Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
City Walk
Village Radicals
Start
Christopher St
End
Fifth Ave
Length
½ mile; 30 minutes
Greenwich Village has historically been a hotbed for upstarts, radicals, Bohemians,
poets, folk singers, feminists and freedom-seeking gays and lesbians. Disembark
the subway at Christopher St and stop at tiny
Christopher Park
, where two life-
sized statues of same-sex couples (Gay Liberation, 1992) stand guard. On its north
side is the legendary
Stonewall Inn
, where fed-up drag queens rioted for their
civil rights in 1969, signaling the start of the gay revolution. Cross Seventh Ave
South and continue west along Christopher St. Turn left onto quaint Bedford St;
stop and peer into
Chumley's
, the site of a prohibition-dodging socialist-run
speakeasy (closed since 2007 but hopes to reopen in the future). Continue along
Bedford St for several blocks, make a left on Downing St and cross Sixth Ave.
Continue east on the crooked Minetta St, home to the unremarkable Panchito's
Mexican Restaurant, which painted over the faded sign for the
Fat Black
Pussycat
- called the Commons in 1962, when a young Bob Dylan wrote and first
performed 'Blowin' in the Wind' here. Turn right on Minetta Lane and right on
MacDougal St to find the historic
Minetta Tavern
, which opened as a speakeasy
in 1922. Also on this block is the former site of the
Folklore Center
, where Izzy
Young established a hangout for folk artists including Dylan, who found his first
audience at the music venue
Cafe Wha?
. Continue back along MacDougal to
the current Research Fellows & Scholars Office of the NYU School of Law, the
former site of the
Liberal Club
, a meeting place for free thinkers, including Jack
London and Upton Sinclair, founded in 1913. Beyond here is the southwest en-
trance to
Washington Square Park
, which has a long history as a magnet for
radicals. Wrap up the tour by leaving the park at the iconic arch and head up Fifth
Ave.
Activities
Cycling
Hundreds of miles of designated cycling lanes have been added throughout the city by
Mayor Bloomberg's very pro-cycling City Hall. And even more potentially momentous,
