PLACE

Robert McCloskey Residence

280 W. 12th Street

The Venue

Renowned children’s author Robert McCloskey once lived here. Make Way for Ducklings may have taken place in Boston, but the idea for the story developed in Greenwich Village. Having given up on drawing the ducks on display at the Museum of Natural History, McCloskey bought live ducks at a market in the Village. For two years he allowed the animals to roam free while he tried to sketch their details. Rumor has it the ducks moved to quickly to draw so McCloskey served them wine to slow them down. To learn more about McCloskey you can listen this NPR piece that aired following his death in 2003.

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