Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The East Village in photos from 1978-1985

An EV Grieve reader passed along a link to the Flickr page of Michael Sean Edwards, who has a treasure trove of East Village photos from the late 1970s and early 1980s... which include the following shots...

Like this one of Ray's...



...the Gem Spa...



the East Village Fruit Exchange, Seventh Street and First Avenue circa 1979 ...



Avenue A and St. Mark's Place, circa 1979...



On St. Mark's Place...



On Avenue A near Fifth Street, 1979..



...and Leshko's on Avenue A at Seventh Street, from 1979.



And this one may be my favorite, simply marked "Lion, 5th Avenue 1985." Does the woman in the photo look familiar to you?

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24 comments:

  1. Jeremiah MossFebruary 10, 2010 at 7:35 AM

    wow! really fantastic!

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  2. NYCDreaminFebruary 10, 2010 at 7:40 AM

    She bears a striking resembelance to the lion in the photo.

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  3. NYCDreaminFebruary 10, 2010 at 7:55 AM

    I just looked through those photos - beautiful stuff and some really great music history hidden in some of them: CBGB, Max's, Mudd Club. Thanks for the link!

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  4. pinheadFebruary 10, 2010 at 8:03 AM

    Great photos! An unrecognizable place. (Except for the tourists gawking at the cube--some things never change.)

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  5. Bob ArihoodFebruary 10, 2010 at 8:41 AM

    Grieve Its Lucy

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  6. EV GrieveFebruary 10, 2010 at 8:51 AM

    Thanks, Bob...It's such a striking photo of her...I was curious if she had posed for the shot...or if it was a random streetscene...

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  7. VH McKenzieFebruary 10, 2010 at 9:46 AM

    Wow, I thought that looked like Lucy. I think she ought to resurrect that 'do. So sultry, Lucy!

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  8. esquared™February 10, 2010 at 10:05 AM

    nice -- if only the transplants knew what was the ev before, maybe they'll have a little more respect in treating this neighborhood. the thing is , their point of reference of the ev (or nyc) is that of sex and the city (not even seinfeld or friends)-- they think that ev/nyc has always been filled with yunnies and scary sadshaws.

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  9. MelanieFebruary 10, 2010 at 10:58 AM

    Great photos. One day I fear I may appear in old timey photos getting an egg cream at Ray's with my Annie Hall look.

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  10. Media glutFebruary 10, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    These are really lovely. I like that the colors are natural, correct. I see a lot of stuff form this period that is fading red and presented without correction with photoshop (which takes only a couple minutes to do).

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  11. Bowery BoogieFebruary 10, 2010 at 11:03 AM

    nice find. so much more personality in those old signs.

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  12. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2010 at 12:27 PM

    What a pleasure to see these old photos! Well done!

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  13. Laura Goggin PhotographyFebruary 10, 2010 at 12:38 PM

    Wow, what a find! Lucy needs to put that one behind the bar.

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  14. jlixFebruary 10, 2010 at 12:52 PM

    Didn't that guy (Michael Edwards) used to be married to Indie Goddess Christine Vachon?? I met them together YEARS ago--I think he was trying to be an actor

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  15. JasonFebruary 10, 2010 at 1:10 PM

    Whoa, totally Lucy. Man, those are some great photos!

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  16. EV GrieveFebruary 10, 2010 at 1:17 PM

    @Goggla...

    Yes! I was thinking about printing out a copy from Flickr on a color printer and bring it by Lucy's some time...

    Also curious what she remembers about this...

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  17. RobertaFebruary 11, 2010 at 3:06 PM

    These are great! This was my hood then: I left in 1983. I remember early morning eggs at Leshkos after breaking dawn at A7 and I loved the hand-packed Breyers at Ray's. It's hard enough seeing what's going on in the WV (where I live now) but I almost never go to the EV anymore; it's a heartbreak. Thanks for the pix.

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  18. UnknownFebruary 11, 2010 at 9:57 PM

    I am happy you are liking the pictures.
    i am still here and loving the ev.
    Will post more old time photos soon.
    Michael

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  19. EV GrieveFebruary 11, 2010 at 10:04 PM

    Thanks for sharing the photos, Michael. These were really a big hit... We look forward to more!

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  20. ChopinandDicingFebruary 12, 2010 at 9:56 PM

    Love it. pinhead, you crack me up!

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  21. JonathanFebruary 13, 2010 at 4:05 PM

    I posted some of my own from 1989...

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/leolondon/

    -Jonathan

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  22. EV GrieveFebruary 13, 2010 at 11:40 PM

    Thanks, Jonathan.

    I love these shots... I'll contact you about possibly posting a few with the link back to your Flickr page.

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  23. SuzanneFebruary 16, 2010 at 12:30 AM

    There is a feeling of the East Village in these photos which I do not feel now, walking the same streets. Thank you for reminding me.
    They are beautiful and soulful.

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  24. Pascal BlacqueMay 10, 2014 at 9:24 PM

    Funny thing is she looks like the Lion in the Ad picture ...

    ReplyDelete

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