The old Greenwich Village, where many artists and writers lived because of the cheap rents, doesn’t exist anymore. To move into the Village now, you need big bucks. My father owned a gas station in the Village from 1954 to 1969. I have lived here since 1977, and the reason I still can is that I have a rent-stabilized apartment. Besides the rich history of this neighborhood, I can tell you about the changes in the Village that I lived through. We always run into someone that I know on the tour and I will introduce you as a visiting relative.

The tour lasts about three hours. We start at Washington Square and end at the High Line, New York’s newest park. A few of the stops along the way are:

The White Horse Tavern. The oldest bar in Greenwich Village opened its doors in 1880. It’s also my hangout early in the day, when it’s quiet. At night they attract a younger, noisier crowd.

The Village is an historic district, so we will see brownstones that haven’t changed in over 190 years that are set on cobblestoned, tree-lined streets.

My local library. It was built as the Jefferson Market Courthouse in 1877. Then considered one of the most beautiful buildings in America, the Village community saved it from being demolished and it reopened as a library in 1967.

By La Citta Vita [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I like to end the tour at New York’s newest park, the High Line, an abandoned, elevated freight train track that was transformed into a city park in 2009. If we have a little extra time we’ll visit Chelsea Market. It’s a foodie’s paradise, situated under the High Line in the space that used to be the NABISCO bakery.

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