THE INTIMATE WEST VILLAGE WITH ITS SPECTACULAR WATERFRONT PARK The West Village is a 19th century preserve with its concealed-yet-open garden, complex web of streets, and a house 9½ feet wide. Classic 19th century 3-story townhouses set the stage. This is a community neighborhood of quirky angled streets, literary hang-outs, European-style coffeehouses, and Off-Broadway theatres — the quintessential American Bohemia. Its sites inspired Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, and O. Henry’s “The Last Leaf.” But one block west of its border, the neighborhood changes abruptly. Gone are the run-down remains of a long-disappeared waterfront commerce — transient hotels, cheap bars, and old factories. Now new glass-covered high-rise buildings rise with celebrity-filled condominiums and look out over a spectacular, transformed waterfront. Today the shoreline is alive again, this time with grassy playing fields, quiet lawns, children’s playgrounds, and 800′ long restored piers.
TOUR COMPANY: Joyce Gold History Tours of New York
TOUR TYPE: private,
Meets On: by_appointment_only,
Tour Duration: 2 hours
Tour Distance: ¾ mile
Language(s) Spoken: english,
Max # of Guests: 6
