Enjoy Greenwich Village New York City for an experience that is unique...
Greenwich Village New York City is one of the major places for both visitors and residents to visit and simply spend a day strolling around. It's not specifically geared toward a particular age group, but in recent years, it has lost some of its Bohemian feel.
Greenwich Village New York City is mostly upper middle class and has some pretty pricey apartments available. Many tourists go to this part of Manhattan and are pleased with what they see. If you are interested in going to this particular area of Manhattan, you might be interested in know that this is where the Beat Generation set down roots. Writer Jack Kerouac and singer Bob Dylan, for example, called Greenwich Village home.
You will not have trouble finding Greenwich Village New York City, even though the area borders have changed quite significantly over time. Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side are not part of the same neighborhood although they are in the same general region. The easy beatnik feel of the village has gone somewhat, but it is still an interesting place to visit.
Greenwich Village is mostly for the adult crowd and the many clubs and bars found here range from inexpensive to pricey. You can also find excellent vegetarian cuisine quite affordably. In addition, you can find just about any cuisine you would like from the street vendors that abound throughout the city.
You can take children to areas in Greenwich Village that do not overlap with the more adult parts of that region. Washington Square Park is one good place to go where children can play. Need a little romance? Take your sweetie there for a romantic getaway as well.
The history of Greenwich Village New York City is an interesting one. Before settlers came on the scene, it was a large tobacco field for Native Americans. After Dutch settlers arrived, the tobacco field was cleared and razed. At that point, the settlement was called Nordwyck.
After English settlers arrived, they made the Dutch settlers leave and christened it Grin'wich. At this time, Grin'Wich as a neighborhood was actually separated from the rest of New York City. When yellow fever desecrated the older lower Manhattan, many people moved to Grin'Wich for its more open spaces and cleaner air.
Grin'Wich's history is not of much significance to what it became from the 1950's to the 1970's. Its 20th-century Bohemian culture took root there and so did other movements like the anti-Vietnam War movement which began in the 1960's. At this time, the village was a culture of uniqueness and alternative lifestyles. Many people thought that its residents were beatniks or hippies and in some cases, they ostracized them. This kind of treatment further cemented its reputation as an arts center.
Many artists, poets, musicians and writers moved to Greenwich Village NYC looking for fame and a place they could fit in. The business in the area was generally made up of coffee shops and thrift stores, but it began to cater to the arts crowd and in general made itself available to that particular segment of the population.
Today, Greenwich Village has changed quite a lot from its Bohemian days. It is of course still an enjoyable place to go, but the borders are smaller and the artsy attitude and feel is pretty much gone. Certain areas, though, still have some of that feel.
One reason for these changes is that housing prices have gone up significantly in the area. In the sixties, they were very affordable. However, today, you may pay $2000 a month for a one bedroom apartment or even a single room in a larger apartment. There are many parks throughout Greenwich Village New York City, including Washington Square Park. Washington Square Park has played host to a lot of homeless people and drug users up through the 1980's although it is much more clean and respectable today.
At one point, Spring Street was the demarcation for Greenwich Village, but now it's West 4th Street because the village has shrunk in size over the years. On West 4th Street, this is where you can still find the original art scene in small pockets. This was a major jumping off point of the homosexual movement in the 1980's. This means that this area is a mix of gay and straight nightclubs and boutiques that supply alternative clothing popular among young people. This is now sometimes known as New York City's red light district.
West 4th Street is also home to the renowned Street Courts, where you can find many of the greatest street basketball players during the warmer months. In fact, the NBA and the "And 1" Corporation have made street basketball films there. These courts are across the street from the subway stop at West 4th. It has become a common place to stop and simply watch the skill of the athletes found there.
If you're planning a visit to New York City, make sure you include a stop at Greenwich Village new York city. It is a very unique place that is not to be missed.
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