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Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village's transformation from a small cluster of farms into a large community began at the turn of the nineteenth century, as outbreaks of cholera and yellow fever caused residents of New York to flee north and settle in the Village, at first temporarily, then permanently. The first banks opened in 1821 to accommodate the growing population of refugees. Fashionable houses began to appear near the present location of Broadway, and in 1826 the beginnings of Washington Square Park appeared on what had previously been a potter's field and public gallows. The distinctive marble triumphal arch was designed by Stanford White and erected in 1892. New York University was opened on the east side of the park in 1836, and between 1840 and 1890 numerous salons, art clubs, galleries, and libraries opened in the vicinity. Long before it acquired a reputation as the haunt of artists, bohemians, and gays, Greenwich Village was frequented by many of the great talents of the nineteenth century, including ones who happened to be gay or bisexual. Louisa May Alcott lived there while writing Little Women, as did Edgar Allen Poe when he wrote The Raven. O. Henry, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edith Wharton, and Henry James were also residents of the Village at one time or another. By the turn of the twentieth century, a large influx of immigrants had caused many of the old stately homes to be sub-divided or even demolished to make way for tenements, and coincided with a mass exodus of the more affluent residents and a depression of real estate values. The lower rents which resulted made the Village, which by now had been engulfed by the growing city of New York, a mecca for struggling writers and artists, as well as bohemians and misfits. It was here that the Gay Renaissance that had begun in Paris found its first footing in the States. The Village was also where the first openly gay community began to emerge, as the liberal and laissez-faire attitudes of those who came here to live "the free life" allowed gays, lesbians, and even the transgendered to live more openly than they could elsewhere. Berenice Abbott, Paul Cadmus, and the pre-Hollywood Billy Haines were just a few of the talents that made Greenwich Village their home in the early decades of the twentieth century. By the 1950s the established group of artists and non-conformists were joined by Beat poets and Method actors. By the 1960s, the gay community had grown to the point that Greenwich Village's reputation as the abode of "queers" had become firmly established. Indeed, it was in Greenwich Village, at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street, that the gay rights movement as it is known today began in 1969, with the Stonewall Rebellion. Greenwich Village, Stonewall, and Christopher Street all became ingrained as catch-words of GLBT culture and history throughout the world. Greenwich Village's bohemian reputation continued through the 1970s, though more for its openly gay community. The 1980s saw a major change in the character of Greenwich Village as a great "yuppie invasion" began and the neighborhoods became more gentrified, elevating real estate values and rents beyond the range of most of the artists, writers, and free spirits who had been the Village's traditional residents. Most moved into the areas of the East Village and Alphabet City, where storefront galleries appeared in the 1980s and were joined by Gen-X rock clubs and bars in the 1990s. Greenwich Village today still counts many GLBT persons among its residents, albeit more of a white-collar variety than in decades past. Its main attraction to gay tourists is largely of historic value. The Stonewall Inn still stands today and has been designated an historic site. However, it now serves as a bagel shop. Links: Online Guide to Greenwich Village
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