Based on a recent New York Time article that compared and contrasted the portrayal of the East Village of 1969 in the premiere episode of this season of “Mad Men” (when it probably wasn’t referred to as “The East Village” and more likely just the “Lower East Side”) versus the reality, I stumbled upon a cache of photographs of the neighborhood from a totally different era.
As my comrade Elie at Bowery Boogie so aptly summed it up, discovering footage (or, in this case, a cache of still photographs) of old NYC is like receiving a toy that you never knew you needed. In any case, I struck that particular oil again this afternoon upon discovering several pics taken in the East Village circa 1987. These photos are presented on a site I was unfamiliar with called Panoramio, and snapped by shutterbug named Orgwin (who, I dearly hope, will not be displeased that I’ve repurposed his excellent photograph of the old north-facing façade of the St. Mark’s Bar & Grill above.
Along with several great shots of the afore-cited St. Mark’s Bar & Grill, there were a few others that jumped out at me, notably this one of a youthful looking Jim Power working on his mosaic outside of the old Alcatraz bar on the St. Marks and Ave A (note the VIRUS graffiti behind him). There also a couple of choice shots of the old Gas Station on Avenue B. I also dug this great shot of the old Palladium marquee, with the notorious Missing Foundation cocktail glass sprayed beneath. This is the neighborhood I miss and remember.
Go check it out! They start with this one.
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