Have you ever been struck by the sight of a New York City home and wondered what it was like inside? This Sunday, you can satisfy your voyeuristic urges and find out what lies behind the doors some of the city’s most historic buildings at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation’s Spring House Benefit. This annual tour, which helps raise funds for the society’s ongoing efforts “to educate and advocate for the distinctive character and irreplaceable architecture of our neighborhoods,” allows guests to go inside some of the most architecturally intriguing historic homes within the Greenwich Village Historic District. Along with gaining access to seven homes which you can explore at your leisure, guests will also get to see gardens and other hidden gems. If you are an Untapped Cities Insider, you can enter our members-only raffle to win a free pair of tickets, a $350 value!
Buildings seen in the photos in this article are not necesarily homes that will be seen on the tour.
The expansive Greenwich Village Historic District covers some of the best examples of 19th through early 20th century styles of row-house architecture that can be found in the entire city, with houses ranging from Federal, and Greek Revival to Italianate. This year’s self-guided tour, while offering a sampling of each style, will more prominently feature Italianate homes, an iconic brownstone style that is slightly more fanciful than the Federal and Greek Revival styles which preceded it. The Italianate style features more ornamentation, reflecting the city’s growing wealth and changing tastes. Guests at this year’s 21st tour will also get to see homes in a transitional style which blends characteristics of Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate designs, to see how trends developed through the century.
Homes seen in the photos in this article are not necesarily homes that will be seen on the tour.
In addition to the historic facades of the homes, guests will get to see each owner’s personal decor and restoration work inside. Along with these stunning visuals, what makes the tour special are the stories you can discover about the people who lived in the homes. Last year’s tour started at the New York Studio School which was originally Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s studio and the first site of the Whitney Museum. Other incredible artist’s studios, such as the now-landmarked home of Willem de Kooning’s studio, have also been included in the tour. Many of the homes on view have fascinating ties to art, music, literary and business history.
Image Courtesy of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
Nicole Saraniero is the Insider-in-Chief at Untapped New York, leading our Untapped New York Insiders membership program. Nicole graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Televis
