Back (In Time) to The Bowery

A little over a year ago, I became aware of this great, long out of print book titled "The Bowery" written by Michael D. Zettler that was published in 1975. I managed to obtain a copy through an intra-library loan at my local library and once I saw it, I decided I had to have my own copy. So I dug around the internet a bit and found a copy in really good shape for $25.00 (including postage). I'd seen it going as high as $50.00 or more, so I thought this was a pretty good price. The seller was "The Better Book Getter", 310 Riverside Drive - Suite 202-3, NY, NY 10025. They were very pleasant and helpful on the phone and my book arrived in just a few days. I actually made the purchase exactly one year ago today.

I thought I'd share a few of the images contained in the book and maybe, like me, you'll decide you have to own a copy of this amazing and sad story of the culture of homelessness, alcoholism, poverty and desperation that used to be so commonplace on the Bowery. Today we'll look at a few of the Street scenes from the book - tomorrow I'll post a few images of the haggered faces of some of the men who, in 1974-1975, called the Bowery home.


Cover of "The Bowery" - by Michael D. Zettler - Published: 1975
(All Images via this book)


Old men drinking inside a bar. The address can be seen on the column outside (on the left of the photo) - #232. If this is indeed 232 Bowery, HERE is a view of what is there today.


The Confidence Bar and Grill Restaurant. This fine establishment can be seen in the 1956 documentry film "On The Bowery" by Lionel Rogosin. I've looked around to see if I could find any footage from this film with no success. If anyone knows where I might be able to obtain a copy, please leave a comment.


On the corner, outside the J&M Delicatessen, a group of "working girls" try to hustle up some business.


A street scene from the corner of Stanton Street and Bowery. A sign for the Prince Hotel can be seen hanging over the sidewalk in the distance in this photo. There is, today, a Prince Hotel at 220 Bowery but I don't believe it's the same place. The current Prince Hotel is listed on various websites as "a welfare hotel/temporary shelter" and "a bedbug paradise." And then there's this alluring description of the place.


A scavengers cart (belonging to a guy named Phil?) sits on the street outside Joey's Junk Shop. One can only imagine the kinds of items that were offered for sale here.

To be continued...