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. The Greenwich Village Historic District is one of New York’s oldest historic districts. As…
Folk music icon Woody Guthrie was a little man with beady eyes – as described by his second wife Marjorie, though she had imagined him to be taller, strapping, and more like a proper cowboy than he was. Perhaps it…
Scrolling through Off the Grid or any other collection of New York history, we’ve all become familiar with the legendary characters of the Village – Dylan, Kerouac, Hendrix, Duchamp, and the countless figures who have become synonymous with the neighborhood.…
On Saturday, December 10, 2016, the extraordinary Patti Smith accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature on behalf of Bob Dylan in Stockholm, Sweden. In a transcendent performance, Smith was overwhelmed with emotion when she stopped mid-performance only to begin again…
There is an absurdity in the photos and video which depict the event now known as “The Beatnik Riots” in Washington Square Park on April 9, 1961. At face value, the key characters in this drama are earnest, clean-shaven, bespectacled,…
Renowned musician Andy Statman and the Andy Statman Trio will perform in the main sanctuary of the Eldridge Street Synagogue on Thursday, October 22, 2015. This special concert, presented by the GVSHP Brokers Partnership and benefiting GVSHP and the Museum at…
There are some that mark the beginning Greenwich Village’s involvement with the revival of American Folk music as 9 April 1961, with the ‘Beatnik Riot’ in Washington Square Park. But folk music was thriving in the Village long before, with…
(This post is part of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) Paul Clayton was a mentor and friend to Dave Van Ronk, a…
“The artists.” Without a doubt, that response is the one I hear most often when I ask what people love most about the Village’s history. And when it comes to the artists of Greenwich Village, you can’t talk about them…
We here at Off the Grid are obviously big fans of the Village folk scene of the 1960s, and today we’re thrilled to spotlight one of its biggest stars. Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell was born on November 7, 1943 in Fort…
The Oldest Building in the Village?: Call it whatever you'd like: antique, vintage, or historic. If one thing is for certain ...
April 19, 1927: Mae West Sentenced on Morals Charges at Jefferson Market Courthouse:
“Miss West, are you trying to show contempt for this court?”
“On the contrary, your Honor,” ...
Artists Homes of the Greenwich Village Historic District: This is one in a series of posts marking the 50th anniversary of the designation of the ...
Summer in the City: On August 13, 1966, the classic ode to the trials and joys of summer days ...