On Tuesday, GVSHP unveiled our thirteenth historic plaque at Westbeth – watch the video here and see pictures here. The Westbeth complex, located between West, Bethune, Washington and Bank Streets, consists of thirteen buildings constructed between the 1860s and 1930s, most originally for Bell Telephone Labs. Some of the most important innovations in sound technology were developed or advanced there, including radar, the first talking movies, television, and video telephones. In 1966 Bell left the West Village, and the complex was reimagined as housing and workspace for artists, in one of the first examples of large-scale adaptive re-use of an industrial building for residential purposes, and one of the first examples of publicly subsidized housing for artists.
GVSHP was proud to honor and highlight this remarkable history. Past plaques have marked the former homes of James Baldwin, Elizabeth Blackwell, Lorraine Hansberry, Frank O’Hara, Martha Graham, The Fillmore East, the San Remo Café, and many more. Learn more about all of our historic plaques here, or explore them all by map below.
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