In 1973, artist Liz Christy and her band of volunteers transformed a vacant lot at this site to create the Bowery-Houston Community Farm and Garden. Her Green Guerillas cleared garbage, built soil from police-stable manure, and planted trees, flowers, and vegetables. AT More than 600 community gardens now grace New York City neighborhoods. Generations of volunteer gardeners have enhanced the design, recruited members, and opened this garden to the public weekends and some evenings. In 2004, the garden faced an existential threat from the development of surrounding lots by AvalonBay. Thanks to action from garden members, the community, city officials and the Parks Department, the garden not only survived but was expanded to Second Avenue. The Liz Christy Garden is famous worldwide for its beauty as well as its unlikely formation. With its dedicated, all-volunteer membership, it continues to prosper even as the neighborhood changes. Garden volunteers at beginnings, Spring 1974 Top left: Dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, planted in 1975 Top right: In 2005, demolition of Church of All Nations came within inches of the garden FIRST NEW YORK CITY COMMUNITY GARDEN LIZ CHRISTY GARDEN
WINDOWS ON THE BOWERY The Bowery is NYC’s oldest thoroughfare. Originally a Native American footpath and Dutch farm road (bouwerij means farm), it is a cradle of American culture, with seminal links to tap dance, vaudeville, Yiddish theater, Lincoln, Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, tattoo art, Abstract Expressionism, Beat literature, jazz and punk rock. Though listed on the National Register of Historic Places, out-of-scale developments are displacing its residents, small businesses, and historic character. More info/link to Bowery’s National Register listing: boweryalliance.org
Funding for the BOWERY SIGNAGE PROJECT: La Vida Feliz Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Patricia Field, Andre Balazs, Adam Woodward, John Derian, Michael A. Geyer Architect, and contributions from Bowery friends and neighbors. Poster Design: Professional Practice Class, The Cooper Union
Namesake of Liz Christy Garden during its early period