Amidst the bustling streets and historic architecture, our neighborhoods’ numerous independent pharmacies stand as critical community pillars of health. These establishments aren’t just places to pick up prescriptions; they are integral parts of the neighborhood, providing essential healthcare services and advice. Every year National Pharmacist Day celebrates our unsung heroes in healthcare – our pharmacists. […]
On February 27, 1994, STOMP, the “international sensation and iconic New York theatrical landmark” opened at the 347-seat Orpheum Theatre at 126 2nd Avenue between 7th Street and St. Marks. Since then, over three million people have viewed this off-Broadway show about how ordinary household objects and the human body can create a physical theatrical […]
New York City’s trees shade us in the summer, beautify our neighborhoods, help reduce noise, clean our air, counteract heat islands, absorb rainwater, and support important urban wildlife, among an almost infinite number of their bountiful attributes. Did you know that the trees of our urban forests are publicly owned? They are every bit as […]
On the corner of East 79th Street and 5th Avenue stands a 19th-century chateau that wouldn’t be out of place in the Loire Valley, yet seems just as comfortable on the Upper East Side. It’s been home to the Ukrainian Institute of America for nearly seven decades, but thanks to its previous inhabitants, this historic structure also holds an interesting connection with the early days of Greenwich Village and New York City.
Over 2.4 million New Yorkers, or nearly one-third of its population, identify as Hispanic or Latino, including myself. National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) is one of many occasions that allows us to reflect on the impact that Hispanic and Latino residents and revolutionaries have had on our neighborhoods for over 400 years. Juan […]
On February 27, 1994, STOMP, the “international sensation and iconic New York theatrical landmark” opened at the 347-seat Orpheum Theatre at 126 2nd Avenue between 7th Street and St. Marks. Since then, over three million people have viewed this off-Broadway show about how ordinary household objects and the human body can create a physical theatrical […]
On January 31, 1795, Nicholas William Stuyvesant, descendent of Director-General Petrus Stuyvesant, married Catherine Livingston Reade, herself a descendant of New York royalty of sorts (the family name can be found on streets in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn). While clearly this was a significant date for these two early New Yorkers, why should we care […]
The New-York Historical Society was established as New York’s first museum in 1804, a mere 15 years after George Washington’s inauguration. Its present home on Central Park West was built between 1902 and 1908 and designed by the architectural firm of York and Sawyer
Congregation Shearith Israel, now located at 2 West 70th Street, takes pride in being the very first Jewish congregation in North America, where something like half the world’s Jewish population now lives.
On March 12, 1651, Peter Stuyvesant, Director General of the Dutch West India Company, purchased Bouwerie (Dutch for ‘farm’) #1 and part of Bouwerie #2 in what is today’s East Village and surrounding neighborhoods. While it only remained farmland for a fraction of its existence, the land between present-day 5th and 20th Streets, from Fourth […]
The Village is known as one of the oldest parts of New York City, where historic architecture can be found everywhere, and charming houses from a bygone era still stand. Here at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, a perennial question we’re asked is “which is the oldest house in the Village?” It’s a […]
Standing diagonally on its lot at the intersection of East 10th Street, Stuyvesant Street, and 2nd Avenue, St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery is the oldest site of continuous worship in our city. The cornerstone for the church was laid on April 25, 1795, and the church we know and love today isn’t even the first structure of […]
Nearly all of the East Village falls in line with the Manhattan street grid, dating back to the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811. However, one defiant street, only one block long, stands at odds with the grid, Stuyvesant Street. Running true East – West, it was named for Petrus Stuyvesant (1727-1805), the great-grandson of Petrus Stuyvesant […]
When a woman born into the privileged class bucks the system and comes into her own as an artist and philanthropist, a great story is born. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was decidedly born into the privileged class, on January 9, 1875. But the life she chose for herself was nothing short of revolutionary, having a huge […]
One of my favorite places in New York has always been St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street. Long before I actually stepped inside it’s peaceful courtyard or impressive interior, I was so charmed by the way it sits diagonally on its lot – an obvious vestige of a bygone, pre-grid era in New […]
50 years ago tomorrow, on April 19, 1966, the LPC landmarked St. Mark’s-in-the-Bowery Church. The Church is the oldest site of continuous worship in New York City. The parcel of land was purchased by Peter Stuyvesant in 1651 and a family chapel was erected on the site by 1660. Stuyvesant died in 1672 and was interred in […]
Gone but not forgotten, the Village is as much defined by what is above as much as it is by who is below. Though burials in Manhattan were officially banned by the Common Council of New York City in 1852, a handful of spaces continued to serve the deceased up through the 20th century and […]
We continue the Landmarks50 celebration by taking a deeper look at Saint Marks-in-the-Bowery Church at 131 East 10th Street. This landmark represents construction over a considerable period of time. The main body of the church – with fieldstone walls and trimmed round arched windows – is of the late Georgian style. It is also the […]
As Halloween is right around the corner, we here at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation would like to satisfy your cravings for hauntings as you go out and wander the Village for candy. Preserving the Village not only means maintaining the old buildings and historic landscapes, but sometimes also the domiciles of the […]
This week, research requests to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation converged and pointed us to a unique image in our Historic Image Archive. Titled “The old pear-tree planted by Governor Stuyvesant at the corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street,” the image (known as a lithograph) was printed in 1861 in a Manual […]
Two years ago today, the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II, or what GVSHP terms the South Village Phase I District, was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. It seems that come this time in June, many new landmark districts are born.
Nearly four centuries ago, Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant, whose life has been the stuff of legend on account of his wooden leg and his role in losing New Amsterdam to the English, lived on a farm in the area we now call the Village. Generations later, his great-grandson, Petrus, bequeathed land for the construction of […]
With today being Halloween, we thought we would take a look at … dead bodies in the Village! You can tune out the ominous laughter you may be hearing right about now, today’s post is actually about some fabulous historic cemeteries in the East and West Village.
With Hurricane Irene on the way, the city is bracing for some possible high winds and flooding associated with the storm. WNYC made a handy interactive map that highlights parts of our neighborhoods that may be vulnerable to flooding during an intense storm. In addition to the important flooding information, the map also indirectly reveals […]
