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New Historic McDarrah Photos Added to Historic Image Archive

The McDarrah family loves the Village. The late Fred W. McDarrah was a leading photojournalist and documentarian of late-20th century Greenwich Village. He was the primary (and often only) photographer for the Village Voice for decades, since the newspaper’s inception in 1955. He captured the counterculture of Greenwich Village and the East Village, Gay Rights, Women’s Rights, the Vietnam War, and other movements centered around the Village because, as he noted, they were “The most colorful community of interesting people, fascinating places, and dynamic ideas.” His wife Gloria has lived in the Village since 1953 and conducted an oral history with us in 2014. And their two sons Patrick and Tim are equally – if not more – committed to preserving the Village and their family legacy. Just watch their passionate call to action here at last year’s Village Awards ceremony.  We are very excited to add 52 new Fred W. McDarrah images to our image archive, many of which highlight our mission of preserving and honoring our cultural and architectural history. A few of my select favorites are below- but be sure to check out all of the new images in our Historic Image Archive.

Washington Square Park. May 1, 1959. © Estate of Fred W. McDarrah

The following photo was taken at McSorley’s Ale House at 15 East 7th Street on March 20, 1963. McSorley’s is one of NYC’s oldest bars, claiming to have opened in 1854, although they did not admit women until 1971.

© Estate of Fred W. McDarrah

This image of Greenwich Village resident John Belushi on Bleecker Street between Perry and Charles Streets was taken on July 14, 1975. This was just a few months before he started his rise to fame as an original Saturday Night Live cast member, which premiered on October 11th, 1975.

© Estate of Fred W. McDarrah.

On October 2, 1964, Robert F. Kennedy campaigned for the U.S. Senate from the back of a flatbed truck on 6th Avenue between Waverly Place and West 8th Street. Standing beside him are (l. to r.) New York State Assemblyman William Passannante and local Democratic Party leader (and future congressman and three-term New York City mayor) Ed Koch.

© Estate of Fred W. McDarrah.

The patron saint of Village Preservation, Jane Jacobs, wearing a ‘Kill the Xpressway Now’ sign at a demonstration on Park Row against the proposed ‘Lower Manhattan Expressway.’ With her is politician Martin M. Berger (right) and a woman identified as Rachel Wall. Spoiler alert: they killed the expressway plan.

© Estate of Fred W. McDarrah

Click here to see all 52 photos in our collection, Fred W. McDarrah: Iconic Images of the Village & East Village, Part 2, and here for Part 1, here for Fred W. McDarrah: Iconic Images of the Village & East Village from the 1950s and 60s, here for Fred W. McDarrah: Rock Icons, here for Fred McDarrah: Willem de Kooning at 831 Broadway, and here Fred W. McDarrah: Bob Dylan’s Greenwich Village.

Click here to access the entire image archive, and here to search by map.

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