In the Northwest corner of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village stands an English Elm tree that is much taller than the trees around it. At over 300 years old, the Parks Department has declared it to be the oldest tree in Manhattan. It is known as “The Hanging Tree” or “Hangman’s Elm” although no…
In February 1963, Bob Dylan was about to release his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. He was living at the time in a studio apartment at 161 West 4th Street near the corner of Jones Street. Columbia Records sent staff photographer Don Hunstein to shoot the cover. Dylan’s girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo…
On the corner of MacDougal Street and Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village is CafĂ© Wha?, one of the most important clubs in rock history. It was opened in 1959 by Manny Roth in a former basement stable and became the launching ground for many rock legends. Among others to play here were Peter, Paul &…
On the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 10th Street sits one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, now called The Jefferson Market Library. It looks like a church or castle, but it was originally a courthouse built in 1877 as part of a complex that also included a jail and market. Designed…
The 1942 painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, which depicts four people in a small triangular restaurant late at night, is one of the most iconic American works of art. Hopper was a realist known for his paintings of scenes around New York City. So where exactly is this restaurant in Nighthawks? Hopper has been quoted…
Near the entrance of the apartment building at Two Fifth Avenue there is a small plaque which reads: A BROOK WINDS ITS ERRATIC WAY BENEATH THIS SITETHE INDIANS CALLED IT MANETTE OR DEVIL’S WATERTO THE DUTCH SETTLERS IT WASBESTEVAER’S KILLETJE OR GRANDFATHER’S LITTLE CREEKFOR THE PAST TWO CENTURIES FAMILIAR TO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD ASMINETTA BROOK A…
Patchin Place is a little dead end street in Greenwich Village across from the Jefferson Market Library off West 10th Street. The buildings on it were originally built in 1848 to house lower-class hotel workers. In the early 20th century, it became a home for bohemian writers in the growing artistic community of the neighborhood….
When passing the corner of 7th Avenue and Christopher Street, one might be drawn to a vintage-looking shop named Village Cigars. Indeed, it is a picturesque little shop with signage unchanged since the 1920s. But upon closer inspection there is a small mosaic triangle in front of it with the words “Property of the Hess…
Walking down West 11th Street near 6th Avenue, one may notice a small triangular cemetery which seems out of place surrounded by apartment buildings. How did this little cemetery come to be here? As a sign on the wall of the cemetery explains this is the Second Cemetery of Shearith Israel, which was and still…
Just north of Washington Square Park between Fifth Avenue and University Place is one of the most charming streets in the city, Washington Mews. It seems out of time from the busy streets around it with little “houses” on a cobble stone lane. The buildings on it were originally stables for horses and carriages in…
