 |
|
|
 |
| |
The Village is all about discovery. Every time you walk down the street there seems to be something new you notice – even if it’s been there a hundred years and you’ve walked past it a dozen times. A nineteen fifties style bakery. A bookstore with nothing but biographies. A dominatrix den for the daring. Walking through the neighborhood bounded by 14th Street to the North, Broadway to the East, Houston to the South and the Hudson River to the West, you never know what you’ll run into next.
The Yellow Fever of 1822 changed the Village forever. Previously a community of freed African slaves, produce farmers and rich weekenders from the city, the Village became the escape destination of choice for those fleeing the deadly fever outbreak downtown. There was even a point when the city considered moving City Hall to the Village to protect the government from viral collapse. Village residents protested the proposed move and won. City Hall remained downtown, the Village stayed residential and Villagers learned to voice their dissent. (A skill they used often in sixties protests lead by Alan Ginsburg and various other village vocalist). As the city continued to grow and the rich left their beautifully built homes in the area for more desirable digs uptown artists and other creative types moved in – attracted by cheap rents.
Once a hot bed for everything challenging and new, communists, gays, activists and strays lived next to each other making the neighborhood a diverse place indeed. Artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Edward Hopper and Jackson Pollock painted here. Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix jammed here. Edgar Allen Poe, E.E. Cummings and Edna St. Vincent Milay wrote here. And Dustin Hoffman, Cary Grant and John Barrymore slept here. Most took full advantage of the Village’s various artistic venues such as off Broadway theaters, jazz clubs and literary coffee houses helping to legitimize the spaces and draw other creatives to the area. The radical side of the Village is just as much a part of its history: Alan Ginsberg and Abbie Hoffman led rallies in Washington Square Park in the 1960’s, and the drag-queen led Stonewall riot (considered the birth of the modern gay and lesbian rights movements) took place in June 1969 at the site of the bar which still exists on Christopher Street off of Seventh Avenue South.
With its low lying historically interesting buildings, the Village could easily be mistaken for a European neighborhood when wandering its more secluded streets. Gated doorways conceal private courtyards between unassuming buildings, hiding virtual wildlife preserves. Dim, brick, green ivy lined alleys lie unobserved as people pass by. Small flower boxes garnish windows of buildings with beautifully worn architectural details. There is a wide mix of housing options here. Prewar, postwar, brownstones and tenements are all found in various states of repair, but as demand for apartment’s rises and landlords seek higher rents, many of these spaces are being renovated to justify rent increase.
And they are beautiful. While many buildings comply with height restrictions keeping them at 6 stories or less, some luxury buildings break those barriers and tower above the rest. Souls searching for lofts should venture West where converted warehouses are close to the river. Beware. When trying to find addresses here you might have some trouble. Streets lie haphazardly and meet at impossible angles (where else in the city would West 12th Street and West 4th Street suddenly intersect?), thoroughly confusing pedestrians and taxi drivers. If you are looking for an apartment and are unfamiliar with the area, make sure you print out a map with directions specific to the address you are trying to find before logging off and hitting the streets. A tip. The sun rises in the East, sets in the West while the Empire State Building is North of the Village.
A wonderful place to stretch your legs and take a stroll, the Village has many outdoor areas where people congregate and watch those around them. While Washington Square park has a strict 11pm curfew kids with skateboards, mothers with strollers, chess players, street performers, drug dealers, tourists and students from NYU all flock to the area when the space isn’t sealed off. Those wanting to raise their heartbeat can run, rollerblade or bike along the piers along the Hudson while others may opt for getting some local color at one of the area’s many fabulous gyms. Exceptional basketball players or those who appreciate a good game should head over to the corner of West Fourth and West Third on Sixth Avenue where some of the city’s best players go for pickup games. You’ll know you’re there when you see the crowds.
Once a place for the artistic poor, very few writers or artists can afford to live in the Village anymore. Unless of course, they’ve made it, are independently wealthy or work high paying day jobs. While many of the old theaters and cafes remain, the majority of their business comes from curious tourists and well fed corporate rather than starving artists. Generally, the further West you go, the more you find the out-of-the-way places that are frequented by Villagers and the peaceful side streets that are characteristic of the neighborhood.
|
 |
|
|
Metropolis Real Estate of Manhattan | 167 Lexington Avenue Suite 100 | New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212.696.1900, Fax: 212.696.0220 | Email: info@metropolisre.com
Our Connecticut Branch:
1200 Summer Street, Suite 105, Stamford, CT 06905
Tel: 203.653.1406, Fax:203.653.7219
|
|