Greenwich Village Sunday - 1960

[chernobylFarms]

Not a word about Greenwich Village at night. Oh, no, the shirtsleeve elite who graze there at night would not have THAT.

Bohemia today, at least in its full spectrum of players and the playing, is most likely found in strip clubs out by the interstate, "health" resorts far away in the woodlands, and in the client lounges of brokerage firms.

Liberals were made to order for the likes of Malcolm Forbes, Jedgar Hoover and other rich cockhounds.

[Rickyrab]

This would've been my native neighborhood had it not been for the practice of giving birth in hospitals. This movie was before my time, though; I was a 1979 baby. Very interesting :)

[mushroomagical]

This is great to see. Although my folks are from San Francisco, they spent some time in the Village before I was born...they said it was great.

[marvy1118]

Someone please remove the recorder player.

[Glinkaism1]

Very nice presentation. I was most fortunate to be in New York in the early 60s, just before and during the folkies trying to change the world. Twas a great idea anyway. Several old hangouts are gone now and so is that spirit. Someone wrote the old village went to Brooklyn. That's right. That is, the east and central village spirit.

[milekrizman]

I like the 1950's and early 60's, prior to Vietnam war escalation, hippies and counterculture.

As we can see in this movie, even bohemians then were cultural, they were not raging maniacs like today.

Beatniks were part of 50's. Of course I am for racial equality and gay rights, but WE NOW HAVE THAT, WHAT WE NEED NOW ARE SOCIAL ETIQUETTE OF 1950's.

I feel nostalgia for this times. Beatniks were part of that mentality. They were not crazy as hippies.

[Dudethatstrippin]

now it costs a shitload of money to live there and the ones who do are fake.

[1KOOLROCKNDAN]

I was only 4 years old when this happen.I LOVE this music and the era.I was fed early by friends and am radio This is so great thanks for posting like to see more like this

[bildix]

I dig!

[drdan269]

75 gasser is close but not corrrect. The beat poet was Ted Joans,who is actually mentioned in the credits. Google him. Bob Yellin can be seen playing banjo earlier. Dan

[a46474647]

I spent the summer of 67 in the Village as one of the many runaways that swelled the streets in those days. Ah, man, playin guitar in the park, panhandling, banging girls, experiencing so many things for the first time. What a summer! Memories to last a lifetime!

[ricland]

I got to the Village in 1965. I was 16. The place was magical, like being on a fantasy movie set.

This was before the word "hippie" was even invented.

[eecortese]

Tell me, how exactly are you able to determine that?

[manco82]

What a bunch of self-important doucebags.

[robinbugbee]

Great! I grew up in the village in the mid 60's and it was a wonderful place then. WOnderful to hear Jean Shepeards voice again.

[piemouth1]

Poetic little film. People being creative and free. Out of their heads and into their light. Great place and great community, this. Genuine diversity too, as opposed to what passes for the same these days. I'd have felt quite at home there and then.

[zillary]

I lived in the village as a kid.... hung out at Manny's Cafe Wha? and the Cherry Lane Theatre.... used to swim in the fountain and go back and forth to listen to the diffenet singers. My mother played at many of the clubs as a folk singer.... I spent many an evening at the Bitter End....Izzy Young's music store was a favorite.... and Shel Silverstein's apartment was there..... lots and lots of memories...

[falansh]

waaw! hay uno q lleva una guitarra española xD buenisimo

[aragorn767]

zzzzzzz

[me10u90]

Anybody remember drummer Gil Rogers from those days? His son is desperately seeking info.

[Wehategod]

My Favorite place in the city many a musician i have met there and i have jammed with many. Well it hasn't changed at all. I hope NYU leaves it alone.

[freesandwich]

god. i would have loved to live there back then

[Gmancrap]

We have hipsters now, times are better.

[CecilBDMil]

i've lived in the village since 1975. it's still pretty cool, but not nearly like it was. this was a dlightful film, and it even showed the block where i live!

one note: the norther termini of san gennaro festival (along mulberry street) and festa st. anthony (along thompson street) is houston street, which is the southern border of the village. but festa our lady of pompeii runs along carmine street from 7th avenue to 6th avenue right here in the village.

[aintpluggedin]

if you say youre a painter, and youve got the paintings to prove it....hehe

[axekat]

What an intersting video, thank you so much for posting!

[Narragansett55]

Outstanding! Amazing this was filmed two years before I was born. Had a good chuckle @ 5:02 where the guy was checking out the woman's form bent over looking at the paintings.

[hoodoojazz]

That was the poet Ted Joans reading from the poem, The Sermon.

[1400deadwood]

I'm too young to have hung out in the Village in 1960. It took about another 9 years before I was old enough to hang out there and did so until the mid 80s. I loved the old Waverly Theater, W 4 St handball/basketball courts, Washington Square, Jefferson Market library, old book shops, Balducci's, and lots of people watching.

Man! Those were the days!

[Leftyduke]

those were truly "the days" the village...8th st - st.marks pl ..a great time in new york city and the country...we made sure the war ended ...

[wontonton]

The narrator is Jean Shepherd, who had a radio show on WOR in New York for years. You also may recognize him as the narrator of A Christmas Story.

[yaknbo]

He WROTE the Christmas Story.

[romaczech75]

Ahh. The way I wish it was now. I was born about 30 years too late.

[smdad]

Your work is an example of honesty & dedication. It brought back many memories of Happy times spent in Greenwich Village. I grew up in NYC & the Village is a big part of me growing up. For many years I ran Hell Fire Club in the West Village. Lenny Waller

[ioriorioriorio]

very nice, nice, nice...avoid the guy selling the parsley in the tinfoil, though.

[jerseycityjoe]

Yes we lost so much! But it is time for New Yorkers to take back what belongs to them. New Yorkers are moving out and we should just say no we will not go! Bring back the traditons that we have lost!

[chronicremorse]

we've lost so much. ah this makes me sad.

[akeffo]

Great video. America is so boring now and that's why we are falling behind the rest of the world. Travel and see how most of America is like a third world country.

[reckonman]

very enjoyable

[ironduke2000]

I thank you for posting this, but I have to say that, as a former resident of the Lower East Side, the Village stopped being too cool a long time ago. I'm sure those who live there currently see it differently, but bohemia in NYC has moved to Brooklyn, and even there it's largely populated by trust-fund kids with barely an idea to offer. Bohemia itself it largely a thing of the past. Paint-by-numbers hipsterism is another matter entirely.

[gaby4159]

The Village smacks so much of rubber-stamped corporatism that anyone with an ounce of bohemian in their veins will find their credulity stretched upon realizing they're sharing oxygen with conformists dressed as rebels

[frshproduce]

@ironduke2000 Aren't you fresh.

[PoliticalWeekly]

@ironduke2000 Well, there are no more bohemians today for a reason. During North Beach-Greenwich Village most of these guys were poor, disgruntled and hated society's forced conformity because of what the conformity held. Since Haight Ashbury-East Village, Bohemians got welfare as well as lots of popularity. So it became cool. Honestly, the closest thing to bohemians (and still aren't) are disgruntled mental patients, Autistic kids and the depressed.

[HunterMann]

This is really an excellent slice of that era. I wonder if one was ever done on North Beach, in SF?

[adamcrush]

What was NYC like the year that I was born? Now I know! EXCELLENT!!!

[danrose]

What a gem thanks,gonna look up those musos from the credits.

 Anyone identify the poet/rapper at the end?

[75gasser]

The poet is Leroy Jones who later changed his name to Amiri Baraka (Google it). I was 15 when I first heard him recite his poems at the Cafe Bizarre in 1960. The "Beat Generation" was unique. I was too young to completely understand them but I sure had fun because they accepted me. Scotty

[weirdovideos]

Wow. I know who that poet is, but never realized that it was him. Excellent eye, and thanks for the comment.

[kgcinema]

He spelled his first name "LeRoi." Anyway, 75gasser's eye was not so excellent. The poet at the end was not Jones. Thanks, though, for this now nostalgic look back at a special era in the Village.

[bbxx44]

I love these time capsule type videos. Great history. Thanks.