Curbed.com put together this pre-Starbucks slideshow of the Astor/Cooper Square neighborhood (The Standard, East Village's stomping grounds) dating all the way back to the 1860s. See them all here.
- Some interesting factoids:
- • There used to be an elevated rail
- • On Lafayette Street nine Greek revival townhouses were constructed in the 1830s, housing the likes of President John Tyler, John Jacob Astor III, and Washington Irving.
- • According to a Curbed commenter (he's wearing a bow-tie so he must be trustworthy) that off-kilter, twirly cube thing in Astor Square was designed by Tony Rosenthal and is titled "Alamo." It was installed in 1967 as part of a temporary exhibition.
- • During the late 1800s, on the current site of The Standard, there used to be a gay brothel called "The Buck"
