Like central Greenwich Village to its east, this part of Manhattan followed a similar path from being farmland to a 19th-century residential neighborhood away from the bustle of downtown. Its 19th-century past is visible in stately rowhouses, most in brick, and some streets that remain cobblestone to this day. Even occasional street names recall this period: When cholera or other outbreaks hit the Financial District, banks would temporarily move their operations to Bank Street. For much of the 20th century, the West Village would be associated with the writers and artists who called it home — Willa Cather, e.e. cummings, and Jack Kerouac among them. This legacy lives on in institutions like the Cherry Lane Theatre (on Commerce Street), the Lucille Lortel Theatre, and, more recently, the new location of the Whitney Museum, which opened in 2015.

Among the appeals of the West Village are the many small boutiques and cafes on its quiet side streets: Turn a corner and you may find a cozy restaurant with no more than half a dozen tables. There are still, however, several notable concentrations of commercial life. Bookstores, designer shops, and one of the neighborhood’s newer attractions — Magnolia Bakery — can be found on Bleecker Street. At the northern end of the West Village, the formerly gritty Meatpacking District is now filled every night of the week with drinkers and diners, while shoppers flock to its boutiques by day.