The West Village

New York City’s West Village is a longstanding center of arts, culture, and activism. Known as “Little Bohemia” in the early 1900’s, the West Village has attracted countless artists, musicians, and activists who’ve made it their home: people like the writer and civil rights advocate Lorraine Hansberry, musicians Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, and the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, among many others. On Sheridan Square in 1938, Cafe Society opened as the first racially integrated nightclub in the United States. Today, nearby clubs like The Village Vanguard and The Blue Note maintain the West Village’s status as a capital of contemporary jazz. 

The Stonewall Inn, a vibrant gay bar and tavern on Christopher Park, is the site of a watershed turning point in LGBTQ+ history. In June 1969, a late-night police raid turned violent, galvanizing thousands of patrons and neighbors to protest discriminatory treatment by the police. The Stonewall Uprising coalesced the gay liberation movement of the 1970’s and meaningfully advanced the fight for equality. The site, just across 7th Avenue from Bar Pisellino, became a National Monument in 2016.

Long before the brownstones and meandering streets of today’s West Village, the native Lenape tribe seasonally occupied the area. The fertile, flat land was ideal for farming and provided access to the Hudson River for oyster harvesting and fishing. In the 1600’s, the Dutch violently displaced the Lenape and established their own agriculture in the area. By the early 1800’s, the Dutch farming settlements had grown into a village (hence the name) separate from the rest of developed Manhattan, farther south. A rare wood-frame house dating from this period still stands at 17 Grove Street, two blocks west of Bar Pisellino. Now, more than 50 blocks in the West Village comprise a historic landmark district, one of the largest in New York City.