Bleecker Street Cinema was founded because filmmaker and social activist Lionel Rogosin wanted to exhibit his controversial film, "Come Back, Africa." It was one of the three key revival houses of 1960s New York. The theater had many resident cats, including one called "Breathless" (after Godard's film) and "Wim," (Wim Wenders). The theater closed in 1990.

IFC is an art house movie theater. Previously the Waverly, another art house venue, IFC opened its doors in 2005. The Waverly was known for midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. IFC is an art house movie theater. Previously the Waverly, another art house venue, IFC opened its doors in 2005. The Waverly was known for midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Cinema Village was built in the shell of an 1898 fire station. It is the oldest continuously operated cinema in the Village. In the 1960s it became a repertory cinema house, and later a heavy exhibitor of films found off the beaten path: 90s Hong Kong, documentary, Japanese cult cinema, and indie sleepers.

The Public Theater, housed in this 1845 library building, is famous for its Shakespeare productions. In the mid-1960s the disused (and threatened by demolition) theatre was purchased by the New York Shakespeare Festival. Through Joseph Papp's advocacy, a landmark designation, and the adaptive reuse work by Giorgio Cavaglieri, the building was saved.

This venue was built as a Yiddish Theater in 1926 and briefly served as a WPA theater during the Depression. Since 1991 it has served as the Village East, showing both Hollywood flicks and indie films.

La MaMa E.T.C. was founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart. The "E.T.C." stands for Experimental Theater Club. It was one of the four core theatres of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway movement, and today it is a world-renowned cultural institution. This building at no. 74 (built as the headquarters for a German-American professional orchestral musicians' social and benevolent association) and its neighbor down the block at no. 66 are both owned by the La MaMa.

Opened in the mid-1970s as an annex to the 74 East 4th Street venue, this building was renamed for La MaMa founder Ellen Stewart in 2009.

This is the beloved (but now gone) Sunshine Theatre. Like other theaters in the area - it is no surprise that location was once a church, athletic club, Yiddish theater, and finally then the Sunshine Theatre, a movie house. After it was shuttered for more than 50 years, Sunshine Cinema re-opened as an art-house theater in 2001.