43 MacDougal Street, which has sat vacant for decades. Located at the corner of King Street on the eastern edge of the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District, 43 MacDougal is a Greek Revival style townhouse that was built as part of a row in 1846. […]
“Yeah, yeah, yeah” – as the New York Times wrote in February 1964 – it was in fact February 7, 1964 that the Beatles arrived for the very first time on our shores. Landing first in New York, the four lads from Liverpool made their historic Ed Sullivan Show appearance two days later. With most […]
We’ve been focusing a lot lately here at Off the Grid on the newly designated South Village Historic District and the designation report that allows us to learn much about the architecture and history of the district. The designation report is a powerful tool, so we thought we would share one of the ways we […]
At this time of year, we’re thinking about the many things we’re grateful for, as well as the founding of our country. Both those bring us to the many Federal-era (1790-1835) houses in the Village, NoHo, and East Village, especially those we have been able to ensure will survive well into the future due to […]
We here at Off the Grid are obviously big fans of the Village folk scene of the 1960s, and today we’re thrilled to spotlight one of its biggest stars. Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell was born on November 7, 1943 in Fort Macleod, Canada. As with so many aspiring musicians of her day, she came to New […]
Last month we featured the drawings of Anthony F. Dumas, a man who was responsible for illustrating countless theaters across the world. One of the beauties of his drawings is uncovering theaters that have been lost for decades, some for well over half a century. That’s exactly how we found the Fugazy Theatre. But just […]
Do you have childhood memories of your mom sewing your clothes? Or have you ever come across your grandmother’s old sewing machine and huge stash of patterns and fabrics? If you know someone who sews, ask them if they know the name “Butterick” and they will very likely say yes. That’s because 150 years ago […]
This past Monday evening, many of us gathered on MacDougal Street near Bleecker for the unveiling of a bronze plaque honoring the San Remo Café. The San Remo Café operated in this corner location for many years and was a home of sorts for so many of Greenwich Village’s most creative people. One of those […]
On Monday, July 29th, GVSHP, along with our friends at Two Boots, unveils our latest historic plaque, this one commemorating the San Remo Café, which was a favorite Village hangout for writers, musicians and other artists from the 1940’s to around 1970. Regulars included Allen Ginsberg, Dylan Thomas, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Miles Davis, […]
This Sunday, the Season 6 premiere of Mad Men will transport us back to late 1960s New York. Along with the characters’ backgrounds, props, and costumes, locations play a big part in shaping the tone of the show as it moves through one of the 20th century’s most storied decades. Set primarily in the corporate […]
Arturo’s, best known for its delicious coal-oven pizza, first opened on MacDougal Street in 1957 before moving to its current location on Houston and Thompson Streets in the early sixties. Their delicious food and family atmosphere have made it a popular destination in the Italian South Village for many years. Please join us as we […]
With the recent news that every Law & Order television episode will soon be available in one mammoth 104-disc set, we thought we’d round up this week’s posts with a look at the law. In flipping through some of the images in GVSHP’s Preservation Archive and Oral History Project, we found some early and striking […]
On May 24, 1941 a baby named Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in Duluth, Minnesota. Twenty years later, going by Bob Dylan in homage to one of his influences Dylan Thomas, he arrived in Greenwich Village in hopes of meeting his hero Woodie Guthrie. Within four months Bob Dylan had booked his first professional gig […]
