When the Frosts movedĀ into their building, the Village was still a thriving creative enclave. The neighborhood became a sort of engine for Western culture after World War II, with Beats, artists, musicians and oddballs flooding the cheap, drafty rooms in rundown brownstones. On Ninth Street alone lived Dawn Powell, Marianne Moore, Astor Piazzolla, Barbra Streisand, Maurice Sendak and Jimi Hendrix.