A Walk Through the West Village

You are standing at the heart of the West Village, specifically near the intersection of Seventh Avenue South and Christopher Street in Manhattan. This neighborhood, within the zip code area one zero zero one four, is often called the soul of New York City. Unlike the rigid metal-and-glass canyons found uptown, the West Village feels like a separate, European-style hamlet tucked within the metropolis. As you listen, look around at the low-rise buildings and the canopy of trees.^{[1] [2]} Historically, this area served as a refuge during yellow fever outbreaks in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as the healthy air of Greenwich was believed to be safer than the crowded lower part of the island. Today, it remains one of the most coveted and expensive residential enclaves in the world, yet it retains a defiant, creative spirit that has welcomed everyone from Beat poets to civil rights revolutionaries.