St. Mark's Place (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
Saint Mark's Place is a street
in the East Village
neighborhood of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. It is named after St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street
at Second Avenue
. St. Mark's Place, which is a section of 8th Street, runs from Third Avenue
to Avenue A
. The block between 2nd and 3rd avenues is a popular shopping destination.
Saint Mark's Place has long hosted retailers, appealing particularly to teenagers. Venerable institutions lining St. Mark’s Place include Gem Spa
, Yaffa Café, the St. Mark's Hotel, St. Mark's Comics, and Trash & Vaudeville. There are several open front markets that sell sunglasses, clothing and jewelry. There are also a number of restaurants and bars, as well as several record stores.
Vehicular
traffic runs east along this one-way street. The city narrowed the sidewalks to improve vehicular travel, but this resulted in most of the pedestrians walking on the street at night when the area is most active. For years retailers and residents have petitioned the city government to re-widen the sidewalk.
Music
Television
Street
A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...
in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
neighborhood of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It is named after St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street
10th Street (Manhattan)
10th Street is an east-west street from the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan to Avenue D in the East Village. East of Sixth Avenue it changes heading, from east-northeast to east-southeast. Traffic is eastbound as far as Tompkins Square Park, of which it marks...
at Second Avenue
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
. St. Mark's Place, which is a section of 8th Street, runs from Third Avenue
Third Avenue (Manhattan)
Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Cooper Square north for over 120 blocks. Third Avenue continues into The Bronx across the Harlem River over the Third Avenue Bridge north of East 129th Street to East Fordham Road at...
to Avenue A
Avenue A (Manhattan)
Avenue A runs from north to south and is the westernmost of the avenues to be defined by letters instead of using the numbering system in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Avenue A runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in Stuyvesant Town, connecting to...
. The block between 2nd and 3rd avenues is a popular shopping destination.
Saint Mark's Place has long hosted retailers, appealing particularly to teenagers. Venerable institutions lining St. Mark’s Place include Gem Spa
Gem Spa
Gem Spa is a newspaper stand located on the corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It opened under another name in the 1920s, and received its current name in 1957...
, Yaffa Café, the St. Mark's Hotel, St. Mark's Comics, and Trash & Vaudeville. There are several open front markets that sell sunglasses, clothing and jewelry. There are also a number of restaurants and bars, as well as several record stores.
Vehicular
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
traffic runs east along this one-way street. The city narrowed the sidewalks to improve vehicular travel, but this resulted in most of the pedestrians walking on the street at night when the area is most active. For years retailers and residents have petitioned the city government to re-widen the sidewalk.
Notable buildings and sites
The three block street has numerous historic and notable addresses:# 2 – The present St. Mark's Ale House in the St. Mark's Hotel (formerly the Valencia Hotel, 2 St. Mark's Place at the corner of Third Avenue) was for many years The Five-Spot, one of the city's leading jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
venues, known as a base for innovators such as Thelonious MonkThelonious MonkThelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, who started appearing there in 1957; GG AllinGG AllinKevin Michael "GG" Allin was an American punk rock singer-songwriter, who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. GG Allin is perhaps best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including coprophagia, self-mutilation, and...
also lived in the building. It later became "The Late Show", a vintage clothing store that was popularized by The New York Dolls and owned by their valet.
# 4 – The Hamilton-Holly House was built in 1831 and was owned by Col. Alexander Hamilton, the son of Alexander HamiltonAlexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, who purchased it in 1833. After the Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, when St. Mark's Place was the center of Little Germany (Kleindeutschland), the building was used for apartments and a meeting hall. From 1901–1952, it housed the musical instrument importer and wholesaler C. Meisel. In 1964 it housed the New Bowery Theatre, a showcase for the American Theatre of Poets. It later housed several avant-gardeAvant-gardeAvant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
theatre companies, including the Bridge Theater, associated with Yoko OnoYoko Onois a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
and other FluxusFluxusFluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
artists. From 1967 until 1975 it was the was second location of LimboLimbo (boutique)Limbo was a boutique which was opened in 1965 by Martin Freedman, originally at 24 St. Mark's Place between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The shop moved to 4 St...
, the street's first "hippie" clothing boutique, and later became the location of the Trash and VaudevilleTrash and VaudevilleTrash and Vaudeville is actually two stores, one on top of the other, located at 4 St. Mark's Place in Manhattan, New York. It is associated with the clothing styles of punk rock and various other counter culture movements....
clothing store. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 2004. James Fennimore Cooper lived here in the 1830s.
# 6 – The anarchistAnarchismAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
Modern School; Emma GoldmanEmma GoldmanEmma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
once served on its board. In the late-sixties it became the Saint Mark's Baths. It was later renovated and re-opened as the New St. Mark's Baths in the mid-seventies. It subsequently served local cinephiles and music connoisseurs as Kim's Video and MusicKim's Video and MusicKim's Video and Music is a video and music retail store in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City, described as the "go-to place for rare selections" and "widely known among the cognoscenti of new, experimental and esoteric music and film"...
until early 2009.
# 8 – The New York Cooking School, founded by Juliet CorsonJuliet CorsonJuliet Corson was a leader in cookery education in the latter half of the 19th century in the United States. She started New York City's first successful cooking school in 1874...
in 1876, was the country's first cooking school. It was the site of one of mid-19th-century New York's leading abortionAbortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
ists; at La Triniria Italian Restaurant, it also figured prominently in the city's first known MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
hitMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
in Manhattan: the 1888 killing of Antonio Flaccomio (the killer dined there with his victim, then stabbed him a few blocks away).
# 11 – Home to Shulamith FirestoneShulamith FirestoneShulamith Firestone , is a Jewish, Canadian-born feminist. She was a central figure in the early development of radical feminism, having been a founding member of the New York Radical Women, Redstockings, and New York Radical Feminists...
, feminist, activist, author of "The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution", in the seventies and eighties. Home to Jonathan LaskerJonathan LaskerJonathan Lasker is an American artist.Lasker was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City as well as California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California....
, American abstract painter.
# 12 – Built in 1885, designed by William C. Frohne, as the clubhouse for the Deutsch-Amerikanische Schuetzen Gesellschaft ("German-American Shooting Society") a German-American marksmen's club – although they did their shooting elsewhere. The crest at the top of the building says Einigkeit macht stark ("Unity is strength"). The building is one of the remnants of Kleindeutschland ("Little Germany"), the home of many German immigrants from the middle of the 19th Century until the General Slocum disaster. A New York City Landmark (2001) This as the original location of the St Mark's Bookshop, before it moved across the street.
# 13 – Home to Lenny BruceLenny BruceLeonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
in the mid-1960s. Sylvain SylvainSylvain SylvainSylvain Sylvain is an American rock guitarist, most notable for being a member of the New York Dolls.-Early years:...
, guitarist for the New York DollsNew York DollsThe New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
, lived in the basement apartment in the early-mid 70s. The main floor and basement of the building were for many years St. Mark's Bookshop, now around the corner on Third Avenue at Stuyvesant StreetStuyvesant Street (Manhattan)Stuyvesant Street is one of the oldest streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs diagonally from 9th Street at Third Avenue to 10th Street near Second Avenue, all within the East Village, Manhattan neighborhood. The majority of the street is included in the St...
.
# 17 – Site of the first Hebrew-Christian Church in America, in 1885.
# 19–25 – As Arlington Hall, this was the site of a 1914 shootout between "Dopey" Benny FeinBenny FeinBenjamin "Dopey Benny" Fein was an early Jewish American gangster who dominated New York labor racketeering in the 1910s. With a criminal record dating back to 1900, Fein's arrest record included thirty charges from petty theft and assault to grand larceny and murder...
's Jewish gang and Jack SiroccoJack SiroccoJack Sirocco was a New York gangster involved in labor racketeering and strikebreaking. Originally a lieutenant in Paul Kelly's Five Points Gang, where he was the immediate boss of Johnny Torrio , Sirocco defected to the rival Eastman Gang, which he led in its last days.-Biography:Sirocco, known...
's Italian mob, an event that marked the beginning of the predominance of the Italian AmericanItalian AmericanAn Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
gangsters over the Jewish American gangsters. Arlington Hall also had some notable speakers including Police Commissioner Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
(1895) and William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
(1905). The building later housed the Dom Restaurant, with its well-known Stanley's Bar – where The FugsThe FugsThe Fugs are a band formed in New York in late 1964 by poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy Modal Rounders...
played in the mid-1960s – Andy WarholAndy WarholAndrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and Paul Morrisey turned The Dom into a nightclub in 1966, which served as a showcase for the Exploding Plastic InevitableExploding Plastic InevitableThe Exploding Plastic Inevitable, sometimes simply called Plastic Inevitable or EPI, was a series of multimedia events organized by Andy Warhol between 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground and Nico, screenings of Warhol's films, and dancing and performances by...
, Warhol's multimedia stage show for the Velvet Underground. In early 1967, the Dom morphed yet again into The Balloon Farm. Later that year, the lease was transferred to Brandt Freeman International, LTD, and renamed the Electric CircusElectric Circus (nightclub)The Electric Circus was a nightclub and discotheque located at 19-25 St. Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, from 1967 to September 1971. The club was created by Jerry Brandt, Stanton J. Freeman and their partners and designed...
.
# 20 – The Daniel LeRoy HouseDaniel LeRoy HouseThe Daniel LeRoy House is located at 20 St. Marks Place in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The Greek Revival building was built in 1832 as part of a row of 3½-story brick houses developed on speculation by Thomas E. Davis. The Daniel LeRoy house is the only survivor,...
was built as part of an elegant row of houses in 1832, of which this Greek RevivalGreek Revival architectureThe Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
building is the only survivor. It is a New York City Landmark (1969), and is on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
Daniel LeRoy was related to the Stuyvesant familyPeter StuyvesantPeter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
and his wife was a member of the eminent Fish familyFish familyThe Fish family is a family of American politicians. The family is of English origin and is descended from Jonathan Fish , who was born in East Farndon, Northamptonshire, England and settled in the Province of New York....
.
# 24 -This was the original location of the LimboLimbo (boutique)Limbo was a boutique which was opened in 1965 by Martin Freedman, originally at 24 St. Mark's Place between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The shop moved to 4 St...
clothing boutique, which opened for business in 1965 and moved to #4 in 1967.
# 27 – In the 19th and early 20th century, this was Children's Aid SocietyChildren's Aid Society__notoc__The Children’s Aid Society is a private charitable organization based in New York City. It serves 150,000 children per year, providing foster care, medical and mental health services, and a wide range of educational, recreational and advocacy services through dozens of community centers,...
's Girls' Lodging House.
# 28 – From 1967–1971, this storefront housed Underground Uplift Unlimited (UUU), which created and sold some of the most noteworthy protest buttons and posters of era, including "Make Love Not War."
# 30 – AbbieAbbie HoffmanAbbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
and Anita HoffmanAnita HoffmanAnita Hoffman , born Anita Kushner, and was a Yippie activist, writer, prankster, and the wife of Abbie Hoffman.Hoffman helped her husband plan some of the most memorable pranks of the Yippie movement...
lived in the basement in 1967–68; the Yippies were co-founded with Jerry RubinJerry RubinJerry Rubin was an American social activist during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, he became a successful businessman.-Early life:...
there.
# 33 – Home to poet Anne WaldmanAnne WaldmanAnne Waldman is an American poet.Since the 1960s, Waldman has been an active member of the “Outrider” experimental poetry community as a writer, performer, collaborator, professor, editor, scholar, and cultural/political activist....
in the late 1960s/mid-1970s; in 1977, the storefront had Manic Panic, the first U.S. boutique to sell punk rock attire, which developed its own line of make-up and vibrant hair dyes; Manic Panic was visited by numerous performers, including David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Cindy Lauper, Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
, and Joey RamoneJoey RamoneJoey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...
.
# 34 – Location of the East Side Bookstore, 1960s–1980s. Home to the band Dee-Lite, in the 1980s.
# 51 – In the early 1980s, this was home to 51X, the gallery that broke graffiti art into the mainstream, representing artists such as Keith HaringKeith HaringKeith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
, and Jean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel BasquiatJean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
.
# 52 – Annex to the Hebrew National Orphan HomeHebrew National Orphan HomeHebrew National Orphan Home was an orphanage in Manhattan in New York City, New York, USA.-History:It was created on New York's Lower East Side on December 5, 1912, when a group raised $US 64 toward establishing a Jewish orthodox home for the care of orphaned and destitute Jewish boys...
, founded in 1912; it had its main entrance on 7th Street.
# 57 – Club 57Club 57Club 57 was a nightclub located at 57 St. Mark's Place in the East Village, New York City during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was a hangout and venue for performance- and visual-artists and musicians, including Madonna, Keith Haring, Cyndi Lauper, Charles Busch, Klaus Nomi, The B-52s, Futura...
was an important art and performance space in the late 1970s and early 1980s; Ann MagnusonAnn MagnusonAnn Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan...
, Keith HaringKeith HaringKeith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Klaus NomiKlaus NomiKlaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona....
, John SexJohn SexJohn McLaughlin , better known as "John Sex" was a cabaret singer and performance artist in New York City from the late 1970s until his death.-Early life:...
, Wendy WildWendy WildWendy Wild, born Wendy Andreiev was an American singer, musician, and artist who in the 1980s was a well known presence in New York's downtown music and performance scenes.-Career:...
, The FleshtonesThe FleshtonesThe Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Marek Pakulski The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The...
, and Fab Five FreddyFab Five FreddyFred Brathwaite , more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American Hip hop historian, Hip hop pioneer and former graffiti artist...
performed there, among others.
# 60 – St. Mark's Hospital of New York City; later home of abstract expressionistAbstract expressionismAbstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
painter Joan MitchellJoan MitchellJoan Mitchell was a "second generation" abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era's few...
, where she lived and painted from 1951 to 1957.
# 75 – The Holiday Cocktail Lounge has had a range of visitors including W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
, Allen GinsbergAllen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
and other BeatBeat generationThe Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
writers, Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
, and Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, whose agent lived in the neighborhood.
# 77 – Home to W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
for almost 20 years. The basement of this building was the location where the newspaper Novy Mir ("New World" or "New Peace"), a Russian-language Communist paper, was founded in 1916. It was edited by Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, and Leon TrotskyLeon TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
worked there. The paper stop publishing after the Russian Revolution of October 1917.
# 79 – Home of author Ishmael ReedIshmael ReedIshmael Scott Reed is an American poet, essayist, and novelist. A prominent African-American literary figure, Reed is known for his satirical works challenging American political culture, and highlighting political and cultural oppression.Reed has been described as one of the most controversial...
# 80 – Home of Leon TrotskyLeon TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
. Theatre 80 saw the premiere of You're a Good Man, Charlie BrownYou're a Good Man, Charlie BrownYou're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a 1967 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts...
in 1967. Formerly the Jazz Gallery, site of the last performance by Lord BuckleyLord BuckleyLord Richard Buckley was an American stage performer, recording artist, monologist, and hip poet/comic...
. Now also the home of The Exhibition of the American Gangster, a museum of the American Gangster
# 85 – The 1871 birthplace of Lyonel FeiningerLyonel FeiningerLyonel Charles Feininger was a German-American painter, and a leading exponent of Expressionism. He also worked as a caricaturist and comic strip artist.-Life and work:...
, the painter and caricaturist.
# 94 – Home of UNDER St. Mark's Theater, alternative performance venue
# 96 & #98 – The Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
album Physical GraffitiPhysical GraffitiPhysical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 24 February 1975 as a double album. Recording sessions for the album were initially disrupted when bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones considered leaving the band...
features a front and back cover design that depicts these two buildings, which feature carved faces. Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
and Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
are in front of same building in the Rolling Stones music video "Waiting on a FriendWaiting On A Friend"Waiting on a Friend" is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's second single, it reached #13 on the US singles chart.-History:...
".
# 96 – Once the home of the Anarchist Switchboard, a 1980s punk activist group.
# 101 – From the mid-1970s to 1983, the poets Ted BerriganTed Berrigan-Early life:Berrigan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on November 15, 1934. After high school, he spent a year at Providence College before joining the U.S. Army in 1954 to serve in the Korean War. After three years in the Army, he finished his college studies at the University of Tulsa in...
and Alice NotleyAlice NotleyAlice Notley is an American poet. She was born in Bisbee, Arizona and grew up in Needles, California. She received a B.A. from Barnard College in 1967 and an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1969. She married poet Ted Berrigan in 1972, with whom she was active in...
, who were married to each other, lived here. In Berrigan's "The Last Poem", he wrote: "101 St. Mark’s Place, apt. 12A, NYC 10009/ New York. Friends appeared & disappeared, or wigged out/ Or stayed; inspiring strangers sadly died; everyone/ I ever knew aged tremendously, except me."
# 102 – Home of independent filmmaker Scott CraryScott CraryScott Crary is a film director, producer and writer based in New York City.Crary filmed, produced, edited, and directed the film Kill Your Idols, a documentary examining three decades of New York art punk bands....
# 103 – Home of singer/performer Klaus NomiKlaus NomiKlaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona....
in the 1970s. Home of Joey AriasJoey AriasJoey Arias is a New York City based performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist.Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was six when he moved with his family to Los Angeles. After singing with the rock band "Purlie" on Capitol Records and a stint with famed improvisational group the...
in the 1970s.
# 104 – Location of the Notre Dame Convent SchoolNotre Dame School (Manhattan)Notre Dame School is an all-girl, Roman Catholic high school in New York City, New York. It is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.-History:...
from 1989 to 2002 and is now the site of George Jackson Academy.
# 105 – Early 1860s home of Uriah P. LevyUriah P. LevyUriah Phillips Levy was the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a major philanthropist. At the time, Commodore was the highest rank obtainable in the U.S. Navy and would be roughly equivalent to the modern-day rank of Admiral...
, the first Jewish commodore of the U.S. NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and who was also known for purchasing MonticelloMonticelloMonticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
to work toward its restoration and preservation.
# 122 – This building used to be the location of Sin-éSin-éSin-é was the name of a music venue in New York City which helped launch the careers of several noted musicians in the early 1990s.-Original café:...
, a neighborhood café where Jeff BuckleyJeff BuckleyJeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
performed a regular spot on Monday nights. Other musicians such as David GrayDavid Gray (musician)David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later...
and Katell KeinegKatell KeinegKatell Keineg , is a Breton-Welsh singer-songwriter, based in Dublin and New York.-Early life:Born in Brittany and raised in Cardiff, Katell Keineg is the second child and only daughter of Breton poet and playwright Paol Keineg and his then wife, Judith, a Welsh political activist and...
also performed there. Sin-é closed in the mid-1990s.
In popular culture
- On the southwest corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue, at 131 Second Avenue, is Gem SpaGem SpaGem Spa is a newspaper stand located on the corner of St. Mark's Place and Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It opened under another name in the 1920s, and received its current name in 1957...
, a newspaper, magazine and tobacco store, which is known for its fountain egg creamEgg creamAn egg cream is a beverage consisting of chocolate syrup, milk, and soda water, probably dating from the late 19th century, and is especially associated with Brooklyn, home of its alleged inventor, candy store owner Louis Auster. It contains neither eggs, cream, nor ice cream.The egg cream is...
s. On the back cover of the first, eponymous New York DollsNew York DollsThe New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
LP, the band is pictured standing in front of Gem Spa. - The narrator of Tom PaxtonTom PaxtonThomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
's "Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues," upon smelling marijuana on someone's breath during the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
remarks, "He smelled like midnight on St. Mark's Place." - In Andy Warhol's TrashTrash (film)Trash is a 1970 American film directed and written by filmmaker Paul Morrissey.The movie stars Joe Dallesandro, transsexual Holly Woodlawn and Jane Forth. Dallesandro had previously starred in several other Andy Warhol/Paul Morrissey films such as The Loves of Ondine, Lonesome Cowboys, and Flesh...
, most of the street scenes of Joe DallesandroJoe DallesandroJoseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
were filmed on St Mark's Place. - In Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's song "Sally Can't Dance," Sally walks down and lives on St. Mark's Place (in a rent controlRent controlRent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
led apartment). - In the King MissileKing MissileKing Missile is an American avant-garde band that has been led in various disparate incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Currently, Hall performs with a new version of the first incarnation, King Missile ....
song "Detachable PenisDetachable Penis"Detachable Penis" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It was the first single from the band's 1992 album Happy Hour, and became a modest hit, reaching #25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.-Lyrical content:...
" the search for the missing member ends when the singer states, "Then, as I walked down Second Avenue towards St. Mark's Place / Where all those people sell used books and other junk on the street / I saw my penis lying on a blanket next to a broken toaster oven." - The music video for Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's 1986 song "A Matter of TrustA Matter of Trust"A Matter of Trust" is a song performed by Billy Joel released as the second single from his album The Bridge.The song was the second top 10 single off the album, after the album's previous single "Modern Woman." The song's music video features Joel performing in a building and also shows various...
" was shot in the Electric Circus building and features extensive footage of the block. - The Replacements' 1987 song "Alex ChiltonAlex Chilton (song)"Alex Chilton" is a song by American rock band The Replacements from their fifth studio album Pleased to Meet Me. The song is an homage to Alex Chilton, lead singer of The Box Tops and Big Star....
" contains the line, "Checkin' his stash by the trash at St. Mark's Place." - The Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
song "Potter's FieldPotter's fieldA potter's field was an American term for a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The expression derives from the Bible, referring to a field used for the extraction of potter's clay, which was useless for agriculture but could be used as a burial site.-Origin:The term comes from...
" from the Foreign AffairsForeign AffairsForeign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
album contains the line "You'll learn why liquor makes a stool pigeon rat on every face that ever left his shadow down on St. Mark's Place." - The Rank and FileRank and FileFormed by brothers Chip and Tony Kinman after they split up their punk band the Dils, Rank and File were a roots rock post-punk band. The Kinmans' singing was distinctive; they weren't traditional harmony singers à la the Everly Brothers, but rather sang synchronized upper and lower octaves. The...
song "I Went Walking," on their 1982 album Sundown, presents a cynical look at the St. Mark's Place of that time, containing the lines: "Have you ever seen a sheep in a porkpie hat? Ever see a lemming dressed all in black? Well, you might have been there, but I'll tell you just in case: Just take a walk down St. Mark's Place."
Television
- In the Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
season 3 episode "Hot Child In The City", Sarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
's character Carrie goes to get her shoe fixed on St. Mark's Place and ends up dating a man who works at a comic book store on the block. Part of the episode is filmed at the actual St. Mark's Comics. - In the opening credits to Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(c.2010), a shot of Cherries adult entertainment store's neon signage is featured in the opening credits.
External links
- "St. Marks Place" at the Lower East Side History Project
- 8th Street/St Marks Place: New York Songlines – A history of buildings and establishments along 8th Street