Saturday, May 23, 2009

The end of Evolution (or whatever the place was called)

Went by the bar on the corner of Second Avenue and Fourth Street -- the one that had so many names I'm not even really sure what it's called -- for the flamethrowing contest* last night... and it was...



...closed. 4-ever. Apparently they did spend all their money on new awnings.



I will be hosting a screening of "Cocktail" later today* outside the bar with Hunter-Gatherer and Jeremiah Moss.

* not true
at

6 comments:

  1. xMay 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    Hey!
    I worked there for a year back in 2001/02!
    It was a long-time gay bar d.b.a. "The Bar", and had been known only as that since I'd first visited (1996). Evidently it had a long history, stretching back through the 60's when sailors would frequent it to, uh, meet with other like-minded men.
    The owners(Long Islanders) inherited the property from their grandmother including the two related gay bars, The Bar and the Boiler Room (around the corner on 4th), but were keen to turn The Bar into something, um, less queer. Of course, they had no problem taking queer cash from the Boiler Room's customers. It was a busy place, still is.
    The last owners/managers of The Bar had since moved on to run The Phoenix (13th/A).
    After I left (or was unceremoniously fired, depending on who you talk to), they re-made the place as "2by4" (clever, huh?), a second-rate Coyote Ugly clone.
    Sigh. History, it comes and goes. I miss "The Bar", it was truly an inclusive and interesting spot.
    -JGRNLY

    PS, just found yr blog through Gothamist... enjoying it very much.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EV GrieveMay 24, 2009 at 11:00 AM

    Hi JGRNLY,

    Thanks for the comment! And thanks for reading... I appreciate the history... Fellow neighborhood blogger Hunter-Gatherer had a post earlier this year on the bar's search for bartenders... http://tinyurl.com/qaboef

    Among other things, management wanted someone with "flare skills and fire shows." The last time I walked by, I saw a guy standing inside juggling bowling pins.

    ReplyDelete
  3. chris flashMay 25, 2009 at 9:54 PM

    At the very end of Ralph Bakshi's animated "Heavy Traffic" (1973), the two main characters come to life. The male lead walks up Second Avenue, from Third Street, passing the former Anderson Theater (now a drug store) and happening upon his girlfriend on the sidewalk arguing with someone (the owner?) inside the corner bar at Fourth Street. She's so pissed she tosses a garbage can through the doorway. The exterior of the place was painted in dayglo orange.

    After watching this film on video one night, I went over and found that the exterior had long been painted black, but under the peeling paint, the orange dayglo was still there!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. EV GrieveMay 26, 2009 at 7:30 PM

    Thanks for the comment, Chris. I've never seen the film. Will have to watch it...

    ReplyDelete
  5. sjsMay 30, 2009 at 12:11 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. sjsMay 30, 2009 at 12:12 PM

    My roommate and I have been going to 2 by 4 for years now, so when I saw that it shut down, we had to find out what was up. We swung by there last night and saw Eric and Heather inside, so my roommate banged on the door and they opened up. The whole place was gutted and they're doing massive renovations, but they're reopening in mid-July.

    It won't be 2 by 4 anymore, but the ownership is staying the same.

    ReplyDelete

Your remarks and lively debates are welcome, whether supportive or critical of the views herein. Your articulate, well-informed remarks that are relevant to an article are welcome.

However, commentary that is intended to "flame" or attack, that contains violence, racist comments and potential libel will not be published. Facts are helpful.

If you'd like to make personal attacks and libelous claims against people and businesses, then you may do so on your own social media accounts. Also, comments predicting when a new business will close ("I give it six weeks") will not be approved.