1930s Census Records for West 9th Street

The Pastmapper project “Mapping 60 Years of Greenwich Village”, displays data from five federal censuses (1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940) onto a Google-based map.  While the Pastmapper website claims that the project “for West 9th Street features buildings, businesses, and neighborhood features through the years,” the only records transcribed by this class were census records and thus no information on businesses was transcribed.  The promise of this project is intriguing and the combination of information will allow for many research topics. Visual depiction of this information is an ideal format.  It would be great if this project eventually enables users to refine searches by every available census header, including building number, occupation, ancestry, etc.

West 9th Street & Sixth Avenue

The 1930 Census Data from West 9th Street illustrates the great diversity of residents of Greenwich Village during that time.  Inhabitants were persons of all ages and education levels, from young Irish servants to New York-born male bankers age 50 and older.  From the occupation listing the researcher can see a high level of education with teachers, urologists, writers, editors, stenographers, designers, statisticians, and bookkeepers.  Artists and actors are also well represented, as one might expect from the neighborhood at that time.

As the Pastmapper website quotes from New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, West 9th Street boasted “an air of solid respectability, of tradition and culture.”  This respectability comes through in the predominantly white, Anglo Saxon demographic makeup of the neighborhood.  Even the servants were white.  The 1930s census records also revealed a mixture of people who lived in both boarding houses and upper class townhouses (upper class was inferred since several properties included people with the classification of “servant” under the relationship to the head of household).  It was striking by how many female heads of houses lived on the street in 1930, some of whom even owned their homes.  Yet, most women listed were single and lived with relatives.

1930 Census data for West 8th and West 9th Streets, Greenwich Village

From studying the decade of census records for this street, one could conclude there was a large population (approximately 43%) of first generation Americans whose parents emigrated mainly from Europe, especially Italy and Ireland. Many respondents not from the United States were servants, and those came primarily from Ireland.   It was also interesting to note that many families came from similar geographic areas, but since they had different last names it was not apparent if they had a family connection or if the families migrated together.  Additionally, though many respondents were born in the United States and had parents from the United States, many were not born in New York State and even fewer were second-generation New Yorkers.  Though a substantial number of respondents were born in New Jersey or Connecticut, many came from Midwestern states.  This is not surprising since even now New York City’s culture, industry and opportunities attract people from across the nation.

Once all data is viewable, it will be interesting to note how demographics (ancestry, residence type – home, boarding house, apartment, occupation, education, etc.) of the street changed with any trends or consistency.  Regarding education level, data as recorded on Pastmapper began to show a pattern in which children who grew up on this street were the only ones with educational backgrounds.  But that data is misleading and incomplete.  Closer examination of the actual census form reveals that education level records specifically whether respondents “Attended school or college any time since September 1, 1929.”  Many respondents, especially professionals, presumably attended school before that date.

When this Pastmapper project is finished, it would be interesting to include information from the last 2010 census to see how the neighborhood has changed over the past 70 years.

-Bonnie Gordon, Jackie Rider and Lynda Van Wart

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The Closing of the Oscar Wilde Bookshop

When Kim Brinster, owner of the Oscar Wilde Bookshop, announced that the store would be closing its doors on March 29, 2009 due to economic troubles many people were probably not very surprised. With the economy in rough shape it was not exactly uncommon for smaller local shops to go under. However, the historical significance of this shop, while unknown to some, made this loss a very personal one for many. The bookstore, located on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village, was an integral part of the early Gay Rights movement and has a unique legacy that should not be forgotten.

The bookstore, which was opened by Craig Rodwell in 1967, was the nation’s first gay bookstore. This was an incredibly risky decision on Rodwell’s part considering that during this time many gay activists were still using fake names to avoid the possibilty of getting arrested. However, he had been actively involved in the Gay Rights struggles for many years before using his personal savings to open the store. As a volunteer for the Mattachine Society of New York he worked to organize Mattachine Young Adults in early 1964, and later that year he participated in the picketing of New York’s Whitehall to protest the military’s practice of excluding gays from serving and for dishonorably discharging them if it was discovered later on. More notably, on April 21, 1966, Rodwell, along with Dick Leitsch and John Timmons, participated in the Sip-In at Julius bar in Greenwich Village, an event that predated the infamous Stonewall Riots in 1969, but is arguably just as important to the ignition of the Gay Liberation Movement. During this demonstration the men were protesting the New York State Liquor Authority rule which made the congregation of gays in places that served alcohol illegal. Their public protest eventually led to the end of the ruling later on.

Rodwell was also a key actor in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 as well. Although he did not participate directly in the protest, he was located just down the street from the bar and was able to respond quickly. As soon as he saw what was happening Rodwell called The New York Times, The New York Post, and The New York Daily News to inform them of what was happening and because of this all three papers were able to cover the riots. Rodwell’s call brought both local and national attention to the riots and more importantly, to the events that had caused them to transpire.

After this the Oscar Wilde Bookshop served as a type of community center for the gay community in the village. The cramoed back room of the shop served as a meeting space for Rodwell and his employees who were determined to bring change for the gay community. He not only inspired owners of gay bookshops around the country, but also formulated strategies for confronting police brutality. In 1970 the first gay pride parade was planned within the Oscar Wilde Bookshop, making it an important landmark in the Gay Liberation Movement.

Since it was opened by Craig Rodwell in 1967, the bookshop had gone through several changes in ownership. Rodwell sold the shop to the manager, Bill Offenbaker, before he passed away in 1993. The store had a new owner once again in 1996 until it was purchased by the owner of Lambda Rising Bookstores in Washington in 2003 in order to keep the store from going out of business. Store manager Kim Brinster took ownership of the shop in 2006 until its closing in 2009. Although the economic issues became too large to overcome the bookshop, which has now been closed for over three years, had a substantial impact on the Gay community in New York for over 42 years and carries with it a lasting legacy.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/nyregion/04bookstore.html?_r=0

http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/54086/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Rodwell

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History behind the Icon: CBGB

Arguably one of the world’s most famous rock clubs was opened in December 1973, when musician/actor/nightclub manager/concert promoter Hilly Kristal took over the Palace Bar.  CBGB’s or CBGB OMFUG which stands for “Country Bluegrass Blues, Other Music for Uplifting Gourmandizer (a voracious eater of, in this case, music)” was located at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street.

Hilly Kristal was a lifelong lover of folk music and originally intended his club to feature its namesake musical styles.  Instead, amusingly, it quickly became a forum for American punk and No Wave bands such as the Ramones, Misfits, Television, The Voidoids, The Cramps, The B-52’s, Blondie, Swans, and Talking Heads.  Within months after CBGB opened, local musicians and poets became curious about the bar.  Tom Verlaine persuaded Kristal to book his band, Television, and others followed suit, including Patti Smith and her band, which had a seven-week residency in 1975.  Record executives soon joined the neighborhood punks.  Hilly Kristal was quick to recognize the new scene’s potential even though he professed a dislike for some of the music.  From the beginning, Kristal decreed that bands had to perform original material and, while this policy fostered creativity, it was also a way to avoid paying performance royalties.  By early 1974, as Richard Hell later wrote in the New York Times, CBGB “housed the most influential cluster of bands ever to have grown up – or to implicitly reject the concept of growing up – under one roof.”  Beginning in the early 1980’s until its later years, CB’s would transition from the Punk scene and become known for its Hardcore punk bands such as Agnostic Front, Murphy’s Law, and Cro-Mags.

Adjacent to his club, Hilly Kristal established, the “CBGB Record Canteen” (record shop and cafe) which was open for many years.  Eventually, in the late eighties, the record store was closed and replaced with a second performance space and art gallery, named “CB’s 313 Gallery”.

This iconic venue became famous not only for the bands that played there but also for its grimy decor with walls covered in band stickers and flyers and its notoriously foul bathrooms.  The club’s interior served as both a relic of rock history and a kind of living museum of graffiti.  In some ways CBGB ended its life as it had started; in its original location and with its original floor plan complete with uneven floors and peeling ceiling.  A virtual tour of the venue can be found here.

Already big names, such as Pearl Jam, Green Day and The White Stripes made appearances at the club in the last few years but the club had lost some of its luster.  In 2005, a dispute arose between CBGB’s and the Bowery Residents Committee, which claimed Kristal owed $91,000 in back rent. That was the beginning of the end for the this loud and trashy mecca, which had played host to an estimated 50,000 bands.  Despite several attempts to save the New York landmark, Patti Smith played the final concert ever at CBGB’s on October 15, 2006, ending its 33-year reign.

Following the closure of the music venue, CBGB Fashions (the CBGB store, wholesale department, and online store) stayed open until October 31, 2006 at 315 Bowery.  On November 1, 2006, CBGB Fashions moved to 19-23 St. Mark’s Place, but it too closed in the summer of 2008.

Although the physical venue has been closed for several years (and several of its contents, such as a wooden phone booth and the outdoor awning can now be found in New York’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex) and Hilly Kristal died on August 28, 2007, CBGB’s is still part of the music world in New York.  In 2010, CBGB Radio was launched on the iheartradio platform and in 2012, the CBGB’s 4-day music Festival was born with free concerts in Times Square and Central Park along with events hosted in more than 30 bars and music halls around Manhattan and Brooklyn.   The festival follows Hilly Kristal’s ideology of showcasing emerging artist and also includes music business conferences, rock and roll film screenings, industry panel discussions and more.

 Sources

“A Virtual Tour of CBGB’s – NYC on October 13, 2006 which is now closed.” http://360vr.com/CBGB/  Accessed November 25, 2012

CBGB. “The History of CBGB by Hilly Kristal”, http://www.cbgb.com/history.php  Accessed November 25, 2012

Hell, Richard.  “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” New York Times, October 14, 2006, Opinion section, New York edition.

McKinley, James C., Jr. and Stephen Rex Brown “CBGB Is Dead. Long Live CBGB” New York Times, May 7, 2012, Music Section, New York edition.

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Day of the Dead, Los Días de los Muertos

Day of the Dead, figure of a bride

Viene la muerte cantando
Por entre la nopalera
En que quedamos, pelona,
Me llevas o no me llevas?

(Death comes singing
Between the nopales (prickly pears)
What have we decided, bald one,
Will you or won’t you take me?)
– Popular Verse

Day of the Dead or los Días de los Muertos, is one of Mexico’s most important festivals.  Death is a prevailing theme in Mexican popular culture and according to this belief, the souls of the dead have divine permission to return each year to earth, on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (1 and 2 November).  In most regions of Mexico, November 1 (also known as día de los inocentes “day of the innocents” or día de los angelitos “day of the little angels”) is to honor children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2 (día de los Muertos).  This is not a somber occasion but a time for feasting and reunion.  It is a time for families to gather and welcome the souls of the dead on their annual visit home.  Revelers build altars and adorn them with Cempasúchil (marigold) flowers, burn copal incense, and leave fresh bread, pan de muertos, candles, sugar skulls, photographs and mementos of the departed.  In Mexico, Day of the Dead is celebrated over an entire week with the preparation of altars, foods, dance, music and special offerings for people who have died.

Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders is a New York-based non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating Mexican culture and promoting the understanding of Mexican traditions.  Every year, they host an annual Day of the Dead festival at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery (10th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan).  Thursday, November 1st to Sunday, November 4th, 2012 marks their tenth anniversary and a variety of events and workshops will be offered in the churchyard of St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery.

Assorted Day of the Dead figurines

Although All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are determined by the Roman Catholic calendar, pre-Christian beliefs and practices still play an important role in these celebrations.  Death, for the ancient peoples of Mexico, signified not an end but a stage in constant cycle, a cycle, which paralleled the yearly sequence of the seasons.  The Aztecs, who rose to power after 1325, regarded life and death as complementary.  Their worldview was based on dualism, a system of balanced opposites. The Aztecs were not alone in their religious beliefs.  As the inheritors of cultural traditions that were many centuries old, they shared their cosmology and their pantheon of gods with the other inhabitants of ancient Mexico.  In New Spain, the feasts of All Saints and All Souls’ combined cultural traits from Europe with pre-existing traditions. This cultural fusion has since been so complete that it would be difficult to determine today which aspects of the festival were introduced from Christian Europe and which aspects characterized the indigenous cult of the dead.

A large component of this tradition is the altar, which embodies the four elements of nature.  Earth is represented by crop (the souls are fed by the aroma of food), wind is represented by a moving object (tissue paper is commonly used), water is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar, and fire is represented by a wax candle (each lit candle represents a soul, and an extra one is placed for the forgotten soul).  Families also leave toys for dead children (los angelitos, or “the little angels”), bottles of tequila, mezcal or pulque or jars of atole for adults, foods such as candied pumpkin and sugar skulls.  Pillows and blankets are also left out so the deceased can rest after their long journey.  In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas and caricatures of skeletons (usually painted clay) depicting everyday life.  The engravings of Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) are deeply rooted in the Mexican national culture and this tradition.  From 1888, Posada supplied images to the capital’s journal and book trades.  Since the Mexican Revolution, La Calavera Catrina (“skull of the rich woman”, a parody of a Mexican upper-class female), and perhaps his best known image, has become linked with the festival of the dead.  Some people believe possessing Day of the Dead items can bring good luck. Many people get tattoos or have dolls of the dead to carry with them.  They also clean their houses and prepare the favorite dishes of their deceased loved ones to place upon their altar or ofrenda.

Day of the Dead diorama

Sources:

Sayer, Chloe.  Fiesta: Days of the Dead and other Mexican Festivals. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2009

Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders, “Day of the Dead”.  October 27, 2012. http://www.manoamano.us/en/day-of-the-dead-12.html

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