As has should have been predicted, the winner of the The Return of the Flaming Pablum Photo Quiz is the unstoppable Bob Egan of PopSpots. Bob writes...
Alex,
Found. Turns out it’s where Charles Street meets Greenwich Ave right next to the PS 41 Schoolyrd where Adam Horowitz went to elementary school.
How I found it: Firs thing I did was find that the photographer was Ricky Powell. Then I seached all Beastie Boy pictures by him on Google images and found 3 others from that shoot. In one they were on a bus – the same one that was in the back of the picture you sent out. Behind the bus (in the picture where they are on it) is a huge old residential building that seemed West Villagy. Then, I figured the space behind the bus in the picture you sent went deep, so must have been a playground. So, in thinking over playground, I came up with PS 41 where my kids went and I knew Adam had gone. Then I flew down” (Google Sreet Views) into Charles street and, spinning to the right, saw the fire escape. Then I went closer to the playground and matched up the tall building on the right. Then I “turned the camera” to look down Greenwich Avenue and that’s when I saw he tall building (At Greenwich and Christopher) that’s in the photo of the three of the guys photo. Lots of fun - keep “em coming.
Bob P.S. Parenthetically, in Googling Ricky Powell’s name , I found that he was acknowledged in their song “Car Thief” with the lines: “Homeboy throw in your towel, you’re girl got dicked by Ricky Powell.” His name also appears in some of their other raps.
Here's Bob's scrupulous visual documentation. Click on each to enlarge:
Like many other folks, I first heard the name Ricky Powell on the track off Paul's Boutique that Bob cites above, "Car Thief" (for more about my love of Paul's Boutique click here). In any case, Ricky Powell actually became something of a local legend in his own right. In addition to be a pal of the Beasties, a graffiti enthusiast, a budding photographer and a hip hop hepcat, Powell hosted his own cable access program called "Rappin' with the Rickster" (see clip below) wherein he documented any number of shenanigans. Seek it out.
I posted Bob's scrupulous detective work above, but being that it was a beautiful Memorial Day today and I had the afternoon off, I took my little daughter Charlotte out for some ice cream, and along the way, we stopped by Charles Street to pay our own homage to Powell's photograph. Afterwards, I sat down with Charlotte on a nearby stoop to compare our shots with Powell's original. WHILE WE WERE DOING SO (and I swear I'm not making this up, although I was too much of a wimp not to seize the moment), Ricky Powell HIMSELF walked by, as if on cue. Under different circumstances, I might have said something, but it all just seemed to weird and stalky (coupled with the fact that I was wearing a Beastie Boys t-shirt at the time). I just thought I should leave him alone, although I guess it's obvious he still lives in the neighborhood. See my & Charlotte's replication of the photograph below.
LOOK FOR MORE PHOTO QUIZ ACTION COMING SOON!
Amazing!
Posted by: Erik | May 28, 2012 at 05:05 PM
Ricky is a pretty cool guy, he probably would have been happy to chat as long as you didn't come off too geeky and fanboy-ish.
Posted by: arem | May 29, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Well, that was precisely my concern. Oh well, maybe next time.
Posted by: Alex in NYC | May 29, 2012 at 11:56 AM
Fantastic. Bob is some kind of savant.
Posted by: Grahame | May 30, 2012 at 09:40 AM
I Love This....
Posted by: Ricky Powell | June 04, 2012 at 07:27 PM
And yes, I still live in the neighborhood, on Charles St btwn West 4th and Bleecker. But I wasn't living there yet. I was still living at home at 24 Fifth Ave... I too, went to PS41, Class of '72. Rachel Horovitz was in my 4th grade class and she lives a couple of blocks from me now and we run into exch other and say hello...She's always been very nice... I'm pretty blown away by this article... Next time say hello, I'd be more than gladd to stop and chill on a stoop with you and charlottee. Stay up.
Posted by: Ricky Powell | June 04, 2012 at 07:31 PM
Btw, I shot this photo / roll in May of '86...It was for a cover story on them for The East Village Eye magazine...
Posted by: Ricky Powell | June 04, 2012 at 07:35 PM
Btw, I'm a big fan of Robert Otter ( 's Photography).. I'm friends' with his son, Ned, we both went to I.S,70 in the early-mid 70's... He seels his father's photos from a cart with a sign that reads 'Greenwich Village 1960's or something to that effect....I stand at that cart for like an hour at a time and talk about the buildings/ neighborhoods in each photo with Ned and just reminissce (sp?) I miss the old village and hate the new jack cornballs that have infested it... Props also to Glen E. Friedman who brought the Beastie photo thiong up to me....I'm a big fan of him and his photography as well...
Posted by: Ricky Powell | June 04, 2012 at 07:42 PM