Community Org Pushes To Save Village Home Of Longtime Theater

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A community organization based in the Village is pushing the city to grant landmark status to a 170-year-old building in Lower Manhattan with ties to the development of the theater in the Black and LGBTQ communities, and also the former home to a prominent African-American businessman in the 19th century.

Village Preservation has started a campaign to "save" 50 West 13th Street, which has been home to the 13th Street Repertory Theatre for half a century.

Edit O'Hara, the founder of the theater, recently died, and the new majority owner is likely to demolish the house unless it is landmarked.

In a quest to convince the city to grant the address landmark status, the organization has uncovered a detailed history of the property.

Here's what the Village Organization wrote about the 50 West 13th's house property:

"Built in 1846-47, this three and half story rowhouse retains distinctive and unusual Greek Revival architectural detailing from the first half of the 19th century. From 1858 to 1884, it was also home to Jacob Day, one of New York's most wealthy and successful 19th century African American businessmen and real estate owners, crusader for African American civil rights, and a prominent supporter of African American institutions. Day led efforts to grant equal access to the vote for African Americans while living here, and there is significant evidence that he was a supporter of the Underground Railroad, possibly even using his home to help fugitive slaves.

This remarkably and rarely documented history is endangered, and may only be saved if the Landmarks Preservation Commission reverses itself and agrees to landmark this building.

Beginning in 1972, 50 West 13th Street was also home of the 13th Street Repertory Company, one of New York's oldest "Off -Off Broadway" theaters. The theater, and several which occupied the space before it, hosted decades of prominent actors, directors, artists, designers, and playwrights, as well as Off-Off Broadway's longest-running show ever, "Line." The 13th Street Repertory Theatre, helped launch the careers of Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Chazz Palminteri, Richard Dreyfus, Christopher Meloni, and many others. The theater space has also played a significant role in African American and LGBT theatrical history. For all these reasons the building deserves to be preserved."

You can find out more about 50 West 13th Street here.