On this block we'll start underground at the Houston Street subway station because it has some great mosaic art, seven pieces in all by Deborah Brown.
The top one is called "Family Outing," and the other is "Straphangers."
The overall project is called "Platform Diving" and is from 1994 as part of renovations that were made to the station.
This is my local stop on the 1 train but I had never noticed all of these mosaics in the station. Seriously, what is my problem? Well, at least I'm finally appreciating them now.
The overall concept is a playful parallel between underwater marine life and the underground subway world of the city. It's a good idea and I like the surreal element to the images.
Here are "Eye-opener," then "Turtles Ride for Free," and then "Night Shift":
And lastly here's "Morning Rush," followed by "Diving Platform" which I took in 2 photos because people were sitting in the seats in front of it so I tried to shoot around them.
There is a plaque showing that this station dates back all the way to 1918.
Along with the marine life, there are other cool mosaic tile works in the station that go back to its origins and the designer Squire Vickers, who was behind much of the city's subway station designs.
Try to ignore the jarring Tyler Perry Halloween poster.
Anyway the older tile work on the station names and upper borders is nothing too elaborate but provides a nice touch. It was done in the Arts and Crafts style, which was an art movement in the late 1800's and early 1900's that was generally anti-industrialist and emphasized more natural and authentic craftsmanship.
I also like the lower border of tiling though that looks much newer and was perhaps part of the 1990's renovation.
Above ground, the Film Forum is a cultural landmark of the city. It started in 1970 and has been at this location since 1989. It is an
art-house theater that shows new and old films, and according to its
website "is the only autonomous nonprofit cinema in New York City and
one of the few in the U.S."
Its marquee is a more prominent presence on the block when the scaffolding isn't there. It's to the right in this first photo:
There was a cool poster outside the theater for upcoming family films they show on Sunday mornings:
And here's a brief peak inside the lobby:
On the wall just inside the lobby entrance is an illustration by Al Hirschfeld:
Hirschfeld would often hide his daughter's name Nina in his works, and it appears in this one just to the right of Hitchcock:
Also on the block is Gilda's Club New York City, a nonprofit which gives free cancer support and resources to patients and families, combining with partners to reach over 20,000 people every year.
It was started in 1995 and named after comedian Gilda Radner, who died in 1989 of ovarian cancer. Among the founders was Gene Wilder, who was Radner's husband when she died.
Gilda's Club Worldwide was started in 2000 and combined with The Wellness Community to become the Cancer Support Community, which is currently the biggest support network for cancer in the nation.
In 2005, which was the 10th anniversary of Gilda's Club NYC, a street sign marking Gilda Radner Way was dedicated near the 6th Avenue corner.
In the above photo is a hint of the small park just next to the sign.
Even though the park is next to a big intersection and a particularly noisy stretch of Houston Street that leads to the Holland Tunnel and West Side Highway, it is still a nice little area with benches and greenery, even in late October.
There are 2 other nonprofit organizations on the block: VillageCare Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and a location of AHRC NYC, which helps people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Then there is a shop that buys and sells antique firearms and Americana, which seems a bit random to be on this block but hey why not.
And lastly there is a stretch near the corner at Varick with bars and food, including a Subway 'restaurant,' plus a psychic.
It's an interesting block and more eclectic than I realized. Hope you enjoyed this look at it, and thanks for reading.
While Christopher Street is an iconic part of the West Village and the corner of Christopher and 7th Avenue has the historic mainstay Village Cigars, there is another smaller piece of history at that corner that is quite interesting.
On the sidewalk just in front of the entrance to Village Cigars is a curious tile mosaic.
It is cracked and a bit worn but can still mostly be read: "Property of the Hess estate which has never been dedicated for public purposes."
According to The Villager, in the 1910's New York City, as part of its process of expanding 7th Avenue and a subway line, used eminent domain to claim many buildings in the area. The city paid for the properties and then demolished hundreds of buildings.
This included a Hess estate building called the Voorhis, which was 5 stories tall and once owned by Philadelphia man David M. Hess.
Amazingly, after the city had finished its project, the Hess estate realized that this small triangle had not been claimed by the city and still belonged to them.
The city asked the estate to donate it to them, because of course the city would have the nerve to ask something like that... plus what was the estate going to do with it?
Well, they fought to keep the triangle and then, according to RoadsideAmerica.com, had this tile mosaic installed on July 27, 1922.
Somehow the spiteful symbol is still there 94 years later. Ah, the power of spite.
It probably deserves a plaque at the spot explaining the incredible story. Though I guess the city wouldn't want to put up a plaque about an estate sticking it to them even through a small gesture. After all the mosaic is really just a fancy way of saying 'Screw you.'
By the way, the triangle was believed to be the smallest piece of property in the city and was sold to Village Cigars in 1938 for $1,000.
Here's another photo of the triangle, because I found it fun to read again after knowing the story behind it:
It's hard to top a story like that but it's also pretty amazing that Village Cigars has been at this corner since the earlier part of the 20th century.
The billboard above it changes, but the storefront always seems to remain the same. It was even used in 'Friends' episodes as establishing shots to let viewers know that the characters were in Greenwich Village.
The Christopher Street block itself has nice old-fashioned buildings and lots of trees.
It's a pleasant and pretty quiet street once you get away from the 7th Avenue intersection. Though it is between that avenue and Bleecker Street on the other side, so nights and especially weekends can be much louder and crazier.
Anyway there are other stores near 7th Avenue including a pharmacy, a money transferring shop, and a local artisanal place called Dunkin' Donuts.
Next to DD is Fat Cat, which is a fun place for Ping-Pong, pool, and especially table shuffleboard, which is a very underrated game.
Further up the block I saw a store sign that read London.
Based on the name I thought it might be a trendy or avant-garde clothing store. Then I saw the window display below street level.
Um... maybe it's really really avant-garde? Is this the latest fashion? I'm not up on things.
Actually according to Google Maps it's called London Fetish and is an 'adult entertainment store.' It was closed, which perhaps is not surprising because I was there in the mid-morning and it didn't seem like the kind of shop that would get a lot of customers during that time.
Even though it's called London Fetish, the sign just says London, which I think is somewhat unfair to that city. If I was in London and saw a sex shop with a sign that just said New York, I might take offense. But I digress.
Across the street is, well, a church, which emphasizes the general diversity and tolerance of this area.
It's a nice building and goes back to the early 19th century.
There were two benches just outside, including an adorable little one, perhaps for children.
Are you wondering if there's a Scandinavian candy store on the block? There is and it's called Sockerbit:
Perhaps a Scandinavian shop isn't as random as I first thought, because next to the St. John's Lutheran Church is the Finnish Lutheran Church, which I didn't realize when I was on the block. They have a website and from what I can tell it is still in use, though much of the site is in Finnish (I assume).
At the Bleecker Street corner is a women's clothing shop called Accessorize. It didn't seem 'avant-garde' in any way.
Here's a look back from the Bleecker Street area:
I think that's all for this post. Here are some final looks near 7th Avenue.
From now on when I walk by Village Cigars I'll be sure to look down at the Hess triangle and appreciate the history behind it.
Thanks for reading.
