MacDougal Alley

Originally a private lane of 19^th century stables belonging to adjacent townhouses.  With the advent of the automobile in the early 20^th century, most of the stables became studio workshops for artists.  In 1907 wealthy socialite and sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney—future founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art—leased a stable here for her workshop, and soon became a patron of less-affluent artists in the Village.