South Village
Encyclopedia
The South Village is a largely residential area in Lower Manhattan
in New York City
, directly below Washington Square Park
. Known for its immigrant heritage and Bohemian history, the South Village overlaps areas of Greenwich Village and SoHo. The architecture of the South Village is primarily tenement-style apartment buildings, indicative of the area's history as an enclave for Italian-American immigrants and working-class residents of New York.
on the north, Seventh Avenue and Varick Street on the west, Canal Street on the south, and West Broadway and LaGuardia Place on the east. Over the past decade, however, Hudson Square has become an increasingly popular term for the southern part of the area west of Sixth Avenue between Houston and Canal Streets.
(in Greenwich Village
), but their Irish neighbors in the South Village. By the late 19th century, Italians outnumbered the Irish in the area, but were not preeminent in the local church hierarchy, especially the parish of St. Patrick’s, which covered this area. In response, the Italian-American communities of the South Village built Our Lady of Pompeii and St. Anthony of Padua, which remain the area’s defining religious edifices.
By the 1920s, however, as the Village had fallen out of fashion with New York’s patricians, artists, bohemians, and radical thinkers began to populate the area, and the institutions which served them, such as jazz clubs and speakeasies became commonplace throughout the area. By the 1950s and 60s, many of these had become coffeehouses and folk clubs for hippies, beatniks, and artists. These South Village establishments were frequented by some of the most significant players in these cultural movements, including Bob Dylan
, Jack Kerouac
, James Agee
, Miles Davis
, John Coltrane
, Sam Shepard
and Jackson Pollock
.
(GVSHP) started work on a proposal for a South Village Historic District which would include the area east of Seventh Avenue South, north of Watts Street, west of LaGuardia Place and south of Washington Square South. GVSHP lauded the area's rich immigrant history, cohesive character and architectural significance and submitted the proposal to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
(LPC) in December 2006. In 2008, the LPC agreed to consider the proposal, specifically the section west of 6th Avenue, or 1/3 of GVSHP’s proposed South Village Historic District. As time passed and the LPC continued to consider the area west of 6th Avenue, local residents and preservationists became increasingly worried about the threat to buildings in the area from development.
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, directly below Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
. Known for its immigrant heritage and Bohemian history, the South Village overlaps areas of Greenwich Village and SoHo. The architecture of the South Village is primarily tenement-style apartment buildings, indicative of the area's history as an enclave for Italian-American immigrants and working-class residents of New York.
Location
The South Village is roughly bounded by West 4th Street and Washington Square ParkWashington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
on the north, Seventh Avenue and Varick Street on the west, Canal Street on the south, and West Broadway and LaGuardia Place on the east. Over the past decade, however, Hudson Square has become an increasingly popular term for the southern part of the area west of Sixth Avenue between Houston and Canal Streets.
History
Originally home to a merchant class in the early 19th century, by the late 19th century the area was dominated by immigrants, largely from Italy. The Italian immigrants built their own distinct parishes, to distinguish them not only from their Protestant neighbors on the north side of Washington Square ParkWashington Square Park
Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...
(in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
), but their Irish neighbors in the South Village. By the late 19th century, Italians outnumbered the Irish in the area, but were not preeminent in the local church hierarchy, especially the parish of St. Patrick’s, which covered this area. In response, the Italian-American communities of the South Village built Our Lady of Pompeii and St. Anthony of Padua, which remain the area’s defining religious edifices.
By the 1920s, however, as the Village had fallen out of fashion with New York’s patricians, artists, bohemians, and radical thinkers began to populate the area, and the institutions which served them, such as jazz clubs and speakeasies became commonplace throughout the area. By the 1950s and 60s, many of these had become coffeehouses and folk clubs for hippies, beatniks, and artists. These South Village establishments were frequented by some of the most significant players in these cultural movements, including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
, James Agee
James Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
and Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
.
Proposed South Village Historic District
In 2003, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic PreservationGreenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is a non-profit organization that seeks to preserve the architectural heritage and cultural history of several neighborhoods of New York City: Greenwich Village, the East Village, the Far West Village, the South Village, Gansevoort Market,...
(GVSHP) started work on a proposal for a South Village Historic District which would include the area east of Seventh Avenue South, north of Watts Street, west of LaGuardia Place and south of Washington Square South. GVSHP lauded the area's rich immigrant history, cohesive character and architectural significance and submitted the proposal to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for...
(LPC) in December 2006. In 2008, the LPC agreed to consider the proposal, specifically the section west of 6th Avenue, or 1/3 of GVSHP’s proposed South Village Historic District. As time passed and the LPC continued to consider the area west of 6th Avenue, local residents and preservationists became increasingly worried about the threat to buildings in the area from development.
Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II
In May 2009, the LPC scheduled a community meeting to discuss the area. At the meeting, the LPC unveiled the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II, which would cover the area between Seventh Avenue South and Sixth Avenue of the proposed South Village Historic District. While preservationists were pleased that the LPC was finally moving on landmarking the area, many expressed dismay that the renaming of the district failed to acknowledge the area’s unique history as separate from the original Greenwich Village Historic District. The Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II was designated by the NYCLPC on June 22, 2010.Sites and attractions
- Father Demo SquareAntonio DemoFather Antonio Demo was a New York City priest and civic activist. He studied at seminaries in Italy and emigrated to the United States in 1896. He initially did missionary work in Boston and then served as assistant pastor of Our Lady of Pompei Church on Bleecker and Carmine Streets in Greenwich...
- Our Lady of Pompeii Church
- Greenwich HouseGreenwich House PotteryFounded in New York's Greenwich Village in 1909, Greenwich House Pottery was a major American outpost of the Arts and Crafts Movement. It was founded as a place both to teach pottery making skills to new immigrants and to carry on the tradition and art of ceramics...
- Provincetown PlayhouseProvincetown PlayhouseThe Provincetown Playhouse is a theater in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. It is named for the Provincetown Players, who converted the former bottling plant into a theater in 1918. Much of the original building was torn down in 2009 as New York University School of Law planned a new building on the...
- San Remo
- The Bitter EndThe Bitter EndThe Bitter End is a nightclub in New York City's Greenwich Village. It opened its doors in 1961 at 147 Bleecker Street under the auspices of owner Fred Weintraub. The club changed its name to The Other End during the 1970s...
- Caffe Cino
Subway service
- West Fourth Street – Washington Square at Sixth Avenue; serving the trains
- Spring StreetSpring Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)Spring Street is a local station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Spring Street and Sixth Avenue in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, it is served by the C and E trains, the former of which is replaced by the A train during late nights.This underground...
at Sixth Avenue; serving the trains - Canal StreetCanal Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)Canal Street is an express station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Canal Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the A and E trains at all times, and the C train at all times except late nights.There are four tracks and two...
at Sixth Avenue; serving the trains
See also
- Greenwich VillageGreenwich VillageGreenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
- Italian AmericanItalian AmericanAn Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
- Greenwich Village Society for Historic PreservationGreenwich Village Society for Historic PreservationThe Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is a non-profit organization that seeks to preserve the architectural heritage and cultural history of several neighborhoods of New York City: Greenwich Village, the East Village, the Far West Village, the South Village, Gansevoort Market,...