Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood has been home to a number of acclaimed writers. During the 1930s, the neighborhood was home to Richard Wright, one of the country's most highly regarded chroniclers of the African American experience. During his time in Brooklyn, Wright wrote one of his most well-known novels, Native Son. It was in Fort Greene Park, near his apartment, that Wright would often go and write, and his bench in the park is now marked by a plaque.
A consummate New Yorker, playwright Arthur Miller grew up between Manhattan, Harlem, and Brooklyn. As an adult, lived in numerous residences in Brooklyn and Manhattan, but his Willow Street home is arguably the one most associated with the writer. It was in the Willow Street home that the playwright wrote "The Crucible" and an early draft of "A View From the Bridge." It was also the last home that Miller shared with his first wife, Mary, and his children. Miller left his wife for Marilyn Monroe in 1955 and married the actress in 1956. The Miller family continued to live in the home for a number of years following the divorce.
Truman Capote moved frequently throughout his life, but much of life was spent in New York City. He lived at several addresses in the city, but spent ten years at 70 Willow Street in Brooklyn. It was there that he wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood, easily his two most acclaimed works. The home belonged to theatrical designer Oliver Smith and although Capote occasionally told visitors that he owned the home, he actually rented the basement from 1955 to 1965.
Between the 1830s and the 1850s, future literary icons like Edgar Allen Poe and Melville found inspiration in their visits to the Brooklyn Boroughs. Of all the future novelists who visited or resided in the area, none was as profoundly shaped by the city and its people as Walt Whitman during his time writing for the Brooklyn Eagle. Before the publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855, Whitman would hold many roles in Brooklyn, including editor of the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper from 1846 to 1848. With the largest circulation in the US at the time and with Whitman at the helm, the Brooklyn Eagle tackled issues both local and international. The experience gave Whitman a front row seat into America’s growing idea of democracy, providing the inspiration that would shape much of his future work. Although the original building that housed the Brooklyn Eagle no longer exists, literary enthusiasts and history buffs can explore the area and imagine Whitman's Brooklyn when they visit this historic marker.
The Ottendorfer Branch is the oldest New York Public Library branch still in its original building, and one of the oldest buildings in the city built specifically as a public library. In the late 1990s, the library was renovated with funding from the Adopt-a-Branch program and the Scherman Foundation. The facade and original wood floors were restored, an elevator and central air system installed, and new facilities were added, including a computer lab and a children's story hour room. The branch still holds many of the original books selected by Oswald Ottendorfer, and it maintains a strong multilingual collection with a particular focus on German.
The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library (often known as The Bobst Library, or just "The Bobst") is the flagship institution of the 11-unit New York University (NYU) library system, and is named after the philanthropist, Elmer Holmes Bobst, whose gift made the library possible. Designed by distinguished architects Philip Johnson and Richard Foster and first opened in 1973, it is a twelve-story red sandstone building, located opposite the southeast corner of Washington Square Park in New York City's Greenwich Village. It is the primary research facility for NYU and currently serves 6000 people every day, who check out over a million books a year. It also houses many other print and non-print resources. As the library's website states, “Bobst Library's special collections and archives house significant resources, rare books, personal papers [and] University history.”
Patricia Highsmith was an American writer. Over the span of her career, she wrote more than 30 books, three of her most notable works being The Talented Mr. Ripley, Strangers on a Train, and The Price of Salt, which was the first lesbian novel published in either hard or soft cover to have a happy ending. Many of her novels were also adapted for film and television. She spent most of her time between Greenwich Village and traveling, preferring to write in locations around Europe. She was a very complicated woman, as she was somehow very appealing to suitors, a talented writer, while also being somewhat racist and anti-Semitic.
The Minetta Tavern was established in 1937 by Eddie Silieri, who became known as Eddie Minetta, taking his name from the tavern that in turn borrowed its title from the stream that ran through the area. Founded at the height of the prohibition era, The Minetta Tavern became a popular speakeasy for many literary legends, most notably Joe Gould, who frequented the pub so often that he was said to receive his mail there. With perhaps a similar taste for pubs, authors Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Eugene O'Neill, E.E. Cummings, and Dylan Thomas visited the bar to unwind and socialize. Today, The Minetta Tavern retains much of its history, as much of the original design remains, serving to transport patrons back to a time when the world's greatest authors congregated here and wrote their masterpieces.
The home of Anne Charlotte Lynch served as a gathering place for many up and coming authors residing in New York during the mid 1800s. Every Saturday evening, Lynch welcomed guests such as Edgar Allen Poe, Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and more. At these meetings, it was said that authors would exchange ideas, reflect on their work, and at times, share certain excerpts with their fellow authors. In addition to being a sculptor and hostess, Lynch was also an author herself, though she is most famous for hosting these meetings. She is credited with founding the modern book club in New York.
The Jefferson Market Library (formerly the Third District Judicial Courthouse) is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, on a triangle of land bounded by Sixth Avenue to the east and 10th Street to the northwest. The area was originally a local market established in the early 1830’s shortly after the death of Thomas Jefferson, and named after him. A new courthouse, built in the Victorian Gothic (or Venetian Gothic) style, as well as a new prison and market, were constructed on the location during the years 1874-1877 by the architectural firm of Withers and Vaux (the old courthouse building is all that remains). It was voted fifth among the ten most beautiful buildings in America by a poll of architects in the 1880s. The building was vacated in 1958 and marked for demolition, but preservationists rallied to save it. In 1961, the city announced that the old courthouse would be converted into a library, and it was opened as the Jefferson Market branch of the New York Public Library in 1967. In 1972, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The three-story houses of Patchin Place were constructed in the 1850s as living quarters for Basque waiters who worked nearby at the Brevoort Hotel. In the early twentieth century, electricity and running water were installed, and Patchin Place began to attract a new type of resident: actors, artists, and writers. On July 1, 1918, the residents even put on a production of Yeats' play, The King's Threshold in the communal backyard, with the orchestra playing through the window of one of the kitchens. Three hundred audience members attended, and the proceeds were donated to the Goodhue Home Fund of The Evening Post. Among Patchin Place's literary residents were poet Edward Estlin Cummings, his wife, and fellow poet Marion Morehouse, and author Djuna Barnes, the couple's reclusive friend and next-door neighbor at #5 Patchin Place from 1940 on.
In the early 1900s, the writer O.Henry lived for several years at 55 Irving Place. It was a remarkably productive in period in the writer's life, but it coincided with a period of heavy drinking and declining health. It was during his time at Irving Place that Henry penned one of his most famous stories, "The Gift of the Magi." Pete's Tavern, one of the author's favorite watering holes and one where he often wrote at the bar, is just across the street.
The Hotel Chelsea is an iconic hotel in the Manhattan area, which was established in 1884. The hotel was home to many iconic residents, such as Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, and Iggy Pop, and it was the setting and subject of many films, novels, and other forms of popular culture. The Chelsea was closed for renovations in 2011, and as of April 2019, the renovations are ongoing.
The James Gordon Bennett Monument in Herald Square is dedicated to the founder of the New York Herald newspaper and his son, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., who managed the paper after his death. The monument includes bronze sculptures of Minerva and two owls, which were part of the Herald building (now destroyed) designed by Stanford White in 1890.
The historic B. Altman's Department store, which occupied an entire city block between 5th and Madison Avenues and 34th and 35th Streets, was the third location for the now-defunct retail giant. Constructed in 1905 in the Renaissance Revival style, the Fifth Avenue side opened in 1906 to critical acclaim, with the Madison Avenue side completed in 1914. The building was given landmark status by New York City in 1985, just four years before the store went bankrupt and ceased operations in 1989. The Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) of the New York Public Library system, located on the Madison Avenue side of the former store, was initiated in 1991 and opened to the public in 1996. It is a premier public business library with electronic resources, print materials and services for both start-ups and established businesses. A recent plan to sell the space and move its collection to the main library location (Schwarzman Building) on 42nd Street was abandoned, but the library's future remains uncertain.
The Morgan Library & Museum is a locally funded institution that provides visitors with a variety of educational opportunities. The Morgan, as it is often called, focuses on art, literature, and music, and pursues works that demonstrate incredible creativity. Furthermore, the Morgan Library serves as an international research center for scholars from around the world.
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is a part of the New York Public Library, consisting of four major research libraries and almost 90 branch libraries located throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. The Beaux-Arts building, located on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, houses outstanding collections in humanities and social sciences, as well as a children's collection. The building is being restored to its original purpose of providing library services for "the free use of all the people." Among the 15 million items and artifacts are medieval manuscripts, ancient Japanese scrolls, baseball cards, dime novels, and comic books.
Gertrude Stein was an influential author whose poetry and novels became well-known following the publication of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas in 1933. The daughter of Jewish immigrants from Germany, she nearly completed a medical degree before deciding to study the literature and the arts. Stein lived in Europe for much of her adult life, returning to New York in 1934 as a celebrity following the popularity of her 1933 novel which told Stein's life and work through the voice of her lifelong companion Alice Toklas. This statue of Gertrude Stein was installed in 1992 to recognize her contributions to literature and the arts. The casting was made from a 1923 model by Jo Davidson in Paris.
As New York City's most prestigious literary hotel, The Algonquin is designated a New York City Landmark and a National Literary Landmark. It has hosted writers, editors, actors, producers, critics, and publishers for over one hundred years, including the famous Algonquin Round Table (also known as the Vicious Circle), actors John Barrymore and Harpo Marx, and authors William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, J.D. Salinger, and Maya Angelou, among many others. Its Oak Room Cabaret has helped launch musical careers such as those of Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Feinstein. The Round Table Restaurant is the meeting place of the literary circle which included the founder of The New Yorker, Harold Ross; Dorothy Parker; Robert Benchley; and many other important writers and editors of the 1920s. Monthly walking tours of the hotel and nearby sites related to the Algonquin Round Table are available through the Dorothy Parker Society (see links at bottom of entry), led by Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, the Society's president.
A small and relatively unassuming building on East 58th Street has been home to two of the twentieth century's most influential artists. In 1943, painter Buffie Johnson purchased the building for $2000 and lived there until 1950. For part of that time, she leased the ground floor to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams.
From its opening in 1907 to today, this iconic hotel has represented the glamour of New York City and has entertained celebrities and world leaders. The current Plaza Hotel replaced a much smaller hotel, also known as the Plaza Hotel, that operated at this location from 1890 to 1905. Investors Bernhard Beinecke, Fred Sterry, and Harry S. Black recognized the value of this location and constructed the present luxury hotel which became the first in the city to become a National Historic Landmark.
Revered author Ernest Hemingway spent much of the last three decades of his life at his home near Havana, Cuba. When Fidel Castro took power in 1959 following the Cuban Revolution, the United States cut diplomatic relations with the country and pressured the writer to return home. Hemingway had purchased the East 62nd Street apartment earlier in 1959 for use on business trips to the city, and after leaving Cuba for the last time, he spent time in the home, and it is believed that he wrote his last book, "A Moveable Feast" there.
William Shakespeare had written thirteen comedies, thirteen historical dramas, six tragedies, four tragic comedies and 154 sonnets, that are still read all over the world today. Shakespeare has been a big influence on many writers and education majors for many, many years and will continue to do so. The memorial of William Shakespeare in New York City was sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward and was unveiled at the end of the Mall in Central Park between two elm trees on April 23, 1872. It was reveled 308 years after Shakespeare's birth.
The Frick Collection was formed from industrialist Henry Clay Frick’s personal art collection in 1935. The collection consists of works associated with Old Master paintings along with European sculptures and decorative arts. The Frick resides in Frick’s New York City residence, which he built with the understanding that it would one day become a museum. For this reason, the galleries are arranged aesthetically, rather than by particular themes. Frick’s home has changed extremely little and allows visitors to view works of art, architecture, and furnishings in the same way Frick would have. Aside from the collection, the Museum hosts special exhibitions, concert series, lectures and other educational programs. The goal of the collection is to preserve and deepen the appreciation of art.
This branch of the New York Public Library is part of the Lincoln Center complex and is home of one of the world's largest collections of library materials related to the performing arts. These materials may be viewed free of charge and some may be checked out to library card holders. The library also offers special programs such as special exhibitions of materials from its collections, lectures performances, and traveling exhibits. The library is located near the north side of the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center Plaza and shares a building with the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The library includes the Billy Rose Theatre Division, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts; the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, the largest and most comprehensive archive in the world devoted to the documentation of dance; the Music Division, which contains one of the world's preeminent music collections; and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, one of the richest resources of recorded sound in the world. The library has been open since 1965. In 2015, the library was voted Best Public Library by the Village Voice. “If you need to catch up on your John Ford westerns or map the differences and similarities between the styles of Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham, or get to the bottom, once and for all, of the sound of John Cage," the Village Voice reported, "the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is where you want to be.”
The New York Historical Museum and Library was founded in 1804. It is the state's oldest museum and prides itself in offering historical documents on U.S. and New York history, exhibitions, and artwork. It is seventy years older than the Museum of Metropolitan of Art. The New-York Historical Society Museum functions as a place of research and fosters discussions on issues focusing on the making of history and historiography.
Born in Alabama and raised in Florida, Zora Neale Hurston came to Harlem in 1925. During her time in the city, she earned a degree from Barnard College and soon became one of the luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. Though it was her Southern home that was the setting for much of her writing, it was her time in Harlem that launched her career. Like many other writers and artists, Hurston left Harlem as the Depression limited money that was available from patrons of the arts. Five years after leaving this brownstone where she penned many of her most influential works, she published the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God." The book received mixed reviews at the time but today it is often included in lists of the most influential books published in the 20th century.
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture located in Harlem, New York is a research unit of The New York Public Library system. It is recognized as one of the leading institutions focusing exclusively on African-American, African Diaspora, and African experiences. Begun with the collections of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg more than 85 years ago, the Schomburg has collected, preserved, and provided access to materials documenting Black life—in America and worldwide. It has also promoted the study and interpretation of the history and culture of peoples of African descent. Today, the Schomburg continues to serve the community not just as a center and a library, but also as a space that encourages lifelong education and exploration. The Schomburg Center consists of three connected buildings: The Schomburg Building, the Langston Hughes Building, and the Landmark Building.
This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.
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This tour from Brooklyn to Harlem includes two dozen literary landmarks such as markers, former homes, and monuments to great writers from Richard Wright and Walt Whitman to Shakespeare. The tour also includes some of the leading branch locations of the New York Public Library, among other places that are sure to please book lovers.
