Greenwich Village Walking Tour
Local History from Native Americans to Bohemians
We will walk through four hundred years of the people, cultures, and arts of Greenwich Village, New York City. From the "castles" of the Native Americans, the abodes of the founding fathers of the republic to the hangouts of the artists, writers and characters of Greenwich Village.
Marc at Abingdon Square
c. 1950
As we wind through the heart of Greenwich Village and its most picturesque streets you will hear some of its most intriguing stories.
The walk starts in the historic Meat Market. Herman Melville (wauthor fo Moby Dick). Melville lived here on a street named after his wife's grandfather.
The tour proceeds south past artists loft buildings at Westbeth. Where television tubes and other 20th century electronics were developed.
We'll pass the site where the mortally wounded Alexander Hamilton was taken after the duel with Aaron Burr. And the rooming house where John Wilkes Booth plotted the abduction of president Abraham Lincoln.
I will tell you of poets, writers, undiscovered artist and actors, and a few pop stars like Richie Havens and Bob Dylan.
Then we'll wind our way to Washington Square Park where as a child I played in the fountain. At that same fountain, as a teenager, I listened to poetry recited by a giant, muscular, former world heavyweight contender known as King Brown.
The finale of the tour is MacDougal Street, which is named for the pirate and later patriot Alexander McDougal.