Greenwich Village Historic District

Originally occupied by tobacco farmers, Greenwich Village developed separately from New York City proper at the southern end of Manhattan. Even as the city expanded and modernized, the Village remained intact. The grid iron plan of 1807-11 bypassed the irregular streets of the Village, and the emphasis on low and uniform architecture created a strong residential community that was able to escape large-scale commercial and residential development.

Greenwich Village is the only area in the city where all of the architectural styles of early New York row houses exist side by side, in a state of excellent preservation. Many of the earliest structures within the area are row houses, dating from as early as 1819. Following the Civil War, single-family houses were reconfigured, and multi-family tenements were built in the Renaissance Revival and neo-Grec styles. The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library occupies a former courthouse on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 10th Street. The eclectic Gothic Revival building was constructed in 1874-77, according to a design by Calvert Vaux and Fredrick Clark Withers.

At the turn of the century, waterfront industries proliferated as the Hudson River became an important entry point for shipping. Subsequently, a number of Romanesque Revival-style warehouses were built, some of which still stand today. In the early decades of the twentieth century, Greenwich Village also experienced an influx of middle-class families. Between the World Wars, the Village expanded with the construction of taller apartment buildings. Known then as a low-rent district, Greenwich Village had already become home to artists and writers and developed a “bohemian” reputation.

Today, the neighborhood continues to be a thriving commercial and residential area with well-preserved houses and streetscapes. Adding to the historic experience of the area, a cobblestone restoration project on Jane Street was completed in 2011. Today the district stands as the second largest designated historic district in New York City. ©2014