Then & Now: Astor, St. Marks, Bleecker, Bowery & Beyond Edition

I'd love to suggest that this post (the first, I hope, in a very long, ambitious series) was inspired by Douglas Levere's New York Changing: Revisiting Berenice Abbott's New York, but the truth of the matter isn't that lofty. After my esteemed bloggy comrade Jeremiah Moss put up some old photos he'd taken of Carmine Street in the 1990s, I thought it might be interesting to photographically re-visit a few of the locales I'd similarly captured in the past, specifically ones that had undergone the most changes. So, this afternoon, after I sheepishly discussed the project with my wife, she gamely let me off my leash to spend the afternoon taking some pictures. The fruits of which -- paired with the earlier shots that inspired them -- are below.

Please bear in mind that in most cases, the earlier shots were taken with a high-end camera with a variety of fancy, wide-angle lenses. I still have that camera, but since switching over to digital in 2004, I haven't had the resources to amplify my picture-taking with anything more than a Canon PowerShot. I've tried to replicate the earlier photos as best I can, but some obviously work better than others.

In order to attain that accuracy, I printed out each of the shots and hit the streets with them. After taking each picture, I decided to leave the print that inspired it behind as a memento/tribute, so if you happen to see my pictures blowing around in the breeze around the Bowery, you'll know why.

I'm not entirely sure what conclusions you're supposed to draw from these images. Personally speaking, while I was heartened to see that some things hadn't changed that much, my overall impression was that things are a bit duller, safer, built-up and antiseptic. See what you think, though.

Astor Place 2002:

Astor Place 2009:

Astor Place Cube 1998:

Astor Place Cube 2009:

St. Marks Place 1999:

St. Marks Place 2009:

13 St. Marks Place 2004:

13 St. Marks Place 2009:

Trash & Vaudeville 1997:

Trash & Vaudeville 2009:

The Bowery 1998:

The Bowery 2009:

Skies Over East 4th & Bowery 1999:

Skies Over East 4th & Bowery 2009

East 4th Street 2002:

East 4th Street 2009:

Bleecker Street Doorway 1999:

Bleecker Street Doorway 2009:

9 Bleecker Street 2002:

9 Bleecker Street 2009:

11 Bleecker Street 1998:

11 Bleecker Street 2009:

Bowery at Bleecker 2005:

Bowery at Bleecker 2009 (Johnny Argyle-Vest below was a little vexed that I took his pic):

315 Bowery 1995:

315 Bowery 2009:

Corner of Bowery & 1st Street 2002:

Corner of Bowery & 1st Street 2009:

Corner of 1st & Extra Place 2002:

Corner of 1st & Extra Place 2009:

Corner of East 1st Street & 2nd Avenue 2001:

Corner of East 1st & 2nd Avenue 2009:

9 2nd Avenue 2002:

9 2nd Avenue 2009:

Mars Bar 1999:

Mars Bar 2009:

295 Bowery (a.k.a McGurk's Suicide Hall) 2002:

295 Bowery (a.k.a. McGurk's Suicide Hall) 2009:

295 Bowery 1996:

295 Bowery 2009:

Southwest Corner of Bowery & Houston 1999:

Southwest Corner of Bowery & Houston 2009

Bleecker Street Subway 1996:

Bleecker Street Subway 2009:

University Place between 13th Street & Union Square 2002:

University Place between 13th Street & Union Square 2009:

Self near the Bottom Line 1987:

Self near the site of the old Bottom Line 2009:

That's all for now. Look for future editions dedicated to Soho, the East Village, Chinatown, TribeCa, Union Square & beyond.

New!: Click here to see the Then & Now: East Village Edition.

Comments

[EV Grieve]

Wow...this is really interesting...and depressing all at once. It just doesn't *seem* like that long ago for the befores, and yet so much has changed.

[Bowery Boogie]

spectacular collection, dude! crazy to take a step back and see all the change.

[NYCDreamin]

The Noho Star building (#54 Bleecker)(seen in the Bleecker Street Subway photos) was the site of two early Kiss concerts in 1973 - 1st on 05/04/73 with Wayne County's Queen Elizabeth and the Brats, 2nd on 06/01/73 with just The Brats. I believe one of the Brats had a loft on the top floor.

All the photos are graet Alex - nice job. Sad to see everything becoming so sanitized.

[twitter.com/MissTanya]

This is rad. I don't think everything is that sanitized, just different. Nice to step back and see.

I also like the old Sam Black Church logo on 295 Bowery.

[Alex in NYC]

Sorry, T, that's actually the cryptic insignia of MISSING FOUNDATION:

http://thenewyorknobodysings.blogspot.com/search/label/Missing%20Foundation

[Alex in NYC]

And thanks, btw! :)

[dark1p]

I think the 90s were a kind of golden age down here. Just a little gentrified, a lot safer, but still lots of the old days on display.

Now....eh.

Great post, sir. Thanks.

[Jonathan]

It makes me sick to see the gleaming yuppie fortresses and banks paving over what makes NYC so special. Of course I'd rather see progress than abandoned storefronts, but I'd prefer local businesses than another sterile Capital One bank or Starbucks.

[Jill]

These are wonderful, even with the point and shoot. I've often thought of doing that too but mostly I can't figure out where all the original photos were taken. Some seem to have little/few landmarks and I wonder how you knew where they were originally?

[Alex in NYC]

My brain seems to have a massive propensity to remember trivial detail. I can't scramble an egg or even begin to mentally grapple with the most rudimentary arithmetic, but I can still remember minutia like this. Couple that with a virulent sentimental streak et voila.

[Donna Muller]

That was fascinating; it's my absolute favorite kind of photography. Got the link from The Bowery Boys. I go crazy for this kind of stuff.

[ken mac]

13 st marks place was beautiful, thus it had to be abolished. Welcome back Bloomberg the Abolisher!

[BaHa]

Great, depressing stuff. You've inspired me to dig out my photos of the LES/EV in the 1980s. Now, that was a time. Where Red Square is now, for example, was a vacant lot filled with Queen Anne's Lace.

[robyn]

i especially like the photos of you in '87 and '09.
thanks for putting this together, both tragic and happy.

[Alex in NYC]

Heh. Yes, my transformation from a 20 yr. old to a 42 yr. old is tragic indeed.

[Tom B]

As someone who lives out of state but loves to visit NYC, I don't understand why the locals complain about the past two mayors. The "now" pictures sure look better than the "then" pictures. I prefer walking the streets of NYC without getting mugged, stepping in trash or being ask for money. What am I not understanding? I would like to see all stores be Mom & Pop, but what can you do? Do you really need flop houses? Does the unproductive really contribute a necessary charater to the city?