Barney Rosset moved Grove Press into the second floor of 795 Broadway in 1953, two years after he purchased the business. While located here, the Press introduced the American public to Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, its first notable publication. Although other American publishers refused to publish this piece, a 1999 British Royal National Theatre poll of 800 playwrights, actors, directors and journalists declared Waiting for Godot the most significant English language play of the 20th century. Its publication catapulted Grove Press to the head of the cultural avant-garde in America, beginning the Press’ and Rosset’s long relationship with Beckett.

"Tropic of Cancer" by Henry Miller, 1934 (French edition) While at 795 Broadway, Grove Press also developed its relationship with Henry Miller, beginning with a series of letters exchanged in 1959, while the writer was located in Big Sur. That same year, Rosset and Grove Press contended with legal challenges surrounding the censorship of Miller’s Tropic of Cancer and D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover. These conflicts and discussions around censorship would go on to change the legal and cultural landscape of the United States as it related to the publication of previously prohibited literature.

"The Subterraneans" by Jack Kerouac, 1958 Finally, during its tenure here, Grove Press introduced the American public to Eugene Ionesco, published Jack Kerouac’s The Subterraneans, and began distribution of its literary magazine the Evergreen Review.

"Evergreen Review" issue The Review’s trailblazing second issue “The San Francisco Scene” in particular helped cement Grove Press’ position on the leading edge of American literary and cultural innovation. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

In 1959, Rosset moved Grove Press from 795 Broadway to 64 University Place, just one block west. This new location offered the Press the opportunity to expand its space considerably, and it ended up staying here for four years. While at 64 University Place, the Press completed its successful legal challenges regarding Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer and D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover. It also began its paperback imprint Black Cat, thus helping to expand its cultural reach and bring cutting-edge literature to the masses. In 1962, after a three-year censorship battle, Grove Press released the American edition of William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, while continuing to push boundaries by publishing gay-themed fiction like John Rechy’s City of Night and the previously banned writings of the Marquis de Sade.

"City of the Night" by John Rechy, 1963 While here in 1962, Rosset and Grove Press also garnered support from leading literary luminaries like Lawrence Ferlinghetti in support of their various censorship battles. That same year, the Press published the famous July/August 1962 issue of the Evergreen Review “Statement in Support of the Freedom to Read,” which included the lower level court decision striking down the ban on Tropic of Cancer along with a statement supporting the decision and calling for an end to the legal appeals and similar bans. The statement was signed by 198 leading American writers and critics and the heads of sixty-four publishing companies. Shortly thereafter copies of the Evergreen Review were seized by the Nassau County (N.Y.) District Attorney for containing “lewd” material.

Grove Press published the unedited manuscript of Naked Lunch by William S. Boroughs as it was intended in 1962 while at 64 University Pl. The book was banned in Boston and in 1966 its case for obscenity charges was heard at the Boston Supreme court for which Grove Press was the defendants. Notable American writers such as Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg gave testimony on behalf of the novel. The appeals court found the book did not constitute any obscenity charges and went as far as to state the book held social value. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

Rosset’s affiliation with Grove Press ended shortly after he came to 61 Fourth Avenue. However, his role as cultural instigator continued. He revived the Evergreen Review as an online publication in 1998, and worked on several documentaries and films about his life and accomplishments while living here. These included Rosset: My Life in Publishing and How I Fought Censorship and the film Obscene. Rosset also began and created a decades-long art project at 61 Fourth Avenue: a 12 feet high and 22 feet long mural which became the consuming passion of his life. As described by Bedford+Bowery, “Rosset would stay up all night working on the mural, often painting for four hours at a time without taking a break to eat or drink or do anything but focus on his the wall. It was never finished — he would repaint it over and over, using different colors until eventually it became a completely different painting.” The mural eventually became the subject of its own documentary, Barney’s Wall. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

In 1964 Grove Press’ reach and influence was continuing to grow, and therefore so was its need for space. The Press moved from 64 University Place to 80 University Place, where it expanded to 85,000 square feet.

"The Autobiography of Malcolm X," 1965 Here Grove Press published the Autobiography of Malcolm X, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencratz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls. Also during this period, the Press’ longtime client Samuel Beckett won the Nobel Prize for Literature, adding to the publishing house’s prestige and success.

"Valley of the Dolls" by Jacqueline Susann, 1966 While at 80 University Place, the Evergreen Review published an issue bearing the iconic image of Che Guevara on its cover and salutes to him inside. In response, a group of anti-Castro terrorists bombed the Press’ offices. According to a lawsuit filed in Federal Court by Rosset and Grove Press, the publishing house’s offices at 80 University Place were subject to wiretapping and sabotage by the C.I.A. The suit charged that unidentified anti‐Castro Cubans employed or controlled by the C.I.A. bombed the New York offices of Grove Press on July 26, 1968 in connection with the agency's domestic United States operations; that the agency wire-tapped the telephones of Grove Press and Mr. Rosset, collected the wiretapped information in an intelligence file, and divulged the contents to others; that impersonation and disguise were used to “infiltrate” Grove Press; and that a “mail watch” was conducted against the plaintiffs that included opening and copying their correspondence. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

Grove’s move from 80 University Place less than half a block down to 53 East 11th Street around 1967 came at a crucial time for the enterprise. In 1967 Grove became a public corporation, vastly expanding its scope and resources. According to From the Third Eye: The Evergreen Review Film Reader, in January of that year the Press also announced the acquisition of the prestigious Cinema 16 Film Library, consisting of two hundred shorts and experimental works, including films by Stan Brakhage, Kenneth Anger, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Peter Weiss, all darlings of the cinematic avantgarde. They opened a small office in 53 East 11th Street, but began operating a theater for both films and live productions here as well. However, only a single film became an actual source of income for the business: Vilgot Sjöman's I Am Curious (Yellow).

Barney Rosset Rosset biographer Loren Glass wrote: “Rosset had read about the film by the Ingmar Bergman protégé in the Manchester Guardian during his annual trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1967. Intrigued by its purported combination of sexual frankness and political critique, Rosset asked the president of the Swedish publisher Bonnier to put him in touch with the film's producer. He went to see it, liked it, and promptly purchased the rights to distribute it in the United States. I Am Curious (Yellow) was seized by US Customs in January 1968 and Grove had to arrange for critics to view it at the United States Appraisers Stores in New York City under an agreement that they would not "publicize the contents." These same critics were expert witnesses at the subsequent trial in May. A jury found the film to be obscene, but the Court of Appeals overturned the decision, and for the rest of the year it was shown to packed houses by reservation only at the Evergreen Theater on East 11th Street...It was widely reviewed and discussed, and Rosset aggressively pursued screenings across the country, going so far as to purchase an entire theater in Minneapolis when he couldn't find an exhibitor willing to show it. By September of 1969, the film had made over $5 million across the country, with Grove remunerating local lawyers who defended against obscenity accusations with a percentage of the box office receipts. Grove's stock soared. According to Herman Graf, "In '68 and '69 we had a stronger bottom line than Bantam; we were making money hand over fist."

"I am Curious (Yellow)" film poster, 1967 I Am Curious (Yellow) brought a who’s who of New York’s social elite to the theater, including Jackie Kennedy. According to Glass, the film ultimately brought in $14 million for Grove and Evergreen, but ironically led them into a financial downward spiral. Flush from the success of I Am Curious (Yellow), Grove Press’ Barney Rosset began acquiring films left and right, none of which would make the company any money. In fact, they would ultimately lead to its precipitous decline. I Am Curious (Yellow) was not the Theatre’s only brush with notoriety. In June of 1968 the theater was showing Andy Warhol’s I, A Man, the pop-artist’s experimental and equally blue take on the erotic Swedish film I, A Woman. Appearing in the film was writer Valerie Solanas, who would try to kill Warhol at his factory just a few blocks away at Union Square West on June 3rd, during the film’s run at the theater. The current three-story incarnation of this building dates to an alteration from approximately 1894.

Among Evergreen Theatre’s other notable showings were films by Kenneth Anger, one of the first openly gay filmmakers. Anger began actively making films in 1941, but reached success with Fireworks in 1947 for which he was put on trial for obscenity charges. Anger’s work addressed homosexuality in an undisguised way and made gay culture visible in cinema before it was legal to do so.

In June of 1968 Andy Warhol’s “I, Am Man” showed in the Evergreen Theatre. The brief success of the newly opened theatre and the notoriety of Warhol’s work led Rosset to acquire many films, which were ultimately much less successful. The Evergreen Theatre reverted to live shows by 1971, and by April of 1971 it was renamed to SoHo Cinema (later renamed the SoBo Theatre), which showed gay erotic movies.

The existence of this theater was significant in 1971 because, among other reasons, same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults would not be legalized in New York until 1980 with the case of New York v. Onofre. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of this and other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .

Evidence indicates that Grove Press had offices at 837-847 Broadway as early as the mid-1970s (including in 1974, 1985, 1993) and as late as 2012. Beginning in the 1970s Grove Press suffered financial hardship and its influence waned. Rosset sold Grove Press in 1985, and in 1986 he was fired by the new owners. Click here to send a letter supporting landmark designation of other historic buildings south of Union Square. . . .