West Village, Manhattan
Encyclopedia
The West Village is the western portion of the Greenwich Village
neighborhood in the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. The area is usually defined as bounded by the Hudson River
on the west and either Sixth Avenue
or Seventh Avenue
on the east, extending from 14th Street
down to Houston Street. Bordering neighborhoods include Chelsea
to the north, the South Village, and the newly invented (2009) area called Hudson Square to the south, and Central Village to the east. The neighborhood is primarily residential, with a multitude of small restaurants, shops and services. The area is part of Manhattan Community Board 2
.
Known as "Little Bohemia" starting in 1916, West Village is the center of the bohemian
lifestyle on the West Side, with classic artist's loft
s (Westbeth Artists Community
), Julian Schnabel
's Palazzo Chupi
, and new residential towers designed by American architect
Richard Meier
facing the Hudson River at 173/176 Perry Street
.
The High Line connects the historic district to the art galleries in Chelsea
and points north. The elevated train tracks running parallel to Tenth Avenue
have been converted to an open greenway
. The tracks once served the businesses in the area, but have been long abandoned. Instead of demolishing the structure, the unique features have been used to benefit the entire city.
The neighborhood is distinguished by streets that are "off the grid" — set at an angle to the other streets in Manhattan — sometimes confusing both tourists and city residents alike. These roads were laid out in an 18th century grid plan
, approximately parallel or vertical to the Hudson, long before the Commissioners' Plan of 1811
which created the main street grid plan for later parts of the city. Even streets that were given numbers in the 19th century to make them nominally part of the grid can be idiosyncratic, at best. West 4th Street
, formerly Asylum Street, crosses West 10th, 11th and 12th Streets, ending at an intersection with West 13th Street. Heading north on Greenwich Street
, West 12th Street is separated by three blocks from Little West 12th Street, which in turn is one block south of West 13th Street.
The Meatpacking District
at the north end of this neighborhood, also known as the "Gansevoort Historic District" and MEPA, is filled with trendy boutiques and night clubs.
Beginning in the early 1980s, residential development spread in the Far West Village, between the Hudson River and Hudson Street from West Houston to West 14th Streets.
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...
neighborhood in the 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...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The area is usually defined as bounded by the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
on the west and either Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)
Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...
or Seventh Avenue
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
on the east, extending from 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
down to Houston Street. Bordering neighborhoods include Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
to the north, the South Village, and the newly invented (2009) area called Hudson Square to the south, and Central Village to the east. The neighborhood is primarily residential, with a multitude of small restaurants, shops and services. The area is part of Manhattan Community Board 2
Manhattan Community Board 2
The Manhattan Community Board 2 is a local government unit of New York City, encompassing the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, West Village, NoHo, SoHo, Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Little Italy in the borough of Manhattan. It is delimited by Bowery on the east, Canal Street on the south, the...
.
History
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
lifestyle on the West Side, with classic artist's loft
Loft
A loft can be an upper story or attic in a building, directly under the roof. Alternatively, a loft apartment refers to large adaptable open space, often converted for residential use from some other use, often light industrial...
s (Westbeth Artists Community
Westbeth Artists Community
Westbeth Artists Housing, located at 463 West Street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the largest such community in the world. This low- to middle-income rental housing project was developed with the assistance of the J.M...
), Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel is an American artist and filmmaker. In the 1980s, Schnabel received international media attention for his "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates....
's Palazzo Chupi
Palazzo Chupi
Palazzo Chupi at 360 West 11th Street between Washington and West Streets in the West Village section of the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City is a residential condominium building built by artist Julian Schnabel in the form of a homage to the style of a Northern Italian...
, and new residential towers designed by American architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Richard Meier
Richard Meier
Richard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...
facing the Hudson River at 173/176 Perry Street
173/176 Perry Street
173 and 176 Perry Street are a pair of notable apartment towers by architect Richard Meier in Manhattan's West Village, at West Street. Constructed in 1999-2002 by Richard Meier & Partners, they are the first new construction ever undertaken by Meier in Manhattan, although they stand a short walk...
.
The High Line connects the historic district to the art galleries in Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
and points north. The elevated train tracks running parallel to Tenth Avenue
Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It carries uptown traffic as far as West 110th Street, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine...
have been converted to an open greenway
Greenway (landscape)
A greenway is a long, narrow piece of land, often used for recreation and pedestrian and bicycle user traffic, and sometimes for streetcar, light rail or retail uses.- Terminology :...
. The tracks once served the businesses in the area, but have been long abandoned. Instead of demolishing the structure, the unique features have been used to benefit the entire city.
Geography
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
, approximately parallel or vertical to the Hudson, long before the Commissioners' Plan of 1811
Commissioners' Plan of 1811
The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design plan for the streets of Manhattan, which put in place the grid plan that has defined Manhattan to this day....
which created the main street grid plan for later parts of the city. Even streets that were given numbers in the 19th century to make them nominally part of the grid can be idiosyncratic, at best. West 4th Street
West 4th Street (Manhattan)
West Fourth Street runs east-west through most of eastern and central Manhattan and then turns north at Sixth Avenue to intersect with West 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th Streets in Greenwich Village...
, formerly Asylum Street, crosses West 10th, 11th and 12th Streets, ending at an intersection with West 13th Street. Heading north on Greenwich Street
Greenwich Street (Manhattan)
Greenwich Street is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It extends from the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District at its northernmost end to its southern end at Battery Park, interrupted between Vesey and Liberty Streets by the...
, West 12th Street is separated by three blocks from Little West 12th Street, which in turn is one block south of West 13th Street.
The Meatpacking District
Meatpacking District, Manhattan
The Meatpacking District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan which runs roughly from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street, although recently it is sometimes considered to have extended north to West 16th Street and east...
at the north end of this neighborhood, also known as the "Gansevoort Historic District" and MEPA, is filled with trendy boutiques and night clubs.
Beginning in the early 1980s, residential development spread in the Far West Village, between the Hudson River and Hudson Street from West Houston to West 14th Streets.
Sites and attractions
- Jefferson Market Branch, New York Public LibraryJefferson Market LibraryThe Jefferson Market Branch, New York Public Library, still familiar to New Yorkers as Jefferson Market Courthouse, is located at 425 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village, New York City on a triangular plot formed by Greenwich Avenue and West 10th Street...
- High Line
- Hudson River ParkHudson River ParkHudson River Park is a waterside park on the Hudson River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Bicycle and pedestrian paths, including the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, span the park north to south, opening up the waterfront for...
- Meatpacking District
- St. Luke in the Fields Church
- Stonewall InnStonewall InnThe Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall is an American bar in New York City and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United...
- Village VanguardVillage VanguardThe Village Vanguard is a jazz club located at in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. At first, it also featured other forms of music such as folk music and beat poetry, but it switched to an all-jazz format in 1957.-History:Over 100 jazz...
- Westbeth Artists CommunityWestbeth Artists CommunityWestbeth Artists Housing, located at 463 West Street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the largest such community in the world. This low- to middle-income rental housing project was developed with the assistance of the J.M...
Subway service
- 14th Street – Eighth Avenue at Eighth Avenue; serving the trains
- West Fourth Street – Washington Square at Sixth Avenue; serving the trains
- 14th Street at Seventh Avenue; serving the trains
- Christopher Street – Sheridan Square at Seventh Avenue; serving the trains
- Houston Street at Varick Street; serving the trains
External links
- Gansevoort Historic District
- Wikipages West Village, a wiki-based business directory for the West Village