A Look at Past and Upcoming Programs
We have been busy here at GVSHP! We started the year with a program by art historian Avis Berman about artist William Glackens, a painter who lived most of his life near Washington Square, and who was a member of the so-called “Ashcan School” of painters that included John Sloan and Robert Henri. Then my co-worker Amanda Davis presented her research on the little wooden farmhouse in the West Village, 121 Charles Street. She just loves that little house! More recently, we visited First Presbyterian Church on 5th Avenue, where our friend Dave Pultz, the official archivist at the church, shared a wonderful story about the old Spring Street Church, an early African-American congregation. The church itself was demolished in the 1960’s, but stood on the site of the present Trump SoHo condo-hotel.
These are just a few of the programs from January and February. You can learn more about all of our past programs here.
Now let’s take a look at some of our upcoming programs for March. You may have received our program flyer in the mail, and you can always refer to the Upcoming Programs page on our website (I hope you do!)
We salute Women’s History Month with two programs about some of the more colorful characters of Greenwich Village history. On Tuesday, March 10, at the Hudson Park Library, author John Strausbaugh will tell the story of Victoria Woodhull, a one-time resident of Great Jones Street, who was the first woman to run for president – before women could even vote. And on Thursday, March 19, Joyce Gold has prepared a program for us about the “bad girls,” or, as she calls them, “The Immigrant, Radical, Notorious Women of Washington Square.” I’m looking forward to learning more about all these ladies!
Later in March, when the daffodils will be in bloom, naturalist Gabriel Willow will help us take a look at two couples with excellent taste in real estate – I’m talking about the pairs of red-tailed hawks who have built nests overlooking Tompkins Square Park and Washington Square Park. If you’ve been following them in recent years, you may be surprised to learn of some recent changes. Rosie, the female at Washington Square, hasn’t been seen for months, but a new female has taken up with Bobby. And Chris and Dora over at Tompkins Square have begun building a new nest, to replace the one that was destroyed when some work was done on the Christodora House. Eggs should appear in the nests soon!
We’ll wrap up the month of March with a look at the old steamboats that used to ply the Greenwich Village Hudson River waterfront. They may be gone now, but these elegant vessels were once plentiful, and our friend Liz McEnaney – who is currently working to restore one of them, the SS Columbia – has a wealth of knowledge and vintage images to share.
And trust me, the programs we’re working on for April are looking pretty good, too!