Greenwich Village and Washington Square expressed two very different experiences as we walked through the streets. Different in street scape, Greenwich Village had an irregular and scattered grid while Washington Square had a more structured and rectilinear grid, this helped enhance the experience. We also walked about SOHO, where there was a huge change in building scape and architectural styles.

Starting with Washington Square, all the architecture was like Brooklyn Heights. There was a lot of townhouses that were made from brick, brownstone, and iron for the railings and balconies. The only difference was that they were taller. They carried the Greek revival style that was shown through the columns used next to the doors and the fenestration designs. All these buildings surrounded, one of the major notable qualities, Washington Square Park. It was considered one of the largest open spaces according to the 1811 map. I observed several green spaces that were adjacent to each other where people were able to lay, and rest and they also allowed circulation spaces between them so people can move throughout the park. All these paths led to the biggest open space of the park, which was right at the center. It consisted of a circular fountain as well as a tall arch composed of stone. Build in 1889, the arch was built to commemorate George Washington as the first president of the US. It was, in fact, temporarily plaster and wood but soon translated to stone. Another notable quality of Washington Square Park was that it broke the route of 5 avenue which is a major street, but this allowed the arch to be a beautiful and monumental view to 5 avenue.

Greenwich Village, on the other hand, as stated previously had a scattered grid layout causing the circulation experience to be different. This made the streets be narrow and one way, but there were more alternate routes for vehicles. Greenwich Village was a wealthy neighborhood and its architecture had its similarities to Brooklyn Heights specifically in materials. The difference was the use of iron for railings and balconies. They were much detailed and decorative, some of which were inspired by Italianate design. A notable quality in this area was the difference in door width. Some of the townhouses had monumental sized doors and it created a more elegant and unique experience to the façade.

Making our way into SOHO, we saw a major shift in building scape and material. There were more commercial buildings than homes. The buildings were much taller, and it was where the elevator was initially used. Cast iron was the common material used in this neighborhood, it was a cheaper, structural, and easy to form different geometrical shapes. One of the notable qualities here, was the modularity in windows and columns as well as the details in the columns themselves. Most of these designs, were inspired from Italianate architecture. The columns were Corinthian styled which became a mark for these SOHO buildings.