Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village is a landmark because of the bohemian culture that developed there in 1950’s. Artists, musicians and other avant-garde thinkers propagated an alternative culture that made Greenwich Village a bohemian Mecca. As you descend from midtown to Greenwich village you will immediately notice that the The Lenape , original residents of Greenwich Village called the area Sapokanikan "tobacco field" which was once marshland. The Dutch settlers cleared the land, drained the marsh & turned it into pasture in the early 1600’s . The West Village is everybody’s idea of old New York: winding streets full of interesting shops and great restaurants. Odd pockets, ivy-clad red bricks and black shutters, tall stoops and narrow sidewalks and not a skyscraper in sight make it a cozy refuge from the geometry of the rest of the city. Europeans find it reminds them of home. It’s been a sanctuary for bohemians since the early 20th century - well-known authors, painters and musicians have always made their homes here. In recent years, the boundaries of the West Village have pushed closer to the Hudson River, incorporating some blocks of large industrial buildings, many of which have been converted to loft spaces. The West Village has perhaps the most flourishing gay community in the nation, with Christopher Street at its center. It is also the home of New York University and the New School for Social Research. |