Cole Porter was a paradox; a musical genius who truly defined a time in musical history, he was at once a privileged sybarite and a bohemian provocateur all at the same time. Porter also lived a contradictory lifestyle. He was…
Tag: broadway
GVHD50 Tour: Homes of Music Greats
This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Check out our year-long activities and celebrations at gvshp.org/GVHD50. Put on your walking and dancing shoes! As we’ve noted once or twice on Off…
A Murder on Broadway: Josie Mansfield and the Grand Central Hotel
As many can agree, there’s nothing like a good seedy scandal for some shock and entertainment. And with all the characters that have passed through the Village, it’s no surprise that plenty such events occurred right here. One such story…
A Tale of Two Crises: Thomas Paine and Marie Du Mont
On December 19, 1776, Thomas Paine published The American Crisis, a series of pamphlets that helped fan the flames of American patriotism to inspire the American troops and public during the long, arduous years of the Revolutionary War. In a…
Historic Broadway Gems Saved from Demolition
On October 17, 2017 the Landmarks Preservation Commissions (LPC) held a hearing to consider landmarking 827-831 Broadway, the threatened 1866 lofts once home to Willem de Kooning. Just two weeks later, the LPC voted to landmark them, culminating a year…
Important Rally this Saturday: 95% of Neighborhood Around Tech Hub Still Unprotected
Even though the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) just calendared, or began the formal process of consideration for, landmark designations of seven buildings in the area affected by the recent Tech Hub upzoning — 817, 826, 830, 832, 836, 840,…
Oral Histories on the Founding of An Artists’ Colony, A Prison Reform Organization, and So Much More
GVSHP has been conducting and sharing oral histories since the mid-1990s. As we look back on two powerhouse oral histories, we’re considering the importance of such documents as “the first kind of history,” as “part of the struggle of memory…
Tennessee Williams: A Restless Fugitive
Born Thomas Lanier Williams, III, on March 26th, 1911, playwright Tennessee Williams was as much a New Yorker as anyone, really. While his place of birth was really Columbus, Mississippi, he was an itinerant traveler of the world, but spent…
Hats Off to John Guare
I’ll take Manhattan! If you had to draw a picture of a New York playwright, you would probably draw someone like John Guare. Guare was born on February 5, 1938. A New Yorker’s New Yorker, he has lived in Greenwich…
The Oldest Building in the Village?: Call it whatever you'd like: antique, vintage, or historic. If one thing is for certain ...
No Need for a Mock UN at One East Village Elementary School:
School may be out for the summer, but that doesn't mean we can’t take time ...
East Village Building Blocks Tour: Theaters!: The East Village has been fertile ground for theatrical innovation since the beginning of the ...
Summer in the City: On August 13, 1966, the classic ode to the trials and joys of summer days ...
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