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Well before Soho became SOHO, there was the West Village, an urban network of lower and middle class dwellers, merchants, craftsmen, intellectuals and artists in the infrastructure of city parks, small restaurants, cafes and theaters. In time, this cultural stronghold of the Lower West Side fell into decline and one of the last flagships of the performing arts was, for a short time, located at the Mercer Arts Center, an assembly of small theaters facing Mercer street in what was the old Hotel Central.