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...
