Greenwich Village, residential neighborhood of lower Manhattan, N.Y. city, extending S from 14th St. to Houston St. and W from Washington Sq. to the Hudson R.; 40°44'N 74°00'W. N of the main settlement of N.Y. city in colonial times, in the 1830s it became an exclusive residential sect., described in Henry James’s novel Washington Square (1880). An influx of foreign immigrants settled there after 1880. Around 1910, the Village gained renown as the home and workshop of artists and of freethinkers. Barns, stables, and houses along the narrow, crooked streets were converted into studios, eating places, nightclubs, theaters, and shops, and the Village acquired a reputation for bohemianism. Interesting old bldgs., many dating from the early and mid-1800s, remain, although there is an increasing number of modern apartment houses. Washington Sq. Park, with its McKim, Mead, and White–designed arch (1892), is a popular meeting place. N.Y. Univ.’s campus surrounds the park. Outdoor art exhibits are held in the Village.
