Call it whatever you’d like: antique, vintage, or historic. If one thing is for certain, the Village is really, really old. Old by New York City standards, and even old by American standards. But which building is the oldest of the old? On this walk, we'll guide you through the Village and show you some of the contenders.

The wooden house at 17 Grove Street (at Bedford Street) is often assumed to be one of the oldest houses, if not the oldest house, in Greenwich Village. It’s a good guess since wooden house construction was banned in Manhattan starting in the early 19th century in response to fires in these densely-packed precincts. The prohibition was enacted first below Canal Street in 1816, then below 32nd Street in 1849, and finally below 155th Street in 1882. But 17 Grove Street only dates to 1822 (actually, just the first two floors do; the third floor was added in 1870). This makes it a relative youngster compared to some of the houses found in these parts, in spite of its charmingly anachronistic look. But regardless of its date of construction, 17 Grove is one of the most photographed and beloved houses to be found anywhere in the Village. And while there are several wooden houses in the Greenwich Village Historic District (including the 1799 Isaac Hendricks House diagonally across the street at 77 Bedford Street), most of those have been covered in brick. But 17 Grove proudly wears its woodenness on its sleeve. It also improbably maintains the wooden workshop behind it on Bedford Street, built by the original owner William Hyde, a window sash maker. Both the main house and the former workshop are now single-family residences.

Wood-frame house at the corner of Grove and Bedford Streets, May 12, 1936. This house was built by window sash-maker William Hyde in 1822, the year of a yellow fever outbreak which drove New Yorkers to the safety of rural Greenwich Village. Originally a two-story structure in the Federal style, a third floor and new cornice were added in 1870. No. 17 Grove Street is the Village's largest remaining wood-frame structure, predating Manhattan’s 1866 ban on new construction of wooden homes. In addition to the main house, Hyde’s workshop at 100 Bedford Street (rear, at left) has survived to the present day.