"Once Upon a Midnight Dreary"

Anthony Flint’s description of Greenwich Village as a “place steeped in history” (68), drawing great writers and musicians to it for decades, re-contextualized the meaning of Washington Square park and Greenwich Village to me.  When I read Flint’s mention of Edgar Allen Poe living in an apartment near the park and was continually reminded of the poet’s presence in the Village while reading Michael Sorkin’s reference to his apartment building, Annabel Lee, I decided to find out where it was exactly that Poe resided in the nineteenth century.
 
A quick Google search revealed that Edgar Allan Poe lived on 85 West Third Street from 1844-1845. When I arrived at this address I found a red brick building incased by a larger building, NYU Law’s Furman hall. The brick façade is marked with a plaque to signify Poe’s previous presence in the space. It explains that it was in his Greenwich village house that he began writing "The Cask of Amontillado" and where he was living when "The Raven" was published. In 2001 the original 19th century house was torn down by NYU’s expansion of its law school. It was reconstructed a half a block from its original site using none of the building’s original materials. The building’s façade now is just a symbol of what used to be. 
 
It is interesting to think about how symbolic historical landmarks such as the Edgar Allen Poe house can subtly influence our modern lives. Walter Benjamin, a historical theorist, describes the past erupting into the present as the “dialectical image.” The marking of historical places with plaques is a representation of this image; they signify in the present significant moments of the past.
 
My fascination with the Edgar Allen Poe house or various other places that served as settings for great thought or action, is propelled by the power that accompanies the dialectical image. This power is be manifested into that eerily feeling that can come over someone when they stand before a place and realize the significance of all that has happened before them. Benjamin argues that we should not look to the future but to the past for progression as a society.  We must acknowledge the past in order to understand the capabilities of our own actions to impact the future. Whether symbolized by buildings in the West Village of New York City or by the temples and theatres of ancient Greece, places where the past and present interact with each other are to me, profoundly inspirational.  Is it possible that the greater power of place lies not in inhabiting it but in remembering it?
 
http://www.nypap.org/content/edgar-allan-poe-house