The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is roughly defined as the east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street on the north and Houston Street on the south. The East Village contains three subsections: Alphabet City, about the single-letter-named avenues located to the east of First Avenue; Little Ukraine, near Second Avenue and 6th and 7th Streets; and the Bowery, located around the street of the same name. Top HVAC NYC
Initially, the East Village was occupied by the Lenape Native Americans and was then divided into plantations by Dutch settlers. During the early 19th century, the East Village contained many of the city’s most opulent estates. By the middle of the century, it grew to include a large immigrant population—including what was once referred to as Manhattan’s Little Germany—and was considered part of the nearby Lower East Side. By the late 1960s, many artists, musicians, students, and hippies began to move into the area, and the East Village was given its own identity. Since at least the 2000s, gentrification has changed the neighborhood’s character.
Upscale Neighborhood
The Commissioners’ Plan and the resulting street grid were the catalysts for the city’s northward expansion. For a short period, the portion of the Lower East Side that is now the East Village was one of the wealthiest residential neighborhoods in the city. Bond Street between the Bowery and Broadway, just west of the East Side within present-day NoHo, was considered the most upscale street address in the town by the 1830s, with structures such as the Greek Revival-style Colonnade Row and Federal-style rowhouses. The neighborhood’s prestigious nature could be attributed to several factors, including a rise in commerce and population following the Erie Canal’s opening in the 1820s.
Growth
The East Village became a center of the counterculture in New York. It was the birthplace and historical home of many artistic movements, including punk rock and the Nuyorican literary movement. Multiple former Yiddish theaters were converted for use by Off-Broadway shows: for instance, the Public Theater at 66 Second Avenue became the Phyllis Anderson Theater. Numerous buildings on East 4th Street hosted Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, including the Royal Playhouse, the Fourth Street Theatre, the Downtown Theatre, the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and the Truck & Warehouse Theater just on the block between Bowery and Second Avenue.
Restaurants Nearby
- Dua Kafe is located at 520 E 14th St, New York, NY
- Westville East is located at 173 Avenue A, New York, NY
- POST is located at 217 E 3rd St, New York City, NY
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