Village Preservation 2019 House Tour — See You There!
Village Preservation’s 21st Annual Spring House Tour on Sunday, May 5th is right around the corner, and this year’s homes are really special. Additionally, they are all in the Greenwich Village Historic District, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Every year, in addition to a selection of fabulous homes, there is always a special location for the ticket pick-up. This year is no exception, and it will be at the St. John’s in the Village Church Garden. We thought that today, we would look at some of our past ticket pick-up locations. Click HERE to purchase tickets.
2016: Greenwich House Music School
In 2016, House Tour goers picked up their tickets at the Greenwich House Music School on Barrow Street. Greenwich House was started in 1902 by Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch as a settlement house serving surrounding immigrant communities. Greenwich House Music School was founded in 1905 by Simkovitch where immigrant children could learn about music. Today the school continues to serve the community offering music and art instruction to young people.
The school is housed in two former row houses built in 1851 by mason Smith Woodruff which were combined to serve the school. Out back, the school boasts a beautiful, double-lot wide garden.
2017: The Cynthia Rowley Studio
The Cynthia Rowley Studio at 16 Morton Street served as the ticket pick-up location in 2017, and it was a real treat. Some of Rowley’s latest fashion collection was on display as well as pieces from her furniture line. The studio was housed in a c. 1829 row house which was extensively remodeled in the 1920s and 1930s. The first floor was used as a garage from the 1930s until 2014 when it was purchased by Rowley, who was responsible for its re-design.
Rowley’s renovation retained the open space of the garage while adding a dramatic floating mezzanine and skylights. The cement floor near the entry is original to the garage, albeit significantly refurbished.
2018: The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Sculpture Studio at the New York Studio School
Located along MacDougal Alley, the former studio of heiress and artist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney served as our ticket pick-up location in 2018. The studio’s most arresting feature is its 20-foot-tall fireplace, made of sculpted plaster to appear as though the fireplace itself is made of flames, in which demons, dragons, snakes, and other creatures writhe and this continues up the ceiling. Completed in 1923, both the fireplace and the ceiling were created by Robert Winthrop Chanler.
2019: St. John’s in the Village Episcopal Church Courtyard and Garden
As mentioned above, this year’s participants in the Village Preservation House Tour will pick up their tickets at the St. John’s in the Village Episcopal Church Courtyard and Garden. Although the congregation has been part of the Village since the mid-19th century, the garden was a more recent development when during the 1920s the church bought up the homes that share its block, renovated the homes into apartments, and created a communal garden at the center of the block. Although the church no longer owns these other properties, the garden still serves residents of the block and the church. This location also has a special place within the history of the Village’s response to the AIDS/HIV epidemic — click HERE to learn more.
Tickets are still available, and we hope to see you there!
To learn more about Village Preservation’s annual Spring House Tour, click here.
Click here to purchase tickets (or here for corporate sponsorships).
Read more posts about previous House Tours here.