Westbeth, Punk, and the Golden Age of Hip-Hop: SD50
Westbeth Artist Housing opened in 1970. It is located in the Far West Village, and spans an entire city block bounded by Washington, Bank, West and Bethune Streets. Westbeth was … Continued
Westbeth Artist Housing opened in 1970. It is located in the Far West Village, and spans an entire city block bounded by Washington, Bank, West and Bethune Streets. Westbeth was … Continued
On May 19, 1970, a project like no other ever imagined or realized before opened its doors on the corner of West and Bethune Streets. Westbeth (a portmanteau of those … Continued
1968 was a big year for New York City and the world – music, arts, staggering political and social change. And, in the midst of it all, a tan block-square … Continued
On October 25, 2011, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted unanimously to landmark Westbeth, following through on a promise made seven years earlier to the Greenwich Village Society for … Continued
On August 7th, 1967, the J.M. Kaplan Fund and the newly-constituted National Endowment for the Arts announced plans for a project that would help transform Greenwich Village, New York, housing … Continued
March is Women’s History Month; the month-long celebration highlights the accomplishments of women in various fields throughout our history. With so much to choose from in New York City alone, … Continued
Bettye Lane, a photojournalist who lived at Westbeth, died last Wednesday at the age of 82. She has been called the official photographer of the women’s movement and was one … Continued
By Sheryl
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) just voted unanimously to landmark Westbeth, following through on a promise made seven years ago to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic … Continued
This weekend, tour guide Lawrence Frommer and Fourth Arts Block executive director Tamara Greenfield led a tour of East 4th Street between the Bowery and 2nd Avenue for GVSHP. (Want … Continued
By Sheryl
Truman Streckfus Persons was born on September 30, 1924, in New Orleans. Truman started writing when he was eight years old — as a calling, and also as an answer … Continued
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Click here to check out our year-long activities and … Continued
Since 1973, New York City has hosted one of the most extravagant and enchanting Halloween celebrations in the world: the Village Halloween Parade. Its beginnings in the early 1970s were … Continued
“I don’t go around looking for trouble, and yet these experiences often lead me out of sculpture to realms of danger — fantastic, literal, psychic danger.” — George Spaventa, ARTnews, September 1961 … Continued
Not that long ago, someone strolling down one of our neighborhood streets could have been forgiven for not looking up from their iPhone, except perhaps to avoid walking into oncoming … Continued
By Juan Rivero
Humans, anthropocentric as they are, project their emotive capacity onto the inanimate world. If you’re throwing away an old pair of shoes, and you stare at them long enough, they … Continued
By Juan Rivero
Focus on your breath. It all begins there. Notice its natural rhythm and let that movement expand into a full-body contraction and release. This will form the basis of a … Continued
By Juan Rivero
On Thursday, December 8th, the audience of our program “Village Preservation at Westbeth Gallery’s Winter Show” had the opportunity to hear directly from artist and Westbeth resident Christina Maile. Christina is self described as trained as a landscape architect, her writing and visual work references colonialism, feminism and extinction and she is of Dayak and West Indian descent.
Everyone in the audience at the gallery very quickly became aware of the depth of knowledge Christina has to share about Westbeth Artists Housing. This program was a great introduction to the launch of Christina’s oral history with Village Preservation, which is available here on our website.
At 7:00 pm last night, the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade kicked off for its 49th run at Canal Street and continued up 6th Avenue to many spectators’ delight. The parade, … Continued
Martha Graham’s (1894-1991) remarkable career as a dancer and choreographer spanned more than 70 years. During her lifetime, she saw contemporary dance evolve from a new art form to a … Continued
Ralph Lee’s interest in puppetry and theater began as a young boy in his family’s home in Middlebury, Vermont. An early creative spark launched him on a career that ultimately took him to the role he’s most often recognized for, as the “father” of Greenwich Village’s annual Halloween Parade.
By David Herman
Artist and lithographer Laurie Ourlicht lived a fascinating yet mostly undiscovered life. Although her pieces live on in museum collections and private galleries, very little is known about the artist’s … Continued
By Hew Evans
Every June, New Yorkers and people from around the world gather in our city to celebrate Pride Month and honor the memory of the Stonewall Riots, three nights in 1969 … Continued
By David Herman
Hugh Hurd was a longtime village resident who worked across the arts, labor, and civil rights movements to influence major shifts in how African Americans are treated in America.
Today we’re looking at the historic plaques that Village Preservation has placed throughout our neighborhoods commemorating some of the amazing women who have lived, worked, and changed history here. Historic … Continued
Despite all the challenges of the year, Village Preservation proudly hosted 76 programs (most of which were virtual), reaching over 9,000 people in 2020. How does one choose favorites? It’s … Continued
Our new interactive tool “Virtual Village” brings users on a multitude of virtual explorations.
Beginning in 1948, the artists William Baziotes, David Hare, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko held a public lecture series entitled Subjects of the Artist. Regularly attracting a crowd of around … Continued
By Lena Rubin
“The pathfinder mural is a historic political and artistic landmark now nearing completion on a six-story wall of Pathfinder publishing house in New York’s Greenwich Village. The centerpiece of the … Continued
Each year, Village Preservation honors the invaluable people, businesses, and organizations that make a special contribution to our neighborhoods at our Annual Meeting and Village Awards. On June 17th, 2020 … Continued
Part of our blog series Why Isn’t This Landmarked?, where we look at buildings in our area we’re fighting to protect that are worthy of landmark designation, but somehow aren’t landmarked. … Continued
GVSHP shares our oral history collection with the public, highlighting some of the people and stories that make Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo such unique and vibrant neighborhoods. … Continued
By Ariel Kates
The Village has a long history of putting on the best Halloween festivities. From the world-renowned NYC Village Halloween Parade to local specials at our many small business establishments, there … Continued
In the second half of the twentieth century, particularly during the city’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s, the East Village experienced high rates of crime and drug use, and a … Continued
Village Preservation has been, and continues to be, the guardian of many different archives. Still, our repository continues growing, and our newest online resource, the Preservation History Archive, is somewhat … Continued
Village Preservation shares our oral history collection with the public, highlighting some of the people and stories that make Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo such unique and vibrant … Continued
Villager, dancer, and choreographer Merce Cunningham is an artist whose work continues to live vibrantly in 2019, which marks Cunningham’s centennial. The Merce Cunningham Centennial is celebrating a century of … Continued
Today we begin a new blog series, Strange Bedfellows, where we take a look at unlikely pairs or assortments of noteworthy people who lived or spent time in surprisingly close … Continued
Among the many delights included in this weekend’s Open House New York will be three iconic Greenwich Village buildings–a Gothic Revival church with many architectural firsts, a library that was originally a … Continued
Theater for The New City (TNC) was founded in 1970 and has served its community with a wide variety of programming for nearly fifty years. TNC has premiered nearly one … Continued
Village Preservation shares our oral history collection with the public, highlighting some of the people and stories that make Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant neighborhoods. … Continued
Diane Arbus was born on March 14, 1923, and died by her own hand a mere forty-eight years later on July 26, 1971. The acclaimed and celebrated photographer’s body of … Continued
We had a promising hearing last Tuesday at the Landmarks Preservation Commission on our proposed landmark designation of 827-831 Broadway, with a vote planned for this coming Tuesday, October 31st. … Continued
American architect Richard Meier was born on this day in 1934. Over the course of his nearly sixty-year career Meier has designed countless buildings all over the world and received numerous … Continued
From the Center for An Urban Future Report Greenwich Village has long enjoyed a reputation as a mecca for artists. The same can be said of nearby NoHo and SoHo, … Continued
The thermometer tells us we are definitely in the throes of summer. However, we’re fortunate enough to have a city pool in our midst where you can not only immerse … Continued
On this day in 1894 the revolutionary dancer and choreographer Martha Graham was born. She is largely responsible for modern dance as the art form we know today. Graham was an essential part of … Continued
Seen a movie lately? If so, you have the West Village’s Bell Laboratories (now known as Westbeth) to thank for all the dialogue, music and sound effects that you heard. … Continued
Peter Ruta, born February 7th, 1918, recently passed away on November 16th, 2016, at his home in Westbeth with wife and family. He was 98 years old. Peter’s life and work … Continued
Modern dance pioneer Martha Graham was born on this day, May 11, in 1894. In the 1930’s, Martha Graham’s dance studio was located at 66 5th Avenue. This part of … Continued
By Ted
March 14th is a date when several people with important connections to the Village will celebrate, or would have celebrated, their birthdays.
As we near the end of 2014, we thought we’d look back on the several dozen exciting lectures, book talks, exhibitions, walking tours, forums, panels, and community meetings conducted by … Continued
Congratulations to our friends at The High Line! The third and final section of the park will open to the public this Sunday, September 21st. GVSHP has a special kinship … Continued
April 18 and 19 mark two incredibly important Far West Village preservation anniversaries — each from 2004. At that time, GVSHP and allied community groups were engaged in a heated … Continued
On Tuesday evening, Village Preservation presented a program with architect, preservationist, and author Françoise Bollack about her new book, Old Buildings, New Forms: New Directions in Architectural Transformations, published by … Continued
By Ted
For stalwarts of the affordable housing scene in New York City, what obstacles come to mind that block the path to construction of new affordable units? We asked a few … Continued
As seen in: Don’t Believe REBNY’s Hype; Landmarking Can Help Affordability Read the full article in The Villager or Gotham Gazette BY ANDREW BERMAN | In … Continued
The Reverend Howard R. Moody, Minister Emeritus of Judson Memorial Church was born on April 13, 1921, and died on Tuesday, September 12, 2012 at the age of 91. Moody’s 35-year … Continued
By Sheryl
As most everyone knows, we’re kind of map and statistics geeks here at Off The Grid. Thus it’s no surprise that a handy little tool put together by WNYC in … Continued
A recent visit to the highly-anticipated Keith Haring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, Keith Haring: 1978-1982 did not disappoint. The show looks at the early years of Haring’s career before … Continued
The East Village is renowned for its avant-garde, Off-Off Broadway theaters. One of the great examples is the Theater for the New City. Founded in 1971 by Crystal Field, George … Continued
This week marks the one year anniversary off GVSHP’s blog Off the Grid. We launched Off the Grid to engage new audiences in the dynamic history of the neighborhoods we … Continued
On February 16, 1990, we lost one of the most memorable and enduring figures of the 1980’s Downtown arts scene, Keith Haring (born May 4, 1958). Haring came to New … Continued
The term adaptive reuse is used by architects and preservationists to describe the process of adapting old structures for purposes other than those initially intended. Villagers are familiar with the … Continued
By Sheryl
The sight of striking Verizon workers near GVSHP’s offices (as well as all over New York) reminds us of the long and storied history of the Village and East Village … Continued