Whether you call it West Village or Greenwich Village or just the Village, the area of Manhattan that stretches between 14th Street and Houston Street between Broadway and the Hudson River is at the heart of New York City's cultural identity. Though Sixth Avenue technically cuts across the region separating the "West" from "Greenwich", most people (including locals) refer to them as one area, which has traditionally been known for its quirky bohemian residents, classic (and confusing) winding streets, and a wide variety of arts available to anyone willing to look deep enough.
Today, though, the nature of the neighborhood is rapidly changing, as gentrification, pricey designer stores, and soaring real estate values indicate that this one-time paradise for counter-culture writers has become the most sought-after area in the city. But don't let its fashionable stance scare you off just yet; this eccentric little neighborhood still retains some of its unique treasures-you just have to know where to look.
Just wandering around the streets of the Village, history buffs can find the final stop for patriot Thomas Paine (who died at 309 Bleecker St.), Aaron Burr's self-financed mansions (at 127 and 129 MacDougal St.), and the first charity hospital in New York City, which treated Titanic survivors in 1912 (St. Vincent's Hospital-Seventh Ave between W. 11th and 12th Streets). If you're stuck for inspiration on that Great American Novel you've been writing, try visiting the site of Henry James' Washington Square at the row houses along Fifth Ave around the street from the park. Also nearby is where Louisa May Alcott penned Little Women, 130-132 MacDougal Street, and the one-time residences of Edgar Allan Poe (now the site of the NYU Law School), Mark Twain (14 MacDougal Alley), James Fenimore Cooper (145 Bleecker St.-now the Peculier Pub), Eugene O'Neill (Milligan Place-Sixth Ave north of 10th St.), Edna St. Vincent Millay (57 1â„2 Bedford St.), e.e. cummings (Patchin Place-10th St. between Sixth and Greenwich Ave.), Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg (the Mills House at 160 Bleecker St.). Artists such as Jackson Pollock (9 MacDougal Alley), Mark Rothko, and Willem de Kooning also called the Village home, as well as revolutionary activists John Reed, Bob Dylan (92-94 MacDougal St.) and the Weathermen (18 W. 11th St.).
At 567 Hudson St., at the corner of W. 11th St., is the White Horse Tavern, which has been around since 1880, where Norman Mailer got the idea to start the Village Voice, and which is best known as the place where Dylan Thomas pounded down 18 shots of scotch, collapsed, and died soon afterward in 1953.
Indeed, the Village has seen more than its share of death, with Washington Square Park once serving as a Native American burial ground, and later as a public hanging site, with upwards of 15,000 bodies still rumored to be under the grounds. One stretch in particular, Bank Street, was the site of several infamous deaths, including Sid Vicious' overdose on heroin at No. 63 and Diane Arbus' suicide at 155-now the site of the Bank Street Theatre and the young Vin Diesel's stomping grounds.
See, from Thomas Paine to XXX, the Village is still as badass as you make it-just be sure to avoid the Banana Republic as you wander around.