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Gold Coast of Greenwich Village off Lower Fifth AvenueThe NeighborhoodWe know you don't need a primer on Greenwich Village, nor do you need to be told why it's among the most desirable neighborhoods in New York City. But this isn't just any part of Greenwich Village. Lower Fifth Avenue, with its high concentration of historic co-ops and townhouses, is often known as the "Gold Coast." In fact, the handful of blocks from 9th to 12th Streets, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues are considered the most coveted in all the Village. The city's most talked-about restaurants are just steps from your door, while New York's poshest, style-making shops are found a few minutes' walk over in Bleecker Street or Soho. With the fantastic Washington Square Park right around the corner, you can relax in the gardens or at the fountain, run your dog in the park, up your chess game with world-class players, or partake in a continuous roster of diverse events. Quiet streets with old world charm, yet every convenience just steps away, the Gold Coast offers gracious and genteel living unequaled in Manhattan. The most amazing location you'll ever find, West 9th Street is conveniently situated within five minutes of the following subway lines: 1, 2, 3 (Christopher St. - at 7th Ave); A, C, E, B, D, F, V (West 4th - 8th St. at 6th Ave); N, R, Q, W (8th Street - East 8th St. at B'way); 4, 5, 6 (Astor Place - East 8th St. at 4th Ave).  West 9th Street - Gold Coast NexusWest 9th Street is a magnetic address that attracts professionals and philanthropists, actors and artists, publishers and politicos, celebrities and cavedwellers, novelists and nabobs. One of the safest neighborhoods in the city with low-key round-the-clock activity as well as various private security contractors and the ubiquitous NYPD patrols. In fact, on many a lazy weekend afternoon, you can hear the clip-clop of a horse as an NYPD mounted officer rounds the block! A relatively quiet street, unlike those south of the square or west of Sixth Avenue where there's a higher concentration of clubs, collegiates, and commercial establishments, West 9th Street has an active and effective block Association. The organization has successfully reduced or eliminated certain undesirable encroachments (noise, crime, development), and is responsible for the restoration of our Victorian-styled street lamps, new tree basin surrounds, and ongoing seasonal plantings the length of the block. West 9th Street is also famous for its block-length Victorian-style holiday decoration. With its high concentration of original period architecture, the sheer number of individual historic-designated townhouses, and its beautifully maintained trees and plantings, West 9th Street is thought by many to be aesthetically, the finest street in Greenwich Village. Come see why more than a few notable personalities call this Village enclave home.* Nearby...Hip and happening, celebrity sightings on the gold coast are commonWith an entire universe of the hippest, hottest dining, shopping, gathering, and fun spots just outside your door on West 9th Street, you may have to make a game of it and try something new every day! Here's a sampling of the essentials that are within four blocks... Points of Interest
Dining
Necessities and More
Less than Ten Minutes' Walk
Celebrities in Greenwich VillageIn Good Company*Current and recent Gold Coast residents include:
A Landmark StreetWith the treasured Village ambiance of both past and present, West 9th Street is at the epicenter of so many important cultural, architectural, and historic landmarks. Become a part of that history with your own West 9th Street address. West 9th Street History“Here in contrast to so many other streets in the Village, the uniformity of the architecture is outstanding. Handsome rows of townhouses, many with English basements entered almost at sidewalk level, establish the quality of this outstanding residential street. Even the large apartment houses at mid-block and the hotel on Fifth Avenue, through the size of their windows, the use of their aerials, and their details, harmonize as well as can be expected with their smaller residential neighbors. The apartment house at the west end of the block, on the north side, openly defies the entire neighborhood with its strong, uninterrupted verticals contrasted so obviously with the horizontals of its windows. Looking through this block from the eastern end, we are primarily aware of an air of solid respectability, of tradition and culture. One senses the comfortable life which these Greek Revival houses made possible, and the elegance of the later rows of Italianate houses with their handsome rusticated basements. For their day and as examples of community planning, they were the equals of the row of Greek Revival houses lining the northern side of nearby Washington Square. In this block on the north side, and just a few doors west of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, are three of the most distinguished Italianate town houses in New York City. They have English basements and are unified by a balcony railing at second floor level and a handsome roof cornice. Their most distinguishing characteristic is the enframement of the windows. This uniformity of treatment suggests what our architects were capable of and what our City might have looked like. Here we need hardly speak of controls, as they were built-in at the various periods when this street was developed and, due to the high quality of the neighborhood, have been respected and maintained, as much as could be expected. Where such a fine neighborhood as this is downgraded or is “improved” through constant rebuilding and an excess of prosperity, controls again become necessary, at that end of the scale, to prevent the tearing down and replacement of all that is notable”. Greenwich Village Historic District Designation Report Landmarks Preservation Commission (1969) 
Historic Greenwich Village and origins of the Gold Coast |
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