Friday, October 15, 2010

Why the titans of Wall Street may know about Mars Bar after today


The Mars Bar is featured today in The Wall Street Journal:

That Mars Bar continues to operate at all on a corner that bears witness to East Village development at its most rampant is nearly a political statement in itself. The bulk of the rest of the block between Second Avenue and Bowery is occupied by the Avalon at Bowery Place apartment complex. In 2005, the Avalon supplanted two parking lots, as well as the Church of All Nations (which used to look out over pre-Whole Foods Houston Street) and a tenement building that was the former site of McGurk's Suicide Hall, perhaps the most infamous dive bar in Bowery history.

"You look at it now, and it's just amazing that it's even hanging on," said David Allen, a downtown resident since the mid 80's. Mr. Allen, an influential illustrator with several paradigmatic punk album covers to his credit, will participate in this month's Mars Bar show. He noted that a tiny and scrappy corner bar dwarfed by luxury housing is itself a combination of poetic irony and economic reality. "It does, I suppose, speak to the kind of twilight period that the economy's in right now," he said.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I get serious douche chills looking at that guy. I may have to call in sick to work. :-p

Mary said...

Go The Mars Bar! I can't believe that it remains among the gentrification of the East Village. I first encountered the Mars Bar in when I visited NYC in the early 90s.Now there are people wearing pastels drinking there?! LOL. I hate them.

Bowery Boogie said...

that picture truly is classic.

Lisa said...

Please tell me you Photoshopped that image!

EV Grieve said...

@ Lisa... I didn't alter the photo one bit!

Lisa said...

Argh!

Marty Wombacher said...

I think he's in the wrong Mars Bar, he seems better "suited" for this place:

http://www.mars2112.com/

Laura Goggin Photography said...

A couple of weeks ago, three of the regulars were wearing pink shirts. I thought it was on purpose, but I don't know...the bartender at Old Town was also wearing a pink shirt that week. Maybe it was all to do with breast cancer awareness??? Something tells me no...

Now, if you could just get a photo of all the pink-shirted patrons posing around the orange lambo, I will eat my hat!

Anonymous said...

I just walked by there last night, first time I ever noticed it since living in the east village, but it gave off a vibe of "locals only" and these comments prove me right! lol