Greenwich Village
A Primo Guide to Shopping, Eating, and Making Merry in True
Bohemia
Including the East Village and Soho
by Robert Heide and John Gilman with 23 illustrations
by Tom Lohre
Signed by the authors and artist
In Greenwich Village, find out how in 1895 the Washington
Square Arch, symbolic portal to Greenwich Village and the East Village, was officially
christened in gala pageantry attended by Grover Cleveland. Read about Village Bohemians
like Marcel Duchamp (Nude Descending a Staircase) and John Reed (The Day in Bohemia and
Ten Days That Shook The World), who demanded independence for Village residents and
visitors from the top of the arch in 1916, declaring it “Little Bohemia.” Marvel
at the exploits of Maxwell Bodenheim, Joe “Professor Seagull” Gould, Ruth (My
Sister Eileen) McKenney (who lived at 14 Gay Street), Edna (named after St. Vincent’s
Hospital) Millay, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbara Streisand, Tiny Tim, Sam Shepard, Edward
Albee, Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol, and other Village “Bohemians.”
Locate Keith Haring’s Village murals and shop at Haring’s
Pop Shop, Religious Sex on St. Marks Place, Alphabets, Little Rickie, Grover van Dexter’s
Second Childhood, and Bleecker Bob’s eclectic record emporium.
Take a bar run to old McSorley’s, the Eerie Pubs, the
Lion’s Head, and the White Horse, where Dylan Thomas drank all night. Meet
celebrities at Angelina Boone’s Pennyfeathers on Sheridan Square or have an egg cream
at Stingy Lulu’s or the Gem Spa.
Eat the best croissant this side of Paris at Chez Claude. Sip
espresso and cappuccino at the Reggio, Caffe Dante, the Bleecker Street Pastry Shop, or De
Robertis Pasticceria.
Listen to poetry at the Cornelia Street Cafe or see a new
play at Theater for the New City, La Mama, the Nuyorican, or the Ridiculous. Visit the
site of the first off-off Broadway theater, the Cafe Cino. Check out the jazz and cabaret
scene at Five Oaks, Marie’s Crisis, the Vangaurd, or the Blue Note.
Enjoy the gastronomical—pizza at John’s, Southern
cooking at the Pink Tea Cup, Polish fare at the Kiev or the Veselka, falafel at Mamoun’s,
pastrami, kielbasa, chopped liver, sauerkraut, yellow mustard, and CelRay tonic at Katz’s.
Buy some fancy foodstuffs at Dean & Deluca’s and Balducci’s. Have your
coffee ground at the Porto Rico.
Take a unique, self-guided tour down wild Christopher Street
to the Stonewall, Boots and Saddles, and the Caffe Passione. Follow in the footsteps of
freewheelin’ Bob Dylan down the twisting alleys of Minetta on a “Positively
Fourth Street” walk. Follow the zigzag/East-West walk and see East Village skinheads
and their green-haired girlfriends wearing nose rings walking their pit bulls in Tompkins
Square Park. Take all the walks, including the Broadway Shopaholic Walk to buy Avirex
leather jackets, complete stereo sets, and futon mattresses, and walks through the
historic West Village and SoHo.
Added Attractions: Robert Heide’s Village play American
Hamburger, Tom Lohre’s artwork, Phil Cohen’s photographs, detailed maps,
Greenwich Village history, original poetry, ghost stories, architecture, and much more.
Chapters
The Village - The Way it Was
The Way We Were - A Personal Reminiscence
Fool Moon in The Village - People, Places and Extraordinary
Characters
Eight Village Walks and Maps
Village Stages and Screens
Village Hangouts
Village Restaurants
Village Shops
Village Miscellaneous Greenwich Village is Published by St.
Martin’s Griffin - Copyright 1995. Articles are excerpted with permission from the
authors and St. Martin’s Griffin
$15
