Saturday:
Minetta Lane
Owned and built by Adam Kushner, this modern architectural gem is a fascinating, multi-story work of art. Hearing the history of the townhouse, Minetta Lane itself, and the frequent intrusions by the still existent Minetta Brook made for an interesting morning, as my fellow site volunteers and I toured the home prior to it being open to the public.
New York Marble Cemetery
An iron archway before an alley on Second Avenue is the only indication that this historic burial ground exists at all. Established in 1830, it is, as their informational brochure says, “the cemetery that doesn’t look like a cemetery,” as no grave markers are placed on the ground, but rather marble plaques are set into the walls to indicate those buried in vaults beneath the grass. I spent some time conversing with my fellow volunteers and learned that there is to be a burial there in November, the first in 90 years.
East Village Sustainability Walking Tour
The most unusual event of the day, this tour met at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space on Avenue C. Run by residents of the squat it occupies, C-Squat, and other squats in the neighborhood, our tour guide Bill Di Paola (resident of the Umbrella House squat – I visited several years back on another OHNY weekend to see their sustainable rooftop garden) showed us examples of reclaimed spaces like volunteer-run urban gardens, and adaptive reuse buildings like the long-embroiled former (and hopefully soon to be again) El Bohio/CHARAS building on East 9th Street.
Owned and built by Adam Kushner, this modern architectural gem is a fascinating, multi-story work of art. Hearing the history of the townhouse, Minetta Lane itself, and the frequent intrusions by the still existent Minetta Brook made for an interesting morning, as my fellow site volunteers and I toured the home prior to it being open to the public.
New York Marble Cemetery
An iron archway before an alley on Second Avenue is the only indication that this historic burial ground exists at all. Established in 1830, it is, as their informational brochure says, “the cemetery that doesn’t look like a cemetery,” as no grave markers are placed on the ground, but rather marble plaques are set into the walls to indicate those buried in vaults beneath the grass. I spent some time conversing with my fellow volunteers and learned that there is to be a burial there in November, the first in 90 years.
East Village Sustainability Walking Tour
The most unusual event of the day, this tour met at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space on Avenue C. Run by residents of the squat it occupies, C-Squat, and other squats in the neighborhood, our tour guide Bill Di Paola (resident of the Umbrella House squat – I visited several years back on another OHNY weekend to see their sustainable rooftop garden) showed us examples of reclaimed spaces like volunteer-run urban gardens, and adaptive reuse buildings like the long-embroiled former (and hopefully soon to be again) El Bohio/CHARAS building on East 9th Street.
Sunday:
Greenwich Village Row Houses Walking Tour
Lead by brownstone preservationist Patrick W. Ciccone, this tour around historic West 10th to West 12th Streets traced the history of the neighborhood’s row houses, their architectural styles, and their impact on the development of the city. My favorite stop was 18 West 11th Street with its angled façade, the site of the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion on March 6, 1970, where members of the Weather Underground were making bombs in the basement when one of them detonated, destroying the Brevoort Row Greek Revival townhouse. The unusual façade has a long history itself but has since been embraced by the community.
Westbeth Artist Housing
My last stop of the weekend and the place I spent the most time, I was thrilled to finally enter and explore the Westbeth facility, the largest adaptive reuse project in the city. Located in the former Bell Laboratories building, Westbeth was founded in 1970 to provide affordable housing to artists and their families. I took a tour of the building with resident and Latin Grammy Award winning composer and bassist Pedro Giraudo, who showed us several points of interest including the rooftop which offers stunning views of the Manhattan skyline from the vantage point of the far West Village. When the tour was over, I explored the building on my own and met several artists in their studios.
Lead by brownstone preservationist Patrick W. Ciccone, this tour around historic West 10th to West 12th Streets traced the history of the neighborhood’s row houses, their architectural styles, and their impact on the development of the city. My favorite stop was 18 West 11th Street with its angled façade, the site of the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion on March 6, 1970, where members of the Weather Underground were making bombs in the basement when one of them detonated, destroying the Brevoort Row Greek Revival townhouse. The unusual façade has a long history itself but has since been embraced by the community.
Westbeth Artist Housing
My last stop of the weekend and the place I spent the most time, I was thrilled to finally enter and explore the Westbeth facility, the largest adaptive reuse project in the city. Located in the former Bell Laboratories building, Westbeth was founded in 1970 to provide affordable housing to artists and their families. I took a tour of the building with resident and Latin Grammy Award winning composer and bassist Pedro Giraudo, who showed us several points of interest including the rooftop which offers stunning views of the Manhattan skyline from the vantage point of the far West Village. When the tour was over, I explored the building on my own and met several artists in their studios.
I had such a blast running around the village all weekend with my camera. It's been a long time since I've had such an adventure, and though my feet and legs were screaming by the end, it was so worth it.
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