West village life scooter

In her brilliant Instagram feed West Village Life, local resident Jessica Bowers takes photos of beautiful and fascinating places around her neighbourhood, from historical homes and popular coffee shops, to interiors of locals’ apartments and curious shops. She instantly fell in love with the West Village and its residents when she moved here in 2008, starting her project soon after with encouragement from friends who saw her passion for her surroundings and sharing her favourite local spots. Today she has almost 50K followers! Here are some of my favourites:

Above: 48 West 10th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Built in 1830 and landmarked in 1969. This federal designed townhouse is unique with its aqua blue shutters and matching blue Vespa that is always parked in front. You will not find another townhouse in the Village with a matching Vespa.

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The Friends apartment building, 90 Bedford Street. This corner is home to a West Village classic and must dine restaurant The Little Owl. The building above Little Owl is known as the building the characters Monica and Rachel from hit TV show Friends lived in. You will spot this building in the opening credits of the show.

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Three Lives & Co, 154 West 10th Street. This independent bookshop first opened its doors in 1968 and still sticks to its original motto: “The store exists for the reader, not for the publisher or the marketer”. This shop might be one of the coziest in the neighbourhood.

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83 Charles Street. Morning light shines on this gorgeous townhouse built in 1899 and covered with greenery.

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78 Perry Street, located between West 4th and Bleecker streets. Just a few doors down from the location that stood in for Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop on Sex and The City and always populated by fans taking photos.

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Gay Street. A quintessential West Village road; short and crooked it marks off one block of the Village. With its secretive curved appearance it naturally became a spot for speakeasies during the 20s.

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317 Bleecker Street, at the corner of Bleecker and Grove streets. Look closely and you can see the green fire escape monogrammed with the letter ‘G’. Representing Grove Street, installed in the 1940s.

Equinox Greenwich Street WVL

243 West 12th Street, between West 4th Street and Greenwich Avenue sits this four-story Greek Revival townhouse. Built apprx. around 1843, it radiates classic old world charm.

Gerbers

Garber Hardware at 710 Greenwich Street, between Charles and West 10th Streets. This family operation has been in business since 1884 and is a West Village institution. You will not find better customer service any where else in the village. These guys are phenomenal and carry almost everything!

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren clothes shop, 381 Bleecker Street, between Perry and Charles Streets. Bleecker is one of the only streets that stretches from the West Village to the East Village which makes it the perfect street to stroll down during this phenomenal weather. We suggest stopping in this shop to be transported in time with the vintage decor and perfectly curated merchandise.

Perry Street Garage

Perry Street Garage, 738 Greenwich Street between Perry and West 11th streets.

Cafe Panino Mucho

Café Panino Mucho Giusto, 551 Hudson Street. A West Village staple and where we go for the most delicious vegan wraps.

Tartine WVL

Tartine at 253 West 11th Street, between West 4th Street and Waverly Place. Tartine is a West Village institution serving French food all day. The best feature of Tartine is they offer BYOB. This picturesque cafe is not to be missed!

West 12th Street WVL

Bedford Street in the sunshine.

dogs in the west village

The Spotted Pig, 314 West 11th Street. Some locals chilling outside The Spotted Pig restaurant. This photo was taken by our favorite dog walker @venusverse who takes our WVL mascots for group walks and social hour where they catch up on all the local gossip.

green door west village life

West 12th Street, between Greenwich Avenue and West 4th Street. This block of West 12th is anchored by the famed Cubby Hole, a locals’ only spot with great cheap beers on tap along with Happy Hour Monday – Saturday until 7pm! One of the many reasons we adore the West Village.

Gay Street

Gay Street, between Christopher Street and Waverly Place. Gay Street originally a stable alley and too narrow to be a full fledged street. In 1833 the City of New York widened it. As a result Federal style houses of 1826-33 remained on the West side of the street and house on the East side of the street dated from 1844-1860 with Greek Revival remnants on the doorways and windows.

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2 Comments

  1. Love these pics. Perhaps they’re so intriguing as they don’t feature people or passerbys. They’re so still and atmospheric as a result. Would love to see more NYC Insta feeds. Thanks Ellie 🙂

    • EllieSeymour Reply

      Hi Jo – they’re great shots, aren’t they? I think you’re right – it’s the lack of people in them that make these pictures so mysterious but beautiful. I’ll definitely be posting more Insta feeds, so check back soon.

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