Where Was Cell 54?

A poster on the Facebook group, Manhattan Before 1990 named Lawrence V. posted a Lynn Goldsmith photo I’d never seen before (above), that being a portrait of the crucial line-up of The Pretenders (i.e. the one prior to the untimely, drug-related deaths of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon) posing in front of New York City location (restaurant? bar? club? diner?) called Cell 54.

Personally speaking, the name Cell 54 rang absolutely no bells with me, but it’s prudent to remember that in 1980, I was all of 13 years old, so there’s a very good chance it just passed me by before I was cognizant of such things. In any case, given the largely NYC-centric nature of Lynn Goldsmith’s work, it’s reasonably safe to assume this picture was taken in NYC and not, say, the band’s home turf of London (vocalist/songwriter Chrissie Hynde was actually a Yank from Ohio, but famously ex-patriated to London circa the dawn of UK Punk).

Regardless, it certainly looks like an NYC storefront. Anyone have any ideas? Weigh in, shot-spotters.

To inspire your memories…