If you’re a regular reader, you might remember an entry I posted back in November of 2014 in which I tried to divine the location of the photograph on the back cover of Polly Wog Stew, the debut 7” single by the then-fledgling Beastie Boys from 1982. Here’s the back cover in question.
Here, meanwhile, is a better representation of the original photograph — crucially providing a tiny bit more detail with which to help solve the puzzle. This photograph was taken by a friend of the band, one Ms. Arabella Field.
I came up with the theory that the photograph was probably taken in front of The Rat Cage, a record store that also put out the Beastie Boys’ first foray into hardcore. The sticking point there, however, was that there were actually two incarnations of the Rat Cage; one on East 9th just steps off of Second Avenue and another over on Avenue A. Based on some STRIKINGLY TENUOUS architectural minutia (specifically the lower, double-lipped trim of a door jam pictured on the left hand side of the photo), I suggested that the photo had probably been taken in front of the 9th Street incarnation.
I was never entirely positive that I was correct, but I didn’t have much else to go on. Because we have a mutual friend on Facebook, I shot Ms. Field a note asking if she could shed some light, but I initially didn’t hear back from her. As such, I sort of just left it there.
In retrospect, it seems ridiculous to have just jumped to the conclusion that they snapped the band photo in front of the Rat Cage. I mean, they certainly could have, but they could also have taken it virtually ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE CITY.
Months later, much to my considerable surprise, Ms. Field — possibly goaded by our mutual friend — very kindly responded, suggesting that the location of the photograph was not either site of the Rat Cage, but rather somewhere in Chinatown. After doing some more checking, she wrote the following…
Yes, definitely Chinatown. You can see the take-out containers in the window behind. Most of it was Chinatown and then we walked a bit up Lafayette to the old police building and we also may have started or ended up on Wooster street. That may actually be Canal street--during a quiet moment. And it was a long time ago so there were less people or if not it is one of the side streets off Canal but definitely Chinatown….
Sure enough, many other shots from conceivably that very same day were also taken in Chinatown (see below).
This one below was certainly snapped in the diner that used to be on southeast corner of Canal and West Broadway
I love this one as it featured a Konk stencil in the background....
Now, where in Chinatown was the back cover shot taken? Was it indeed somewhere on Canal? I’m not even going to try to pinpoint that at this stage.
If you want to, though, please feel free.
Here, meanwhile, are the Beasties from that same era….
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