Becoming Bohemia: Greenwich Village 1912–1923

The New York Public Library presents this look back at a time when Greenwich Village was a hotbed of the counterculture—long before the term “counterculture” existed. Attracted by inexpensive real estate and a convivial environment, artists and activists from around the world made the neighborhood their home. Among the tales the exhibition tells is about the time in 1917 when Marcel Duchamp and other artist friends climbed to the top of the Washington Square Arch and declared that the neighborhood was an independent republic. For more on this, watch the Library’s short film.