New York Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village is simply known as “The Village” to most New York City residents. Located in Southern Manhattan and surrounded by Chelsea, SoHo and other well-known communities, Greenwich Village became populated in 1822 when an outbreak of Yellow Fever swept through the city. Many residents headed for this part of the city that was less inhabited. For many years, this community was considered a separate part of the city. Unlike the streets located within the rest of Manhattan, that are fashioned in a “grid style” typical of early urban planning, the streets in the Village do not follow any conformity and have names instead of numbers. There are many twisting, narrow streets and those that do not connect to other streets within the city.

Perhaps it was this bit of non-conformity that attracted the avant-garde culture one thinks of upon hearing the name “Greenwich Village.” During the 1930s, the area began to attract artists, writers, musicians and other, what was once known as ‘Bohemian types.” Greenwich Village was the birthplace of small art galleries, literary presses and theaters that were considered too unconventional for the general public. Playwright Eugene O’Neill got his start here in the late 1930s as did many artists. Greenwich Village soon became a place where those who “didn’t fit in” with the rest of society could be among those who shared the same progressive ideas and culture.

In the 1950s, Greenwich Village was the home to the “Beat Generation.” This group of young people, often called “Beatniks” professed their free thoughts and ideas openly within the sanctity of the local clubs by reading poetry and playing music. Political ideas, considered radical at the time, were also formed within the Village. This open culture allowed such great writers and poets as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Dylan Thomas to thrive.

In addition to giving a voice to artists, writers, poets and political reformists, Greenwich Village also played an important role in American Folk Music as artists such as Bob Dylan, “The Mamas and the Papas,” “Simon and Garfunkel,” and “Joan Baez” played in the coffee shops. Coffee shops were an important part of the culture within the village. They were meeting grounds for artistic expression. Greenwich Village invented the notion of the “coffee shop” atmosphere, regenerated in the 1990s by chains such as “Starbucks,” that try, but can never imitate the real thing.

During the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s, the Village became a sanctuary for underground political movements such as the “Weathermen” and other anti-establishment groups. Although the “safe house” of the Weathermen group was bombed in 1970, for the most part, Greenwich Village was a place where any alternative culture or lifestyle or anti-establishment group could exist in relative peace. Those who broke the law, however, were frequently reminded that the culturally diverse area was still part of the United States.

In the 1980s, housing prices began to boom in all parts of the United States and particularly in New York City. Greenwich Village was no longer an inexpensive place to live. The charming area drew those with money. Today, Greenwich Village, while not as posh as Fifth Avenue, is considered upper-crust. It is no longer a tiny community for starving artists.

Visitors to the Village today, however, can still visit many of the coffee houses that still stand in memory of the inhabitants that made Greenwich Village famous. They can visit the White Horse Tavern, which is still in existence and which was once a frequent watering hole for poet Dylan Thomas.

Many famous people currently live in Greenwich Village. Visitors may be able to spot a glimpse of actresses Julianne Moore , Uma Thurman and Liv Tyler, all of whom live within the Village, as well as Barbara Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush. And although the “starving artists” may no longer be afford to live within the village, yet, their artwork is displayed throughout many small galleries.

Greenwich Village is also home to many small theater companies as well as many off-off-Broadway performances. And Jazz Music is still enjoyed in many of the clubs.

The ideas, art, music and culture that once made Greenwich Village so unique, now exist in everyday American culture. Imagine music without Bob Dylan. Poetry without Dylan Thomas or theater without Eugene O’Neill. Anyone who appreciates art, music and literature should pay a visit to Greenwich Village. If, for nothing else, but to pay tribute to those artists who defied convention and gave us culture.