Although now known for its dance nights and rock concerts, Webster Hall is in fact an incredibly culturally significant site. Designed as a “hall for hire” in 1886 by Charles Rentz, Webster Hall was available for rental by diverse groups from its inception. For more than 120 years, the Queen Anne-style assembly hall, located at 119-125 East 11th Street, has hosted a wide array of events, including debutante balls, society dinners, wrestling matches, political rallies, union meetings, bohemian costume parties and musical performances.

Political parties, movements and figures were an important part of Webster Hall’s activities. In 1892, two different groups met at Webster Hall to endorse presidential candidate Grover Cleveland, and Emma Goldman was a frequent orator there in the early 20th century. In 1912, activist Margaret Sanger fed 119 children at the hall because their millworker parents had been on strike for weeks in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Webster Hall was also where the founding convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) took place in December 1914; where the defense committee for Sacco and Vanzetti met in the 1920s; where anti-Fascists adopted a resolution condemning Mussolini in 1930; and where sixty German-American organizations congregated to pledge their loyalty to the U.S. in 1942. Continue Reading>>

Greetings from the Bronx — the birthplace of hip hop, the breathtaking site of the New York Botanical Garden and home base for the 2009 World Series Champions, the Yankees. Now the Bronx has even more to celebrate, as six of the borough’s notable locations will be recognized on December 3rd by Place Matters.

The six honorees are:
52 Park in Longwood is a popular urban oasis run by the NYC Parks Department with the help of 52 People for Progress (52PFP). When the South Bronx experienced its bleakest period in the 1970s, the open space at 52 Park became a danger zone. Since 1980, 52PFP, a volunteer group formed by local residents Al Quiñones, Fred Demera, Eduardo Rivera and Victoria Medina, has committed itself to maintaining a safe and welcoming public park. Continue Reading>>

When Houston Street was widened in the 1930s to accommodate the 6th Avenue subway line, the demolition of buildings on both sides of the street resulted in irregular lots that remained vacant for decades. In 1973, Mott Street resident and artist Liz Christy had a vision for at least one of these empty, rubble-strewn parcels.

With the help of friends and neighbors, Christy set out to transform the corner of Bowery and East Houston Street into an urban oasis. Together, Christy, and a group of volunteers who called themselves the “Green Guerillas” cleared the corner site of debris and began planting a garden.

The following spring, the department of Housing Preservation and Development leased the property to the Green Guerillas for a monthly fee of just $1, and thus it became the first community garden in New York City. The Guerillas’ Bowery Houston Farm and Garden was immediately recognized as a success, winning the Citizens Committee of New York City’s Mollie Parnis “Dress Up Your Neighborhood Award” in 1974. Continue Reading>>

Dating from 1697, the Queens County Farm Museum at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway in Queens, is the longest continuously farmed plot of land in all of New York State. Spanning 47 acres, the site is also home to the largest remaining parcel of working farmland in New York City.

The focal point of the farm museum is the “Jacob Adriance Farmhouse.” The oldest portion the house was built in 1772 and originally consisted of just three rooms. According to the 1976 landmark designation report, the design of this section of the house “reflects a mixture of Dutch colonial and New England influences common in old homes of Long Island where the two cultures met.” However, the house was altered through a sequence of additions as the property changed hands throughout the 19th century. Continue Reading>>

The Vander Ende-Onderdonk House, located in the Ridgewood section of Queens near the Brooklyn border, is the oldest Dutch Colonial stone house in New York City. It was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for its connection to the 18th century history of Queens and for its story of neighborhood preservation advocacy.

The site of the Onderdonk house and farm was originally granted to Hendrick Barents Smidt by Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant in the 1660s. However, the house that stands today was not built until after the Ende family acquired the land in 1709. According to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation report, the house was originally constructed in the mid- to late-18th century. It was built facing Flushing Avenue, the colonial road connecting the Dutch town of Bushwick with the English town of Newtown. The frame addition to the house was constructed in the 1820s by Adrian Onderdonk, who purchased the farm shortly after his marriage to Ann Wyckoff, a member of the prominent Dutch-American Brooklyn family. Continue Reading>>

In September 1654, twenty-three Jews from Recife, Brazil, held Rosh Hashanah services in New Amsterdam, thereby founding the Congregation Shearith Israel. It remained the only Jewish congregation in New York City until 1825.

The early Sephardic settlement (along with those of the Quakers, the French and the English) helped to foster cultural diversity and religious tolerance in New Netherland. Civil and religious liberties won by this small Jewish community were important not only for the development of New York City, but for the United States as a whole.

One such liberty earned was the permission to buy a parcel of land for burial purposes, granted by order of the Director General and Council in February 1656. The First Shearith Israel Graveyard at St. James Place in Manhattan is the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in the country.  Many of those who had fought arduously for full political equality and the right to hold public office are buried there. (Until 1788, New York was the only colony to offer these rights to its Jewish citizens). Continue Reading>>

Just in time for the last few weeks of summer, Place Matters has identified 10 Great summertime spots, spanning all five boroughs. These summertime spots might not be the city’s most popular or most well-known summertime destinations, but they have demonstrated cultural significance, hold memories and anchor traditions for individuals and communities. We urge New Yorkers to visit these places, and take in the flavors, the history and the cultural traditions that help make New York such a special and livable city.

1. Jahn’s Ice Cream at 81-04 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, offers chilled relief from summer heat. “This king of ice cream emporiums goes back to 1897 and earlier,” one nominator wrote. “It has always been a traditional gathering place for locals, singles, partners, groups and families.” Best known for their ‘Kitchen Sink’ sundae, this Jahn’s outpost is the last of several locations that once dotted the city.

2. For another famous Queens confection, head over to the Lemon Ice King of Corona at 5202 108th Street in Flushing. Continue Reading>>

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden at 29-19 24 Avenue in Astoria, Queens was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for serving up Czech culture by the pitcher.

In 1906, the Sovak family, together with the Bohemian Citizens Benevolent Society (which had been founded in 1892), purchased three parcels of farmland along 24th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. Designed by Frank Chmelik, the modest, two-story Bohemian Hall was completed in 1911.

From the very beginning, a collection of lots that adjoin the Hall were used as an outdoor gathering space.  In the 1930s, this land was donated to the Society and it was officially put to use as a beer garden.  During the first half of the century, the courtyard at Bohemian Hall was just one of many European-style picnic parks. Continue Reading>>

The West 4th Street Courts, aka “the Cage,” at West 4th Street and Avenue of the Americas, was one of ten 2008 Place Matters honorees for creating public space.

The site now occupied by the West 4th Street Courts was originally acquired by the City in the 1920s as a result of the widening of Sixth Avenue. Though the site was not formally assigned to the Parks Department until 1953, a playground had opened at the location in 1935. Some time during the 1950s, the lot was paved and basketball hoops were installed.

This court, only half of regulation size and literally encaged by a 20-foot high chain-link fence (hence its nickname), draws basketball lovers from all over the city, and moreover the world. These basketball aficionados come both to play and watch some of the best street-ball there is.

Each year, the Cage hosts the West 4th Street Summer League.  Founded by Kenny Graham in 1977, the league is the oldest summer basketball program in New York City and the only tournament that runs seven-days-a-week from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Continue Reading>>

Grand Ferry Park, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was nominated to the Census of Places that Matter for providing public access to the waterfront for nearly one hundred years.

In the hopes of creating a suburb of Manhattan, real estate speculator Richard M. Woodhull purchased 13 acres of land in Brooklyn. In 1802, Woodhull launched ferry service that ran from the foot of his parcel at North 2nd Street to Grand Street, on the Lower East Side.

The new neighborhood surrounding the ferry landing was called “Williamsburgh,” after the surveyor of the site, Colonel Jonathan Williams.  A relative of Benjamin Franklin, Colonel Williams was the first superintendent of West Point, the Chief Engineer of the Army Corps of Engineers and a member of Congress representing Pennsylvania. Continue Reading>>