Paula DeLuccia Poons and her husband Larry Poons have lived at 827-831 Broadway since 1977.

Paula Poons, 2017 Both are artists, following a long tradition of those in the arts who have taken refuge in the buildings over the last half-century. In this recording, Paula talks about other occupants of the buildings including Willem de Kooning, MoMa Director William Rubin, and Cyndi Lauper. She also discusses the major changes to the neighborhood over the past 40 years, as well as the recent battle to preserve these buildings, slated for demolition until Village Preservation was able to successfully advocate for their landmark designation.

Listen to Paula Poons’ Full Oral History here. Read the full transcript of Paula Poon's Oral History here. . . .

David Rothenberg is one of the Village’s most prolific activists.

David Rothenberg, 2017 A former Broadway producer, he also produced the off-Broadway play “Fortune in Men’s Eyes,” which ignited a movement to serve the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated. From this, Rothenberg founded the Fortune Society in 1967, an organization whose mission is to foster a world where all who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated will thrive as positive, contributing members of society. Rothenberg discusses his early AIDS activism, run for City Council, leadership roles for the LGBT Community Center and National Gay Task Force, and the changes to the neighborhood he has experienced as a Village resident for over 50 years. Rothenberg was on the Board of Directors of the National Gay Task Force (now The National LGBTQ Task Force), which had headquarters at 80 Fifth Avenue from its founding in 1973 until 1986.

Listen to David Rothenberg’s Full Oral History here. Read the full transcript of David Rotenberg's Oral History here. . . .

Vincent Livelli has lived in the Village for close to 100 years.

Vincent Livelli, 2016 From the 1940s to the 1970s Vincent helped revolutionize the cruise ship industry as a music and dance director. In his oral history, Vincent reminisces about his early years growing up in the South Village, the child of Sicilian and Genovese immigrants, and his career as a musician, crossing paths with industry legends such as Al Jolson, Charlie Parker, and Anatole Broyard. Livelli also discusses his friendships with many famous Village residents, including Anais Nin. Nin, one of the 20th century’s most revolutionary female writers, established her own press, Gemor Press, at 17 East 13th Street in 1944.

Listen to Vincent Livelli’s Oral History here. Read the full transcript of Vincent Livelli's Oral History here. . . .

For more than a quarter century, Robert Mason operated RPM studios from his live/work loft on 12th Street south of Union Square, one of the first boutique recording studios in the city during a golden age of music and recording here.

Robert Mason, 2018 (Taorimina, Italy) Some of the greatest rock, hip hop, disco, jazz, and R\&B artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries recorded with Rob, who began his career in music as one of the first post-genre contemporary classical electronic composers. Rob became interested in music and composition watching live performances in the clubs of Greenwich Village when he was a child in the 1950s and ‘60s. He studied at Mannes School of Music, Columbia- Princeton Electronic Music Center, the Oberlin Conservatory, and Intermedia Department of New York University.

Front Room (top) and Back Room (bottom), 2020 (see Mason p. 43) Mason converted many industrial spaces to accommodate synthesizers and serve as rehearsal spaces for electronic composers. In his interview, Mason reflects on his growth as a musician and composer, shares stories of operating RPM Studios, and outlines new projects with younger generations of post-genre contemporary classical electronic composers.

Listen to Robert Mason’s full Oral History here. Read the full transcript of Rob Mason's Oral History here. . . .

Edwin Fancher (born 1923) was a co-founder and part-owner of the Village Voice from the 1950s until the 1970s. In this oral history, Fancher describes the origins of the Voice—how he met his business associate Dan Wolf, what the local New York City press scene was like in the 1950s, and why he and Wolf decided to launch the Voice. In the 1970s the Village Voice was located at 80 University Place.

Read Edwin Fancher's full transcript here.

Gloria McDarrah, 2014 Gloria McDarrah has lived in the Village since the 1950s. She worked in publishing, as well as at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Gloria McDarrah was married to Fred McDarrah, who established himself as a photojournalist and a leading documentarian of mid-century Greenwich Village. Fred W. McDarrah was the primary (and often only) photographer for the Village Voice newspaper for decades, since the newspaper’s inception in 1955. He covered the Village counterculture, Gay Rights, Women’s Rights, the Vietnam War, Experimental Theater, and other movements centered around the Village. In the 1970s the Village Voice was located at 80 University Place.

Listen to Gloria McDarrah’s Oral History here. Read the full transcript of Gloria McDarrah's Oral History here. . . .

Fred Bass (1928-2018) joined the family business, the Strand Bookstore, at the age of 13 when it was located on Fourth Avenue.

Fred Bass, 2017 In 1956, he took over the business, and in 1957 moved it around the corner to its present location at 826 Broadway. As the years went on, Bass came to spend most of his time at the buying desk, cultivating relationships with regulars, and turned a small second-hand shop into an international icon that boasts "18 miles of books." In 2005, Bass was able to buy the building that houses the Strand and made various physical improvements. This oral history includes Bass's encounters with the writers of the Beat Generation, Abstract Expressionist painters, folk singers, jazz musicians, and many other intellectuals who visited the bookstore; his opinions on some of the early Book Row bookstores, their owners, and the competitive spirit that typified Book Row in its prime; and changes to the neighborhood that he witnessed firsthand.

Listen to Fred Bass’ full Oral History here. Read the full transcript of Fred Bass' Oral History here. . . .

Born in Germany, Wolf Kahn came to America as a teenager, and discovered painting while working in a U.S. Navy paint shop.

Wolf Kahn, 2014 He went on to study under Stuart Davis and Hans Hofmann, and was part of the East 10th Street gallery scene. Along with other former Hofmann students, Kahn started the cooperative Hansa Gallery at 70 East 12th Street (now demolished). A highly acclaimed contemporary painter, one of his most vivid Village memories is being a “blockbuster” who paved the way for African-Americans to rent apartments.

Listen to the full Wolf Kahn Oral History here. Read the full transcript for Wolf Kahn's Oral History here. . . .

Beverly Moss Spatt has been a leading figure in planning and preservation in New York City for over fifty years.

Beverly Moss Spatt, 2017 In her oral history she discusses serving on the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission from 1974-1982 (as Chair from 1974-1978, the first woman to hold that position). The 1973 Amendments to the New York City Landmarks Law went into effect the year of her appointment, allowing for the city’s first scenic and interior landmarks. Spat oversaw the controversial designation of the Grace Church townhouses on Fourth Avenue during her tenure.

Listen to the full Beverly Moss Spatt Oral History here. Read the full transcript for Beverly Moss Spatt's Oral History here. . . .

James Stewart Polshek has lived in Greenwich Village since 1955, and his career as an architect has included buildings across the globe. His work in Greenwich Village has focused on complementing the neighborhood's historic architecture, scale, and character.

Notably, he designed the Washington Court apartments, completed in 1985. He was also involved in projects for other Village landmarks such as the renovation of the Grace Church School.

James Polshek Polshek was Dean of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation from 1972–1987. He also created and founded Architects and Planners for Social Responsibility, which works for peace, environmental protection, ecological building, social justice, and the development of healthy communities.

Listen to the full James Polshek Oral History here. Read the full transcript for James Pelsheck's Oral History here.

Colette Douglas, 2014 Colette Douglas lived in MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens in the 1950s, and tells a classic story of mid-century Village life, from attending Little Red Schoolhouse as a child, to witnessing her husband fight the proposed Lower Manhattan Expressway which would have destroyed the neighborhoods of SoHo, Little Italy, and the South Village. Douglas also talks about the Grace Church School, which her children attended.

Listen to full Colette Douglas Oral History here. Read the full transcript for Collette Douglas' Oral History here. . . .

Born in Lithuania, Jonas Mekas came to New York City after World War II and became part of the downtown arts scene as a writer, poet and auteur. He pursued his passion for making and displaying avant-garde film, founding the world-renowned Anthology Film Archive in 1970.

Born in Lithuania, Jonas Mekas (1922-2019) came to New York City after World War II and became part of the downtown arts scene as a writer, poet and auteur. He pursued his passion for making and displaying avant-garde film, founding the world-renowned Anthology Film Archive in 1970.

Listen to the full Joan Mekas Oral History here. Read the full transcript of Joan Makas' Oral History here. Click here to access all of Village Preservation’s oral histories Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of these and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .