Charles St, West Village

Charles isn't the most happening street in the West Village but the artists have always seemed to love living on it. Right at the corner of Charles and the West Side Highway is Mark Seliger's studio. He's the main photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine and he is an incredibly nice man. He's always out and about in the neighborhood. Across the street is a huge Meier building that Natalie Portman owns a condo in. The corner of Washington and Charles is a beautiful building that used to be the village Police Headquarters from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. It is now an incredibly expensive residential building appropriately named the Gendarme Apartments. The corner of Greenwich and Charles is where Diane Arbus lived for some time. And, directly next door is a really unusual building that I love. It was a tiny old farmhouse that used to be in the Upper East Side hundreds of years ago. The entire house was moved to its current location and it doesn't fit in at all but it's really cool. The author of Goodnight Moon lived in this house when it was uptown. Now, just rich people live here. NYC Bomb Squad is at Charles and Hudson which I think is kind of weird.
The writer of The Little Bear lived at 92 Charles. Woody Guthrie lived next door. A bunch of writers lived directly across the street, the most notable being Sinclair Lewis (until 1913). The model Ann Barton lived at the corner of Charles and West 4th. She was e.e. Cummings' muse and second wife. They broke up several times because she kept cheating on him. He wrote about her all the time so she's kind of famous because of it. Across the street is a great Spanish restaurant called Sevilla. Richard Wright lived at the corner of Charles and 7th and James Cain lived next door to that. Elizabeth Bishop lived directly across the street and hated it, claiming it was "on the verge of the village, unfortunately." I tend to agree with this particular block of Charles because Greenwich is pretty gross in comparison to the West Village. It starts to get a little Greenwich rowdy and dirty around this block. But, it's still really expensive and much prettier than the majority of Manhattan. Charles is a really arty street and always has been and I really like that. It still maintains the spirit, in a way, that started to go when it started really expensive.

Charles Street is close to Christopher St. and Gay Street as well as Sheridan Square and thus it offers a truly lively and friendly environment. Where it intersects with Hudson Street Bayard's Ale House offers a friendly bar environment. Mary's Fish Camp, on Bleeker is a friendly casual spot for dinner and fun. The area just exudes a friendly vibe that can not be beat and it's so close to the action that residents and visitors will never be out of things to do and places to stop by.

Sheridan Square is the pulse of what village life is today! The area around Sheridan Square has been pre-eminent among jazz clubs for the past 75 years. The Square is also a very prominent spot to live, whether gay or straight, the place rocks. We’ve lived in this area for a long time and it’s a vibrant spot – you’re always guaranteed to see unusual activities taking place. Take a camera.