Emma Goldman, anarchist and feminist, advocate of free speech, free love, birth control, and the eight-hour workday, was arrested in New York City on February 11, 1916. Charged with violating the Comstock Act, an 1873 law banning the transportation of…
John “Jack” Silas Reed was an American journalist, poet and communist activist at the beginning of the 20th century whose writing about revolutionary events and radical causes made him a very polarizing figure in this country and abroad. He is…
Helen Keller’s connections to New York City and Greenwich Village are numerous but perhaps less well known, as they are largely rooted in her work not as an advocate for the disabled, but in her sometimes controversial work as a suffragette,…
This is an updated version of a previous post by Andito Lloyd. On May 30, 2012, GVSHP officially launched its historic plaque program with the unveiling of our very first plaque, commemorating the life of Justus H. Schwab and the…
On November 22, 1909, a frail 23-year-old woman, who’d been brutally beaten by strike-breakers, was helped up onto the stage of the Great Hall at the Cooper Union. Leaders of the labor movement – all men – had been speaking…
Some of the most important events and most prominent figures in the labor movement bear strong connections to the Village and East Village. Without these courageous individuals, or the events connected to them, we might never have had fair wages,…
The Espionage Act was passed on June 15th, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I in April of that year. Its goals included limiting interference with recruitment efforts and preventing the support of enemies of United States during…
This is an updated version of a previous post by Andito Lloyd. On May 30, 2012, GVSHP officially launched its historic plaque program in partnership with the Two Boots Foundation with the unveiling of our very first plaque, commemorating the…
Note: This is an updated version of a post originally written by Drew Durniak Since it opened on December 1, 1904, the Tompkins Square Branch of the New York Public Library has served as an important community resource. Situated on…
This post is the second of a three-part series called Histories of Fourth Street, from East to West, a collaboration between GVSHP and the students in NYU’s Fall 2015 Intro to Public History course. Each group of students was tasked…
The Oldest Building in the Village?: Call it whatever you'd like: antique, vintage, or historic. If one thing is for certain ...
Slavery, Gentrification, and the Last Execution in Washington Square:
Nearly two hundred years ago today, on July 9th, 1819, Rose Butler was executed in ...
From Banking to Biscuits: 143-145 Avenue D, Part 5: This is post #5 in a series devoted to our ongoing research of ...
Summer in the City: On August 13, 1966, the classic ode to the trials and joys of summer days ...