The House of Genius once stood at 61 Washington Square South overlooking Washington Square Park. The four-story red brick rowhouse stood among several red brick rowhouses between West Broadway and Thompson Street, and was referred to by Greenwich Village residents as the “Red Row” or “Genius Row.”¹ Madame Branchard, a Swiss native, began leasing the house in 1886 from George Goelet Kip.² She converted the single family dwelling into a boarding house for writers, artists, and musicians.³ The interior of her second floor apartment featured walls “covered with paintings of artists, some now famous, others gone.”⁴ The third and fourth floors were also emblazoned with artistic murals and poetry etched by the former guests.⁵

Some of the more notable residents included Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, and Alan Seeger. Mme. Branchard was known in the Village by her guests as a generous landlord because she exclusively rented to artists even though they were often late on rent. On her 80^th birthday, Village residents arranged for a procession around Washington Square Park in a horse drawn buggy. At the birthday celebration, Branchard comically remarked, “Art is grand and literature is wonderful. But what a pity it is that it takes so many barrels of liquor to produce them. Why this is not a house; it’s an aquarium.”⁶ Mme. Branchard passed away in 1937.

The House of Genius quickly became known as a haven for artistic bohemia in Greenwich Village even after Branchard’s death. It further served as an “artistic landmark” for Greenwich Village inhabitants.⁷ Developer and builder Anthony Campagna bought the row of houses and evicted the tenants in order to build a high-rise apartment building. However, after the buildings were demolished he rescinded his plan to build the apartment building and sold the property to New York University.⁸

The House of Genius in Greenwich Village never received landmark designation. It was demolished in 1948 and replaced by NYU housing.

1948: The House of Genius is demolished

The campaign to save the House of Genius was one of the early preservation battles prior to the passing of the New York City Landmarks Law. Local Greenwich Village residents along with community organizers fought for its protection based on its cultural and artistic significance.


When developer Anthony Campagna bought the row houses on Washington Square South between Thompson Street and West Broadway he planned to demolish the houses in order to build a large apartment building for 302 dwellings.⁹ The row houses, also referred to as the "Red Row" and "Genius Row," had been the home of many successful artists and writers, serving as a literary and artistic epicenter in Greenwich Village.¹⁰


Bishop William T. Manning spearheaded the campaign to save Genius Row by proposing to convert the buildings into an art center.¹¹ He formed the Committee for the Washington Square Living Art Center which included John Sloan, Justice Henry H. Curvan, and Carl Van Doran. The art center would have functioned as a work/residential spot for artists and writers. 
Bishop T. Manning hoped that preserving the buildings for an art center would help "preserve the historic, cultural, and architectural charm of Washington Square Park."¹² Prior to the passing of the New York City Landmarks Law, A. G. Mezerik, chairman of the Washington Square Tenants Committee, encouraged the designation of the row as a National Historic Landmark.¹³

In 1948, Anthony Campagna was granted eviction certificates from the City.¹⁴ He demolished the first row house at 64 Washington Square South in March of 1948.
 During an interim period while the tenants living in the three remaining houses battled with Campagna in court, Bishop T. Manning sought more funds to adaptively reuse the row houses as an art center. 
However, by the summer of 1948 the tenants had reached an agreement with Campagna to evacuate their homes. Bishop T. Manning had failed to secure enough funds to convert the houses into an art center.¹⁵

However, after the buildings were demolished, the proposed apartment building was never built. Robert Moses encouraged Anthony Campagna to sell the property to New York University.¹⁶ 
This further fueled the fire for Village activists who feared New York University's buildings would overtake the Village and destroy its historic charm.¹⁷ The loss of this battle served as an impetus, motivating Villagers to fight to preserve their neighborhood. This fight would eventually lead to the designation of the neighborhood as a New York City Historic District.

• Oral History with Carol Greitzer
• New York Preservation Archive Project
  174 East 80^th Street
  New York, NY 10075
  Tel: (212) 988-8379
  Email: info@nypap.org