Comments on: 60's Greenwich Village by Robert Otter

60's Greenwich Village by Robert Otter

rodney stewart — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 11:55:58 -0800

Rare photographs of 60's Greenwich Village by Robert Otter. A genuine labor of love project, New York Tenor saxophonist/composer Ned Otter has compiled the work of his father Robert, a gifted photographer who passed away in 1986. Spanning 1962 through 1972, Otter's photographs capture moments from a Greenwich Village of the 60's that seem both inexplicably foreign and timelessly familiar. via alex

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 12:09:29 -0800

One thing I noticed is how hats were going out of style... by this era, only the older and middle-age people were wearing them.

By: xod

xod — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 12:14:15 -0800

Thank you. I really like the alex blog too.

By: Rawhide

Rawhide — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 12:21:31 -0800

Uh, the © info needs to be bigger. I could almost make out really cool photography behind it.

By: Brian James

Brian James — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 12:32:45 -0800

Am I doing it wrong, or are all the photos in the galleries ludicrously small?

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 12:52:37 -0800

I needed some cheering up and this did the trick. I work in the same neighborhood as where many of these shots were taken. It's still nice down here, but it isn't like it was then, sadly.

By: booksandlibretti

booksandlibretti — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:02:42 -0800

Amazing how WSP hasn't changed at all! Even the art exhibits are the same, not to mention all the barefoot hipsters chilling around the fountain. And the "chess 3" shot, in front of the NYU law library, could have been taken today except for the cars. Very cool.

By: banishedimmortal

banishedimmortal — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:04:49 -0800

Wow, that Women's House of Detention on Sixth Ave and Greenwich Ave just blew me away with its size. I had read about it but didn't know what it looked like. Now it's a really nice park, at least it wasn't replaced by a Duane Reade or something. Great photos. I lived on macDougal btwn 3rd and 4th sts last year, and still spend most of my time around here. It's cool to see how that neighborhood used to look.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:13:01 -0800

I've always been fascinated by the desolate and run-down appearance of NY in photographs and films of that period. Maybe it's the black-and-white? The juxtaposition of the early 20th century artifacts giving way to the modern world? It all seems to have that early-sunday-morning-mother-of-all-hangovers feel to it.

By: bardic

bardic — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:26:12 -0800

Neat post.

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:32:08 -0800

I grew up in the Village at the time these photos were taken -- played tag at the fountain, drank orange drink at the Nedicks, bought books at the 8th street bookshop, listened to conversations between inmates of the Women's House of Detention and passersby on the street. This has me aching with nostalgia. Thanks a million.

By: mert

mert — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 13:46:47 -0800

What a pleasure. I see my block... west 10th and hudson

By: saladin

saladin — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:15:51 -0800

Fantastic post. Having attended NYU and resided in the area for nearly 6 years, many of these shots are just mindblowing for exactly the reasons you suggest, their eerie familiarity. I'm also struck by that women's prison. Nuts that that thing was there as recently as the late 60s. Thanks again for a great post.

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:38:15 -0800

Fantastic street photography. Thanks.

By: luckypozzo

luckypozzo — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 15:13:20 -0800

Great post. Thanks.

By: Gamblor

Gamblor — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 15:46:20 -0800

It took me a few seconds to figure out why all the streets seemed so much bigger in these photos, and then I realized: No cars. Apparently, they must not have allowed as much street parking back then. Now both sides of the streets are always full, and then people are double-parked on top of that.

By: chococat

chococat — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 16:38:28 -0800

very cool. these are exactly the kind of images i've imagined whenever i've walked through greenwich village (i'm from toronto.) it's my favourite part of NYC. in toronto we have yorkville which is just sad to walk through now, it's all boutiques and condos. i couldn't tell if any of these were from the era when you could still drive throught the arch in WSP...when did they close that off? '50's?

By: banishedimmortal

banishedimmortal — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 17:11:17 -0800

This is an interesting close up of the Women's House of Detention http://www.lostnewyorkcity.com/buildingphotos/Plate-65-b.html from this great site http://www.lostnewyorkcity.com/ This has good pictures too: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/GV/GV028JeffersonMarketLibrary.htm

By: ori

ori — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 19:20:45 -0800

doesn't render right under firefox 1.5 / linux.. the pictures are very small.

By: rodney stewart

rodney stewart — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 19:48:21 -0800

you're right. broken in MacOS firefox too. i'll send him a note.

By: ori

ori — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 21:00:35 -0800

I've emailed Ned, and he reports it works fine in releases prior to 1.5. He extends an apology for anyone unable to view the site. Any Flash wiz know what's up?

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 21:11:56 -0800

must not have allowed as much street parking back then Actually, I think it was even less regulated than today. I'd attribute the difference to a combination of factors. New York wasn't as well-heeled on average as it is today, so there were fewer car owners in the city. The suburbs were far less populated than today, and fewer people commuted into the city from homes elsewhere, making public transport more practical than driving. Car ownership was less common overall, with very few families owning more than one car and many families still owning none, particularly in metro areas.

By: AJaffe

AJaffe — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 06:16:50 -0800

These are fascinating. I've lived in the Village for nine years and have always closely noted the ebb and flow of storefronts and street life. Does anyone know if there's a similar photo archive for Alphabet City and the lower East Side from the same era?

By: washburn

washburn — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 12:46:32 -0800

They looked like pictures, but they were actually SAMPLEs.