West of Greenwich Village...
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To Eat:
Murray’s Cheese, founded in 1940 by Murray Greenberg, a Jewish veteran of the Spanish Civil War, has a staff that travels regularly across the world in search of artisan cheeses. Two storefronts away, Amy’s Bread offers crusty, hearth-baked breads that use traditional European methods such as slow fermentation for flavor and texture. On West 10th street, Jack’s Stir Brew offers customers each morning a cup of organic, fair trade coffee, a vegan bakery item and a warm fuzzy.
History:
The West Village, with its narrow, winding, tree-lined streets, Victorian courtyards and 19th-century townhouses, nearly resembles a charming European city completely off the New York grid. To preserve its quaint feel, the very engaged locals of the West Village have chased away big box stores and other large chain amenities leaving a vibrant selection of shops and restaurants, coffeehouses and bars, which hark back to the Beat Generation era.
From the 1, 2, 3 train on 14th Street and 6th Avenue, all the sites of the West Village are within a 10-minute walk.
To Drink:
Just down from the subway off 7th, The Stonewall Inn, on Christopher Street, became the birthplace of the gay rights movement, when, on a hot, humid summer night, gays and lesbians fought back against a police raid on their bar – their only safe public space. Declared a National Historic Landmark two years ago, it's become just another neighborhood bar that still has the gritty feel of Allen Ginsberg's Village.
To Do:
Home to many celebrities, fashion luminaries and Wall Streeters who want to live a stone’s throw from their work, the West Village is also filled to the brim with National Historic Landmark plaques – reflective of the magical places New Yorkers fought hard to keep. 75½ Bedford Street -- the narrowest house in New York (30 feet from façade to rear garden) -- served as the home, at various periods, to Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Barrymore and Carey Grant. Fewer than 10 blocks away, is Washington Square Park, the scene of protests, music, epic chess battles and movie scenes of every kind.
