I will be completely honest with you - I have been living in New York for a couple years now and I'm still not entirely sure on what the distinction is between Greenwich Village and the West Village. As someone who mostly frequents the East Village, anything west of Broadway kinda blends all together in my mind. Either way, though, that infamous neighbourhood to the west is known for being quite charming, full of history and quaint shops and brownhouses and winding cobblestone streets that don't match up to Manhattan's grid at all. And honestly, I don't think New Yorkers know the distinction either - I've asked like ten of y'all, and everyone gave me a different answer for what the difference is between them two.
There are, of course, a plethora of self guided walking tours available all over the web. But none were catered to my specific interests. So - with the help of google maps - I spliced them together and added a few things and created my own, with the things I'm interested in - early American history, gay history, cool architectural details, and ghost stories. And after taking it... well, I figured I'd share it with all of you
I started on the corner of 14th St and 10th Ave (as I had taken the M14 bus crosstown from Union Square) but the real starting point of this is the corner of 10th Ave and Jane St...
Walk along Jane Street
You will pass the purported Hamilton death house. Of course, the home that Alexander Hamilton actually died in after being rowed back to New York from Weehawken (his friend William Bayard's house) is no longer here, but 82 Jane Street claims to have been built in its place in the 1880s. Of course, some maps place the Bayard house on the other side of Jane Street, or even closer to Horation Street (the streetss here weren't mapped until a little over a decade after Hamilton's death).
But either way, according to some, Hamilton's ghost is still seen up and down Jane Street. I don't know if I believe that or not - as much as I'd love to see his ghost (I have so many questions) - there is a rather charming story of him appearing to a woman and startling her so badly she jumped back just in time to avoid being crushed when her poorly-installed cabinets fell off the wall, thus saving her life. True or not, it's a pretty damn good story, isn't it? Could it be that Hamilton has never accepted his death? From what we know of his determination in life, it’s entirely possible.
Take a right on Greenwich Ave
You'll see the massive triangle shaped NYC AIDS Memorial, a poignant tribute to the 100,000+ New Yorkers who were killed by this horrible disease, many of them members of the LGBT population who the Reagan administration were willing to just let die due to their rampant homophobia. Maybe these deaths could have been prevented. Because of this, it's a rather sobering place to reflect upon how far we have and haven't come since then. Engraved in the pavement below your feet are arranged passages from gay poet Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself", which make for an interesting read.
At some point down the street from this there's also a very poignant 9/11 memorial but like a dumbshit I forgot to note exactly where it was in my notes. Still, you'll pass it somewhere around this section and here's a photo of it anyway:
Take a right on 7th Ave
It'll likely be too early for the Village Vanguard to be open, but still stop and have a look. (And maybe return later in the evening for some live jazz.) Opened in February of 1935 as a variety venue, it became strictly a jazz venue in the 1950s, and has hosted musicians as famous as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, and Sonny Rollins.
Take a right at the sharply angled triangle building (you'll know it when you see it), then a left on W 11th St
Your next stop is the White Horse Tavern. If you have the money you can stop in for a drink or some food - the lunch menu is pretty affordable. Opened in the 1880s, the tavern became a renowned hangout for beat writers in the 1950s and 60s. One of those writers was Dylan Thomas, who spent his last night alive here - and who is rumoured to still haunt the place.
During his last visit in 1953, Thomas went on a two-day drinking binge and is thought to have had his last drink (or several) at White Horse Tavern before being brought to St. Vincent’s Hospital where he died the next day. Wait staff at the bar report to find that beer and shot glasses have gone missing from what is believed to be Thomas’ favorite table. They think he is still looking for one last drink.
Turn around, then take a right onto Bleeker, then take a left onto Charles St. Go right on 7th Ave until you hit Christopher St, then cross the rainbow crosswalk and take a left through Sheridan Square Park.
Sheridan Square Park was named after General Philip Sheridan, but that's not why we're here. We're here for this gay memorial, officially titled the "Gay Liberation Monument". Artist George Segal (who was straight, I think, which is a little problematic, but I like the monument so we'll ignore that just this second) sculpted these two gay couples - two men standing and two women sitting on the bench - to show that gay people are affectionate and loving just like the Straights, you guys!
Okay okay, I'll stop being facetious. It is a good place to sit if you're tired at some point, and the statues were well received by the local community. Marcia P. Johnson (may she rest in power) said of the monument, "How many people have died for these two little statues to be put in the park to recognize gay people? How many years does it take for people to realize we're all brothers and sisters in the human race? We're all in this rat race together." It's also right across the street from...
The Stonewall Inn! Now undoubtedly you've heard all about how Stonewall was where the riots that started the modern gay rights movement took place, so I'm not going to rehash that, here's the wikipedia page if you're curious. I myself have had a lot of wonderful gay nights here - including one particularly memorable karaoke night on Sarah's birthday - and I just love seeing it there with its pride flags (yes including the ace and trans flags, you exclusionary asshats) flying in the wind as if to say that no matter what we gays have to endure, Stonewall will still be there.
Go down Gay Street. (Yes, that is the street's name.)
Gay street is one of those tiny curved streets so common in lower Manhattan and so uncommon in the rest of Manhattan. Its name is actually completely coincidental to it being so near the centre of the modern gay rights movement (it's named after a "Gay" family who owned the area in the 1770s - you can stop your snickering now, you simpletons), and it's a beautiful little street lined on one side with homes from the 1820s, and on the other side (as the street was widened in the 1840s) the homes are from the 1840s-1860s.
It's also haunted by "the ghost of Gay Street" (which is totally gonna be my burlesque stage name if I ever get into burlesque). I've heard it said that this street is haunted by mysterious disembodied footsteps, the smell of onions, and occasionally even the apparition of a mysterious dapper man in coattails and a top hat.
By the way, keep an eye out as you walk - some of the stoops' railings have a bottom rail that looks slightly different than the rest of the rail. It's not some shoddy repair - they're 19th Century Boot Scrapers, a fun detail that can be found all over the WV if you know where to look! I saw quite a few of them on Jane Street, Gay Street, 11th Street, and 10th Street.
Take a left onto Greenwich.
What's that building with the castle-like tower? Why, it's the Jefferson Market Library, housed in a building which in the 1880s was voted as one of the 10 most beautiful in America. (I'm only a little miffed that the Winchester Mansion wasn't considered for this list.) Of course, this gorgeous castle-like building with its Gothic arches and stained glass windows wasn't a library at the time - it was a courthouse. The courthouse was briefly the center of national attention in 1906, when Harry K. Thaw appeared before the magistrate and was remanded without bail for the murder of architect Stanford White. White's 'affair' (I believe she was sexually assaulted but whatever, official source, call it an 'affair') with chorus girl/model Evelyn Nesbit before her marriage to Thaw was the motive in this crime of passion. Thaw was eventually judged to be "insane" and was sent to an asylum until his release in 1915. And a couple decades later, Mae West was tried here on obscenity charges for her risque play "Sex". Now it's a lovely library, former court rooms now home to shelves of books. Stop in if you want, or gaze up at that tower to reflect upon the building's history.
Go right on West 10th St, going around the library.
Patchin Place is on one side of the library, a tiny private gated street that once housed poet e.e. cummings. Seriously, there's a plaque. If you're lucky - and I was lucky - the gate will be open or one of the residents will let you in to walk down to the end of this street where you'll find this streetlamp.
I know, I know, it doesn't look overly spectacular at first glance. It's a simpler design than some of the other street lamps around the city. But then you notice that tube-thing coming out the back of it - it's actually the last public gaslamp left over from the 19th century! Most of them were removed and replaced, this one still remains as an interesting little relic of that time period. Unfortunately, it’s no longer powered by gas; the lamp was wired for electricity in the 1920s. But at least they didn't remove and replace it.
Take a left on 6th Ave then a right on 11th St.
The Second Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Congregation, Shearith Israel, is located here. The oldest congregation in New York City, this Sephardic congregation dates back to the Dutch days. Their first cemetery was in present-day Chinatown, but as New York City grew, they were forced to move to what was then the outskirts of the city, first to this location and then a third location in present-day Chelsea. (And once burials were banned in Manhattan, they began burying congregants upstate, though the congregation itself still has a synagogue in the Upper West Side.) Peer in through the gates of this historic cemetery and you'll be greeted with the sights of multiple early 19th century graves, including a very handsome obelisk.
You'll also pass a sharply angled house at 18 West 11th that looks a little out of place.
Architecturally interesting, sure, but there is a rather sad story as to why it looks like that. On the ill-fated day of March 6th, 1970, two members of a group called the Weathermen, a radical underground group, were working on making pipe bombs in the basement of Number 18 using dynamite and and nails as shrapnel. Their plan was supposedly to bomb an officer’s party at Fort Dix in New Jersey, and the library of Columbia University. Unfortunately one member's inexperience with explosives caused him to cross wires, and the resulting explosion completely demolished the townhouse in an instant. A third member of the cell was walking into the house when it exploded, and he was killed by collapsing masonry. Upstairs the two remaining members of the group, Kathy Boudin and Cathy Wilkerson, stumbled onto the street, covered in blood, their clothes burnt off their bodies. The story goes that their neighbor at Number 16, a certain Dustin Hoffman, came out to help them. Finding a loose subway token in the rubble, Boudin and Wilkerson ran for Sixth Avenue and boarded an uptown F train, evading capture.
The house at Number 18 was reconstructed in 1978 by modernist architect Hugh Hardy into the weirdly askew angular home it is today. The only reminder of the terrible explosion that took the lives of three radicals in the home is the extraordinarily angled facade in the middle of it. There isn't (as far as I saw anyway) even a plaque to show why it looks like that. So you're welcome for that background information ahead of time.
Take a right onto 5th Ave, then another right onto 10th St.
The house at 14 West 10th Street has a plaque on it denoting it as the former residence of Mark Twain, but it's also known as the House of Death, one of the most haunted buildings in the city. Residence have reported seeing multiple spirits, including that of Twain himself - and even Twain himself claimed that he had experienced supernatural incidents in the home. Throughout the 20th century, 14 West 10th Street was the site of several gruesome incidents, witness to up to 22 deaths. Former resident Jan Bryant Bartell wrote a memoir about her experiences there - and is said to have died under "mysterious circumstances" shortly after finishing it, though of course if you ask me that just sounds like a fancy embellishment of the story.
Tragically, the brownstone was home to a real life demon - Joel Steinberg, who was spoken of on episode 26 on "My Favorite Murder". A former New York criminal defense attorney, Steinberg was charged with first-degree manslaughter for beating his 6-year old, illegally adopted “daughter” to death. Lisa Steinberg was found around 7 am in November of 1987 by officers responding to a call about a child not breathing. After entering the second floor apartment, they found Lisa unconscious and another baby covered in filth and tied to a playpen. The baby survived, but Lisa was declared brain dead, and died a few days later.
Head along 10th St back to 6th Ave
C.O. Bigelow is the oldest drugstore in New York City. That may not sound like much but it was founded in the 1830s - and speaking of Mark Twain, he used to shop here when he lived around the corner. They still have a lot of fun old details inside like a tiled floor and its old gas chandeliers, and remains a fun step back in time in a city dominated by Duane Reade pharmacies. When I passed it, the facade was covered by scaffolding, but the side of the building still has this charming old-school painted advertisement. It is open during construction so you can come in, browse the shelves, and maybe even pick up items such as their Rose Wonder Cold Cream which they've been selling since 1838.
Take a left onto W 8th St (For those who may be interested, there is a Toynbee Tile in this crosswalk) then a right onto 8th Ave
You'll pass the entrance to the Washington Mews, another private street lined by old carriage houses that are now owned by NYU.
If they're open, walk through and take a right. If not then keep heading along 8th St.
Washington Square Park is now haunted by NYU students and bohemians, and it's a pleasant park to walk through. There's always something interesting to see at this park - artists, street performers (the day I went there was a jazz quartet), protests, cute dogs... you'd never guess that it has a rather dark history. The site was used as a Potter's Cemetery for many years, for criminals that had been hung from a nearby gallows and for victims of Yellow Fever and Cholera epidemics - and interestingly enough, a lot of the bodies are still there under the park.
It's also very close to NYU's Brown Building across the street, which was once known as the Asch Building - site of the Triangle Factory Fire.
The Triangle Factory Fire was the deadliest industrial disaster in NYC history about the time, and the sad part about it is that it was entirely preventable. The fire started 15 minutes before closing time on 25 March 1911. Because the owners had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits – a then-common practice to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft – many of the workers who could not escape from the burning building jumped from the high windows. 146 workers died that day, many of them teenaged girls from Italian and Jewish immigrant families. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union , which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers, and a remembrance vigil is held yearly on the anniversary of the event in Washington Square Park.
Head through the centre of the park, take a right onto W 3rd, then a left onto Macdougal St
The Minetta Tavern is an overpriced restaurant now ($33 for a burger? Come on.) but it has a storied history. Opening in 1937, its basement was the original home of the Reader’s Digest, and it quickly became the favorite drinking and dining spot of Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Eugene O’Neill, and E.E. Cummings. The menu was mainly Italian back then.
Go left on Bleeker, then down Minetta St
You'll be walking over the path of the old Minetta Creek. The island of Manhattan was once teeming with natural streams and ponds which have almost all been completely built over. It's mildly interesting to reflect on that as you walk down this small street.
Take a left onto Minetta Lane, which turns into Carmine St after the angle, then a right back onto Bleeker. Go left on Morton St, right on 7th Ave, and left onto Barrow. Nearby is the narrowest house in NYC, but I couldn't find it. I will fully admit that this section of the Village's streets get a little confusing. Anyway, go right on Hudson.
You'll come across a small, walled in garden like something straight out of an English novel. This is Garden of St. Luke in the Fields (a LGBT-inclusive Anglican church), and it's a beautiful spot to sit and take in a little bit of nature if you need a rest at this point from all the walking.
Take a right on Grove St
Grove Court is yet another private little court. When I passed, unlike my luck with Patchin Place and Washington Mews, it was closed, so I had to take this photo through the gate, but it looks adorable, doesn't it? It's like looking straight into the pastoral past of this part of New York.
Do you recognise this apartment building? It was used as the exterior of the apartment building in "Friends" which I know is an unrealistic view of NYC life - not to mention certain aspects of it haven't aged well - but I still can't help but love it! (Remind me sometime to tell you about my imaginary 'Friends' reboot where Chandler is black/Jewish and coming to terms with his father being trans, Monica is still fat and no one gives her shit over it, Phoebe is openly bi and does outreach for the homeless since she used to be homeless herself, Joey is Puerto Rican, and Rachel Green does not end up with Ross "OG Fuckboy" Gellar.) Anyway look across the street.
This charming little wood house was not featured in "Friends" but perhaps it should have been because it's adorable - and likely quite old, as the construction of wood buildings was banned in New York City in the early 19th century after a series of devastating fires. There's no plaque on this building, but digging around on the internet I found that it dates to 1822. It doesn't get as much attention as its famous neighbour across the street, but it's still worth a look.
At the end of the block, go right on Bleeker, then left on Barrow
One if By Land, Two if By Sea is an upscale restaurant which I did not stop into (someday I will eat here. Someday) but it's notable for its history. It's a former carriage house, like many buildings in the area. And guess who it belonged to? Aaron. Motherfuckin'. Burr. In fact, the building is still said to be haunted by a plethora of ghosts, including Burr and his daughter Theodosia (who apparently tugs on female guests' earings). Actually, one of the restaurant’s hostesses quit after she was shoved up and down the stairs nightly by unseen hands, who she believed belonged to Theodosia, though Theodosia isn't the only female ghost in the joint. There are more stories of other spiritsm such as a woman who is dressed in black who’s been seen walking down (never up) the staircase. She is thought to have broken her neck when falling down the stairs, perhaps in the 1830s when the building became a brothel. The staff also light a candle for a ghost believed to be a Ziefield follies girl, as the building operated as a Vaudeville theatre for a while before becoming a restaurant in 1910. But the Burrs are the most famous ghosts here, and the ones who get the most attention.
Take a left on W 4th St. You'll end up back near Sheridan Square and Stonewall.
Before finishing the tour, go to the entrance of Village Cigars and look down to see the Hess Triangle. In 1910, nearly 300 buildings were condemned and demolished by the city to widen the streets and construct new subway lines. Local resident David Hess battled the city to keep his 5-story apartment building. He resisted eminent domain laws for years, but was ultimately forced to give up his property. However, the story goes, he discovered they'd missed a small triangle when they later asked him to donate the tiny portion of concrete to use as part of the public sidewalk. Out of spite, Hess refused the offer. On July 27, 1922, he had the triangle covered with mosaic tiles, displaying the statement, “Property of the Hess Estate Which Has Never Been Dedicated For Public Purposes.” And so it remains as another odd little easily-missed relic of NYC history.
This'll get you right by the 1-Train, which is where the walking tour stops - for me, I was going down to Bowling Green afterwards so the 1-Train was a perfect place to stop. And this brings us to the end of this odd little tour.
I hope, if you choose to take it, you enjoy it as much as I did - and maybe you'll discover some fun little secret that I missed! The West Village (Greenwich Village?) certainly isn't lacking in secrets, as you've seen here.
Til next time,
Nym
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