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Tag: Second Avenue

Lewis Morris Rutherfurd: The Stargazer on Second Avenue

Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (November 25, 1816 – May 30, 1892) was born in Morrisania, New York to a family who was already a familiar presence in American political history. His grandfather was U.S. Senator John Rutherfurd of New Jersey, whose own father, Lewis Morris, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. By all accounts, […]

St. Mark’s Playhouse and the Negro Ensemble Company

The 1960s saw immense change as calls for civil rights and racial justice transformed our cultural landscape. In tandem with these movements, many of which have their roots in our neighborhoods, Black artists across the country used their platforms to amplify the kaleidoscopic perspectives and experiences of black people in America. The Negro Ensemble Company […]

Many Layers of History Throughout 2018

As the calendar year comes to a close, GVSHP is looking back at some of our 2018 blog posts.  Our neighborhoods are so rich in history on every street and around every intersection, we’d love to explore and share each one.  But given that could take years, in 2018 we decided to let the calendar be our guide, […]

    A Landmark Library Lives On

    It might be temporarily closed for renovations, but when the Ottendorfer Branch of the New York Public Library opened in 1884 it was New York City’s first free public library, and was designated a New York City landmark on September 20, 1977.  

      Putting Historic Images On The Map

      Our ever-expanding historic image archive has a number of fascinating collections which offer glimpses into our neighborhood and beyond throughout past decades.  Carol Teller’s Changing New York (Parts I, II & III), Jack Dowling Collection: Decay and Rebirth Along the Greenwich Village Waterfront in the 1970s, and Ruth E. Cushman Collection: NY Undergoing Change in the […]

      Peeling Back Two Hundred Years of History on Second Avenue

      I recently wrote about the rich and interesting cultural history behind the Ukrainian National Home, located at 140-142 Second Avenue just south of 9th Street in the East Village, for the website 6sqft.  That incredibly diverse story extends from Peter Stuyvesant and his direct descendants to German teetotalers,  Jewish gangsters, Ukrainian Nationalists, Dixieland Jazz stars, […]

      Business of the Month: B&H Dairy

      Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — and we need your help selecting the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village or NoHo: just click here to vote for your favorite.  Want to help support small businesses?  Share this post with […]

      Celebrate Valentine’s Day With Some Architectural Cherubs

      In celebration of Valentine’s Day today, we thought we would tip our hats to some of our neighborhood’s architectural cherubs. There’s a wonderfully rich supply of them in the East Village, particularly within what had been known in the late 19th and early 20th century as “Kleine Deutschland” or “Little Germany,” the area centered along […]

      Building Profile: 32 Second Avenue (aka 43-45 East 2nd Street)

      A recent report about a possible five-story expansion atop a century-old building has inspired us to share a bit about this capacious three-story brick structure, which stands at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and 2nd Street. (If you click through to the report, you’ll see in the comments that the current owner denies any […]

        Finally, East Village/Lower East Side Historic District Scheduled for Vote

        We recently learned that the proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District has been scheduled for a vote by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 9.  Since the district was announced nearly a year and a half ago, GVSHP and other preservation advocacy and community groups have pressed for the LPC to designate the proposed historic district […]

        Spot the Shot: 229-231 East 12th Street

        The building from this “Spot the Shot” post is at 229-231 East 12th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. “The Claremount” was constructed in 1901 by developer Max Weinberg, who built a number of buildings in the East Village and Lower East Side at the turn of the century. Designed by Weinberg’s architect of choice […]

        Another Chase? Don’t Bank On It

        We were – to put it calmly – a tad bothered when we read recently on EV Grieve that 160 Second Avenue (corner of East 10th Street), the former home of Cafe Centosette, would house a Chase Bank/Starbucks combination package. Since the cafe’s closing last April, we had been holding out hope that whatever replaced […]

        East Village Movie House Launched Big Careers

        What does a beloved TV sitcom mom, Ike and Tina Turner, and one bad motha have in common? All were portrayed by actors who honed their craft at a theater company that had its start in the East Village. Phylicia Rashad (who played Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show), Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett (who […]

          Second Avenue Mansions of Yesteryear

          Woah! Can you believe the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue once looked like this? Our survey of the history of every single building in the East Village has turned up photos of some of the mansions that once lined Second Avenue – the neighborhood’s prime residential thoroughfare in the first half of […]

          Mars Bar — Before & After

          A few days ago, the venerable Mars bar on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 1st Street painted “Thanks for the memories, miss you all” over its entrance, in expectation of the much-anticipated demise of the beloved business and the building which housed it. While the actual end date, as well as future plans for the site, […]

          Cafe Royal

          Researching the history of a building – as we’re doing for thousands in the East Village – can often be an arduous task. So it’s a great gift when sites like the Museum of the City New York’s fantastic new online photo collection become available to us. Browsing through the site, we came across an […]