From horse stables to art studios to a university home, the changing face of Washington Mews – WordPress.com

The Greek Revival houses, built to Washington Square to the north between 1829 and 1833, with their graceful and elegant ion columns, offer everything a wealthy family in New York may want.

What would it be? Consider spacious living quarters, backyard gardens, proximity to the theater, church and fine shops and the confidence of builders who have hired the land from the port of sailors that no factories will reach out to this residential enclave.

The residents of the elites also crave some distance from the dirt, ahead of the lower city. And on the other side of the street there was a wonderful new park – the former Potter field became a military parade site, Washington Square. Access to the park was definitely a plus.

But for every New Yorker to live comfortably in the city of Antebelum, they needed a place to keep their horses and carriage and possibly living space for the servants who are prone to them.

This is how the early years of Washington Mews began, perhaps the most famous and filmed historical private tape in the village of Greenwich.

Shortly after the completion of the houses of Rows Fronting Washington Square, the planning began for this rear driveway – an unusual discount in a city that was deliberately mapped without alleys, as real estate was too valuable to lose horses and garbage.

Cutting a slender path between Washington Square North and Eighth streets, Mews followed what was the Lenape Trail connecting the Hudson and East rivers, according to James and Michelle Nevi ‘ Inside the appleS

After the Belgian block of the pavement was in place, a number of two-storeyed houses were built only on the north side of Mews (third photo). This prevented the sound and stench of horses from being intruded on the “deep rear gardens and extensions” of the northern houses in Washington Square, according to a report by the Historical County Greenwich Village.

Who were the well -arranged residents who parked their equipment here? Bankers and traders, according to the protection of the village. The order, as he became known in the north Washington, enjoyed the status of one of the most desired places to live in decades.

But the change was coming. In the 1850s of the last century, six new stables were built, freeing up a place on the north side for the owners of the carriage living on an eighth street, according to the historic district of Greenwich Village. It was no longer the exclusive tape of law enforcement residents.

In 1881, city officials necessitated the gates to be built at the MEWS entrances, clarifying its status as a private lane, writes Christopher Gray in 1988. New York Times Column of street landscapes. (Fourth photo shows a port from the university.)

Artists have arrived so far; “The house and stable on Washington Square North Square was demolished for a studio building in 1884,” Gray said. Together with the arrival of the artists, it was the end of the era of the horse and the carriage.

In 1916, Snug Harbor of sailors, who still owns the land, announced that “the little stables of Mews, whose usefulness has long since died,” will be turned into live studios of artists, Per Gray. (Fifth Image: 1917, looking at University Place)

Artists such as Gertruda Vanderbilt Whitney, Edward Hopper and Paul Manship occupied the cabinets turned into studies. On the south side, more homes were built and the repair was over with many of the original brick facades in favor of plaster and casual decorative tiles.

The next chapter of Washington Mews began in 1949, when the University of New York purchased the alley – or the Snug Harbor Sailors lease, like some sources. Since then, school administrators have been gradually turning the houses into the faculty’s housing and facilities.

Although this is a private street, the gates tend to be opened during the day, so tourists and curious New Yorkers can wander and imagine living inside this “charming small village”, as describes the historic area of ​​the village of Greenwich, Isolated from the city from the city traffic.

If you stand still and concentrate, you may even feel the ghosts of the original horses attach to these Belgian blocks.

[Fourth image: between 1890-1919, New York Historical; fifth image, MCNY X2010.7.1.5302]