History

From Mark Twain and the Lovin’ Spoonful to Tech Hub: The overlooked history of Union Square South

Photo of 801 Broadway by Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons

December 7, 2018

From Mark Twain and the Lovin’ Spoonful to Tech Hub: The overlooked history of Union Square South

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Straddling Greenwich Village and the East Village, the neighborhood south of Union Square between Fifth and Third Avenues was once a center of groundbreaking commercial innovations, radical leftist politics, and the artistic avant-garde. With the city’s recent decision to allow an upzoning for a "Tech Hub" on the neighborhood’s doorstep on 14th Street, there are concerns that the resilient and architecturally intact neighborhood may face irreversible change. While they’re still here, take a tour of some of the many sites of remarkable cultural history, nestled in this compact neighborhood just south of one of our city’s busiest hubs.
See the full list
The Henry Street Settlement’s new exhibit showcases 125 years of progressive reform

Students from Camp Henry at the exhibit, courtesy of The Henry Street Settlement

December 3, 2018

The Henry Street Settlement’s new exhibit showcases 125 years of progressive reform

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In honor of its 125th anniversary, the Henry Street Settlement, the community hub and social services organization at 265 Henry Street, has mounted a new permanent exhibit in its historic 1830 landmarked headquarters. "The House on Henry Street" is a multi-media exhibit that highlights the legacy of the Settlement’s founder, Lillian Wald, and explores over a century of social activism, urban poverty, and public health on the Lower East Side through the lens of the Settlement’s own history. Incorporating archival photos, video and sound recordings, historic objects, and quotations from both settlement workers and clients, the exhibit distills over a century of history into a stunningly rich and deeply moving meditation on the vital importance of community-oriented social activism.
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Lillian Wald’s Lower East Side: From the Visiting Nurse Service to the Henry Street Settlement

Henry Street Nurses, courtesy of The Henry Street Settlement

November 30, 2018

Lillian Wald’s Lower East Side: From the Visiting Nurse Service to the Henry Street Settlement

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In 1893, the 26-year-old nurse Lillian Wald founded the Lower East Side’s Henry Street Settlement, and what would become the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. Two years of nursing school had given her the “inspiration to be of use some way or somehow,” and she identified “four branches of usefulness” where she could be of service. Those four branches, “visiting nursing, social work, country work and civic work,” helped guide the Settlement’s programming, and turned Wald’s home at 265 Henry Street into a center of progressive advocacy, and community support, that attracted neighbors from around the corner, and reformers from around the world.
Learn about Lillian
Explore 10 of Andy Warhol’s lesser-known NYC haunts

Andy Warhol in 1968, via Wiki Commons

November 27, 2018

Explore 10 of Andy Warhol’s lesser-known NYC haunts

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The Whitney’s new Andy Warhol retrospective, “Andy Warhol – From A to B and Back Again," is the first major presentation of the artist’s work in the United States since 1989. The show covers the museum’s entire fifth floor, as well as smaller galleries on the first and third floors. It traces Warhol’s career from his early days as a commercial illustrator, to his role as the world’s most iconic pop artist, and through his resurgence in the 1970s and ‘80s. If Warhol’s work is as famous as a can of Coca-Cola, so too is his relationship with New York City. High profile haunts like the Factory, Studio 54, and Max’s Kansas City are as closely associated with Warhol as any of his artwork. But Andy Warhol lived, worked, and played all over New York. Since Andy’s having his moment, give these 10 lesser-known Warhol haunts their 15 minutes.
These places pop!
The backstory on backhouses: How NYC’s hidden rear residences came to be

Via Wiki Commons

November 21, 2018

The backstory on backhouses: How NYC’s hidden rear residences came to be

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New York City is full of hidden surprises that even the most dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker may not know about. One such example is the elusive "backhouse" or rear house. There are literally scores of these hidden structures throughout the older neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan like Greenwich Village and the East Village. But because they are generally invisible from the street, they’re typically virtually unknown to anyone other than their residents and immediate neighbors. But these oft-romanticized structures have a complicated and surprising history, one which belies their almost mythical place in the psyche of New Yorkers.
Get the scoop
Mapping Manahatta: 10 Lenape sites in New York City

“Manhattan Island in the Sixteenth Century,” from the Memorial History of New York, 1892, via NYPL

November 20, 2018

Mapping Manahatta: 10 Lenape sites in New York City

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Currently, most Lenape belong to the Delaware Nation and live in New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Ontario, but the word Lenape means “Original People,” and the Lenape are the Original New Yorkers. In fact, the name Manhattan comes from the Lenape “Manahatta,” meaning “hilly island.” Although the Lenape stove to “walk so gently on the earth,” without leaving an impact on the land, they influenced the city’s physical geography in ways we can see and feel today. From Bowling Green to Broadway, Cherry Street to Minetta Lane, here are 10 sites in Manhattan that reflect the legacy of the Lenape.
Learn more about the first
Behind the scenes at Trinity Church’s $112M historic restoration
November 16, 2018

Behind the scenes at Trinity Church’s $112M historic restoration

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Hardhats aren’t your typical church-going attire, but they were necessary at Trinity Church when Vicar Rev. Philip Jackson led a behind-the-scenes tour of Trinity’s ongoing $112,000,000, two-year restoration. The project, officially known as a “rejuvenation” of the facilities, began on May 7, 2018, and is slated to be finished in the spring of 2020. Now six months underway, the meticulous work, headed by architect Jeff Murphy of Murphy Burnham and Buttrick, will preserve Trinity’s landmarked church building while "enhancing the overall worship experience," by making the church more accessible and welcoming. Weaving our way between scaffolding and rubble in one of New York’s most iconic naves, we saw the very foundation of Trinity Church’s past and got a glimpse of its future. From the finer points of organ-voicing to some of the first examples of American stained-glass, check out 10 of the most exciting behind-the-scenes secrets of the Trinity Church Restoration.
Check out the Church!
Cannoli, cheesecake, and an East Village icon: See history in action at 125-year-old Veniero’s Pastry
November 13, 2018

Cannoli, cheesecake, and an East Village icon: See history in action at 125-year-old Veniero’s Pastry

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Ask a group of New Yorkers where to find the best cannolis or cheesecake, and without a doubt, you'll hear Veniero Pasticceria and Caffé. An East Village institution, Veniero's is a family-owned and operated Italian pastry shop that was established by Italian immigrant Antonio Veniero in 1894. Veniero, who lived with his family next door, started the business as a candy shop. He then started serving Italian espresso and biscotti and by the 1920s, he had brought in master bakers from Sicily to run the kitchen.  A century later, Veniero's is still family-owned and is celebrating is 125th anniversary next year. We had the chance to tour the caffé and bakery with Robert Zerilli, the fourth-generation current owner and great-nephew of founder Antonio Veniero. Today, Veniero's serves more than 150 desserts, from traditional Italian butter cookies and cannolis to some more modern offerings such as red velvet cake and oreo cheesecake. Ahead, go behind the scenes to see how all these tasty treats are made, tour the historic interiors, and learn all about Veniero's history from Robert.
Hear Robert tell Veniero's story
See 120 years of NYC art and architecture planning at the Public Design Commission’s Archives

Plans for a never-built “Italian Fountain” at the Bronx Zoo, disapproved by the Commission Feb. 10, 1903; DC French’s “Brooklyn” and a Guide to Prospect Park via PDC

November 13, 2018

See 120 years of NYC art and architecture planning at the Public Design Commission’s Archives

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On the third floor of City Hall, in what was once an apartment for the building's caretaker, a small agency known as the Public Design Commission reviews works of public art, architecture, and design proposed on or over city-owned property. Projects as varied as West End Avenue's Straus Memorial, Central Park's Bethesda Fountain, Greenpoint's now-defunct Huron Street Baths, and all of the City's spectacular WPA murals, have come before the Commission for approval and safeguarding. Since the Commission was established under the New York City Charter in 1898 and approved its first project, the Maine Monument in Central Park, designed and carved in the Bronx by the great Attillio Piccirilli, the commission has conferred or withheld its blessing on more than 7,000 projects. Thankfully, what those projects are and where you can find them is all a matter of public record. Since 1902, the Commission has maintained a meticulous archive documenting all the projects it has reviewed. The Archive includes original drawings, photographs, and architectural plans of more than a century of the City's public works.
Set your designs on this Story!
From breweries and baseball to ‘cigar tenements’ and German Broadway: 10 secrets of Yorkville

Yorkville Theater, 86th Street between Lexington and Third, via Wikimedia

November 7, 2018

From breweries and baseball to ‘cigar tenements’ and German Broadway: 10 secrets of Yorkville

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Yorkville has been a popular outpost for the young professional crowd for quite some time now, but thanks to the Second Avenue Subway opening two years ago, the neighborhood has been getting on everyone's radar. But long before the cool subway mosaics, new building developments, and constantly-popping-up restaurants and bars, Yorkville had a diverse history that spanned more than 300 years. In celebration of this history, FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts is releasing today a new neighborhood history book, “Shaped by Immigrants: A History of Yorkville.” And after getting a sneak peek, we couldn't resist sharing some juicy neighborhood history gems. From having its own "piano ferry" and the largest brewery in the country to revolutionizing apartment living, this Upper East Side enclave is bursting with exciting secrets!
10 things you probably didn't know about Yorkville
Behind the Scenes at Queens’ Loew’s Valencia, once the most successful Wonder Theatre in NYC
November 6, 2018

Behind the Scenes at Queens’ Loew’s Valencia, once the most successful Wonder Theatre in NYC

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Earlier this year, 6sqft got an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour at the majestic Loew’s Jersey City Theatre, as well as the United Palace Theatre in Washington Heights. In 2016, we joined Untapped Cities and NYCEDC on a tour of Brooklyn Kings Theatre, and just last month, as part of Untapped Cities Insider’s Tours, we were lucky enough to tour and photograph the former Loew’s Valencia Theatre on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, which is now home to the Tabernacle of Prayer for All People church. The majestic Loew’s Valencia Theatre opened on Saturday, January 12, 1929, as the first, largest, and most famous of the five flagship Loew’s “Wonder” Theatres established in the New York City area from 1929-30. All of the grand movie palaces were built by Marcus Loew of the Loew’s Theatres chain to establish the firm as a leader in film exhibition and to simultaneously serve as a fantastical yet affordable escape for people of all classes from the tedium and anxieties of their daily lives. The Valencia most definitely did not shy away from this fantastical approach, with its Spanish/Mexican Baroque architecture, gilded ornamentation, rich jewel-tone colors, and elaborate carvings.
Take the grand tour
720,000 New York City tax photos from 1940 are now digitized so you can find your building online
November 5, 2018

720,000 New York City tax photos from 1940 are now digitized so you can find your building online

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If you've ever tried to research an old building–to find out the history of your home for renovation purposes or just to see what it used to look like–you may have found yourself tasked with a trip to the Municipal Archives for an in-person search or having to order up a large, glossy photo by mail, sight unseen. Access to one of the city's most thorough documentation efforts, the black-and-white tax photos taken of every building in the city between 1939 and 1941, just got a lot easier, as Brownstoner reports. The New York City Department of Records & Information Services has released 720,000 digitized images made from the original negatives, meaning that a photograph of every building in the city that was standing at the time is now available to look up online.
Check it out
How the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage helped win voting rights in New York

Members of the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage March in a 1915 Suffrage Parade, via the Carrie Chapman Catt Papers at Bryn Mawr College

November 5, 2018

How the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage helped win voting rights in New York

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James Lees Laidlaw, the president of the National Chapter of the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage, wrote in 1912, “The great educational work in the woman’s movement has been done by women, through a vast expenditure of energy and against great odds. There is still work to be done and hard work. We men can make it easier and happier work if we join in it, and no longer stand aside, as too many men have done, leaving the women to toil and struggle, making up in vital energy what they lack in political power.” Thanks to an ongoing great expenditure of energy, American men and women will vote tomorrow. In our own time, there is still work to be done, and hard work, in the fight for equality, justice and universal dignity. The history of the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage, founded in New York in 1909, offers the reminder that we all can make it easier and happier work if we join in it, and provides a stirring example of how anybody might offer organized, meaningful support to a vital cause.
The Story of Support Continues
The Durst Collection shows ‘New York Rising’ from the 17th century to the skyscraper age

“Bird’s-eye View of the Southern End of New York and Brooklyn, Showing the Projected Suspension–bridge over the East River from the Western Terminus in Printing-House Square,” drawn by Theodore Russell Davis (1870)

November 2, 2018

The Durst Collection shows ‘New York Rising’ from the 17th century to the skyscraper age

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If you want to go on a visual journey that begins with Manhattan's first European settlement, way back in the seventeenth century, up through the skyscrapers and urban planning of the late twentieth century, look no further than New York Rising: An Illustrated History from the Durst Collection. The book, set to come out on November 13th, originates from the sprawling Durst Collection at Columbia University's Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library. Incredible photography captures the most definitive parts of New York history, accompanied by the thoughts of ten scholars who were asked to reflect on the images. Their writing ranges from the emergence of public transit to the "race for height" to affordable housing. 6sqft spoke with Thomas Mellins, who edited the book with Kate Ascher, on their efforts delving into the Durst Collection -- which has its own unique history -- to come up with this comprehensive visual history. See a selection of photos from the book, along with thoughts from Mellins, after the jump.
READ MORE
You can buy the earliest ‘portable’ NYC subway map for $12,000

The 1904 map via Martayan Lan Gallery

November 2, 2018

You can buy the earliest ‘portable’ NYC subway map for $12,000

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New Yorkers have used maps to navigate the city's subway system since the first year the system opened 114 years ago. And one of only two known examples of the Interborough Rapid Transit's first guide is for sale for $12,000, the New York Times reported. That 1904 transit guide, along with many more historic maps of New York, can be found at the Martayan Lan Gallery, which is kicking of its  "New Amsterdam to Metropolis: Historic Maps of  New York City 1548-1964" exhibit on Nov. 9.
More this way
Stopped in its tracks: The fight against the subway through Central Park

Photo by Phil Roeder / Flickr

November 1, 2018

Stopped in its tracks: The fight against the subway through Central Park

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In 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio closed all of Central Park’s scenic drives to cars, finishing a process he began in 2015 when he banned vehicles north of 72nd Street. But not all mayors have been so keen on keeping Central Park transit free. In fact, in 1920, Mayor John Hylan had plans to run a subway through Central Park. Hylan, the 96th Mayor of New York City, in office from 1918 to 1925, had a one-track mind, and that track was for trains. He had spent his life in locomotives, first laying rails for the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad (later the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, or BRT), then rising through the ranks to become a conductor. In that capacity, he was involved in a near-accident that almost flattened his supervisor, whereupon he was fired from the BRT. Nevertheless, Hylan made transit his political mission, implementing the city's first Independent subway line and proposing that it run from 59th Street up through Central Park to 110th Street.
So, what happened?
John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, and the 1970s: Jeff Rothstein takes us back to a bygone NYC

All photos © Jeff Rothstein

October 26, 2018

John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, and the 1970s: Jeff Rothstein takes us back to a bygone NYC

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6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Jeff Rothstein shares a collection of 1970s street photos. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Brooklyn native Jeff Rothstein bought his first 35 mm camera in 1969, hoping to get some good shots at the Yankees and Mets game he frequently attended. But what he found was a love for NYC that turned him into an avid street photographer for the rest of his life. Jeff recently compiled a selection of these black-and-white images in his book "Today’s Special: New York City Images 1969-2006," and he shared a subset of 1970s photos with 6sqft. From John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Muhammad Ali to protests shows at the Filmore East, and candid shots of everyday New Yorkers, Jeff's work captures a bygone NYC with a delicate intimacy.
Hear from Jeff and travel back to 1970s NYC with him
This block-by-block drawing shows Broadway in 1899
October 25, 2018

This block-by-block drawing shows Broadway in 1899

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As part of Archtober, NYC's annual celebration of the city's buildings, the New York Public Library (NYPL) has been providing virtual tours of Archtober venues and offering resources to help us learn more about them. One fascinating example: A block-by-block visual record of Broadway at the turn of the 20th century, from Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan to 56th Street. The pictorial description in the library's digital collection includes advertisements and business indeces that relate to nearby businesses. Published by the Mail & Express Company who also published the Evening Mail daily newspaper, the panoramic drawings give a snapshot of history along "America's most notable thoroughfare."
Check it out
Remembering Soho’s Tunnel Garage: An automobile age marvel
October 25, 2018

Remembering Soho’s Tunnel Garage: An automobile age marvel

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As the old saying goes, you win some, you lose some.  That’s particularly true in preservation, where sometimes in spite of the most heroic of efforts and compelling of cases, historic treasures succumb to the wrecking ball. GVSHP is frequently asked, “Which fight do you most regret losing; which building do you mourn the loss of most?” It often comes as a surprise that the answer, inevitably, is a parking garage — one which seemed to almost eerily peer into the future. But the Tunnel Garage, at Broome and Thompson Streets, where the South Village meets Soho, was no ordinary parking garage. Built in 1922, it was a thing of extraordinary beauty, a sublime ode to the dawn of the automobile age and to the engineering marvel of its time which was the Holland Tunnel.
So, what happened?
10 secrets of Gracie Mansion

Gracie Mansion via NYC.gov

October 24, 2018

10 secrets of Gracie Mansion

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Gracie Mansion, the gracious Federal-Style mansion that overlooks the East River from Yorkville’s Carl Schurz Park, has been New York’s Mayoral residence since 1942. But the house had a long history before it started hosting municipal magistrates. Since construction began in 1799, Gracie Mansion has served as a residence, a museum, and even an ice cream stand. From a connection to Alexander Hamilton's death to the stubborn mayors who refused to live in the residence, here are 10 secrets of the People’s House.
Get all the history
The full interior of 116-year-old Glaser’s Bake Shop is for sale

 © James and Karla Murray for 6sqft

October 23, 2018

The full interior of 116-year-old Glaser’s Bake Shop is for sale

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For those still struggling with the absence of Yorkville institution Glaser's Bake Shop, which sadly closed its doors in June, there's a chance to hold on to some of that sweet nostalgia. The complete interior of the beloved bakery, which first opened on the Upper East Side in 1902 and is credited with inventing black-and-white cookies, is for sale. The Demolition Depot announced this week they are selling classic features of Glaser's, including its apothecary-style wooden showcases, sliding glass doors, original silvered mirrors, milk glass upper panels, marble countertop, and more (h/t Vanishing New York).
Get the details
How the 1919 World Series was rigged at the Upper West Side’s Ansonia

The Ansonia in 1904, via Wiki Commons

October 23, 2018

How the 1919 World Series was rigged at the Upper West Side’s Ansonia

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With the World Series in full swing, it's amazing to think that one of the most iconic landmarks of the Upper West Side played a crucial role in shaping the outcome of the World Series in 1919. Back then, the Ansonia was a brand new, luxury residential hotel in Manhattan--it opened in 1904 with a grand total of 1,400 rooms and 320 suites. The lavish locale quickly became popular amongst athletes; even Babe Ruth would stay there and come to treat the entire hotel like an extension of his apartment. But in 1919, baseball players and the mafia found a match in the hotel. A small group of players, and one very powerful, moneyed mafioso, came up with a deal that would throw the results of the game pitting the Chicago White Sox against the Cincinnati Reds.
Keep reading about the illicit deal
Meet Theodate Pope Riddle, New York’s first licensed female architect

The Hill-Stead Museum via Flickr cc

October 19, 2018

Meet Theodate Pope Riddle, New York’s first licensed female architect

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Original Plans for Hill-Stead, from McKim, Mead and White papers 1901, designed by Theodate Pope Riddle, via Hill Stead Theodate Pope Riddle not only made history as New York’s first licensed female architect but also lived it as a passenger aboard the Lusitania, the British ocean liner torpedoed off the coast of Ireland in 1915. The sinking of the Lusitania helped draw the United States into World War One, but neither German torpedoes nor the social strictures of her time could sink Theodate’s indomitable, independent spirit. She would go on to collaborate with McKim, Mead & White on a Colonial Revival masterpiece in Connecticut, as well as reconstruct Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace on East 20th Street.
The whole history
How a Greenwich Village brownstone became known as the ‘House of Death’

Photo of 14 West 10th Street via Wikimedia; Photo of Mark Twain via Wikimedia

October 12, 2018

How a Greenwich Village brownstone became known as the ‘House of Death’

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Despite its picturesque exterior, the building at 14 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village has a not-so-cute history. Since being constructed in the 1850s near the start of the Civil War, 22 people have died in the home, referred to as the House of Death. And as the New York Post reported, some of their spirits allegedly have never left. Residents have reported sightings of the spirit of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain, who lived at the building between 1900 and 1901, and other bone-chilling ghosts who have haunted the Greenwich Village block for over a century.
More on the haunted home here
Open House New York in Greenwich Village: The history of three unique sites
October 11, 2018

Open House New York in Greenwich Village: The history of three unique sites

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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 courthouse which heard the "Trial of the Century," and a groundbreaking artists' housing complex that was formerly home to Bell Telephone Labs and the site where color television was invented. These extraordinary landmarks span three centuries of American history, reflecting the evolution of our city’s spiritual, artistic, industrial, scientific, and civic life.
Learn more about their unique histories
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