Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village is a lovely place to spend an afternoon. I always have a book with me, but the sights and sounds at the park are so distracting that I usually end up people watching and listening to the ever present bands and musicians around the main fountain instead of reading. The 'Crazy Piano Guy' as he is known, is Colin Huggins, a Georgia native who found success in NYC as a ballet accompanist for Joffrey and and the American Ballet Theatre. Those are impressive credits. But apparently that type of success wasn't very satisfying for Mr. Huggins, who decided that he would rather push various types of pianos all over Manhattan and play amongst the people. And that is exactly what he has been doing for about five years now. So on your next visit to NYC, keep an eye out for this awesome character. There's no telling where he and his piano might be. Here's my homage to French New Wave:
On the other side of the fountain another band was jammin'. Unfortunately I didn't get their story or even their name, but I really enjoyed their tunes:
The Washington Square Arch was modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which is pictured below. The WSA was erected in 1889 in celebration of the centennial of George Washington's inauguration as president. It was made of plaster and wood until 1892 when the more permanent marble arch was designed by architect Stanford White and subsequently erected.
Since the 1940's Washington Square Park has been a hub for many artists, writers, and activists. In the 1950's and 60's it became the heart of the folk music scene, the hippie movement, and the beat generation, with professional musicians such as Buddy Holly, Joan Baez,
David Bennett Cohen, Dave Von Ronk, and Bob Dylan hanging out and playing alongside amateur musicians. In 1961, the parks commissioner decided that the park should be peaceful and quiet and ordered a ban on Sunday folk performances. This was also an attempt to rid the park of "undesirables" and "degenerates" by removing “the roving
troubadours and their followers.” Hundreds of musicians gathered in
protest, a demonstration which was organized by Izzy Young, director of the Folklore Center on MacDougal
Street, a few blocks away from the park.The cops showed up, madness ensued, and newspapers the following day christened the event The Beatnik Riot and The Washington Square Folk Riot.
Eventually the ban was lifted after more protests followed and a 1,500 person petition was signed. And to this day, Washington Square Park continues building on its legacy as a cultural and political epicenter hosting buskers of every musical genre, rallies, performance artists, music festivals, film screenings, and art showings.
There isn't much documentation on that day save for Dan Drasin's 20 minute documentary, Sunday. This year marks its 51st anniversary. Best line in the short film goes to Izzy Young: "I
have everybody singing 'The Star-Spangled Banner. I
said, 'They can't hit us on the head while we're doing that.'" The cops waited patiently until after they were done singing to start hitting people on the head. It's quite a moving scene:
"I need pull myself out of the hole I've been digging/ Better make something of myself because my time is ticking " --Washington Square Park, No Medication
