Washington Mews, now a part of NYU 

The West Village’s curving and twisting streets lend itself well to many small alleys that are either hidden or extremely subtle. These small alley ways and courtyards and unique to the West Village and there is no concentration of them as great as in this area.  There are also countless beautiful private streets, many lined with houses originally built as stables for the grandiose townhouses in the area.

6. Milligan Place


As quaint as the courtyard at Milligan Place is the cast-iron doorway that marks it, with the words Milligan Place in script. The entrance is squashed between two buildings on 6th Avenue, near 10th Street, and has only four buildings inside, originally built as working class boarding houses for Basque waiters. It was famously the home of playwright Eugene O’Neill, and George Cram Cook, founder of the Provincetown Players.