NY’s East Village in the 1980’s
During the 1980s the East Village was an international mecca for artists, musicians, writers as well as drifters, punks, homeless kids, and anyone who genuinely wanted to live in an environment where anything goes and nobody was going to tell you no. Longtime residents, which included the Polish, Ukrainian, Latin American communities, as well as holdover hippies and other Lower East Side residents, watched as their neighborhood underwent an enormous transition. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, the result was a colorful explosion of culture, art, and fashion, where old met new and a vibrant community tried to find its way while the eyes of the world curiously watched.
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Aerial view of St Marks Place looking east from Astor Place
Astor Place subway station
St Marks Theater, 2nd Avenue
Shootout on St Marks Place
Crazy Dave and pet rat, Saint Marks Place
John Spacely in front of Gringo mural by Art Guerra, St Marks Place
St Marks Bar & Grill, 1st Ave & St Marks Place
Gem Spa, St Marks Place
Joe and Bambi on Saint Marks Place
Joe and Bambi on Saint Marks Place
Hip Good Humor Man, Astor Place
Street musicians in front of Manic Panic, St Marks Place
Enz's Boutique, St Marks Place
Fresh Jersey Eggs, Thursday Only, East 7th Street
Loves Saves the Day, 2nd Avenue and East 7th St
Couple dancing at Ukrainian Festival in front of St George Ukrainian Church, East 7th Street
Break dancing on 3rd Ave and St Marks Place
Indian restaurants on East 7th Street
Life Cafe, East 10th Street & Ave B
Lydia Lunch, Pyramid Club, Avenue A
Gracie Mansion in the back of her gallery on East 10th Street
Nan Friedman, dancer, Ross Levinson, musician, roof of their home, East 10th St
PS 122 performance
Jim Carroll Band
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
Patty Donahue of the Waitresses
Mick Jagger shooting Waiting on a Friend video, St Mark Place
Keith Richards shooting Waiting on a Friend video, St Mark Place
Elizabeth McGovern on the set of the film Ragtime, E 11th Street
George the Tobacconist, St. Marks Place
Harry Bohrer in his store, 1st Avenue
Keith Haring graffiti, Astor Place
Sandlot baseball, Alphabet City
Young couple in Tompkins Square Park
Couple, Tompkins Square Park
Cooling off in Summer, Alphabet City
Dead End, E 5th Street and Ave C, Alphabet City
Working on a vintage car, East 8th Street, Club 8BC ion background, Alphabet City
Painted storefronts on Avenue C, Alphabet City
Beat cop on Avenue B, Alphabet City
Snowy rooftop, 1st Ave
Portrait of the artist as a young man