Workers have demolished most of the block that included the Mars Bar. The last brick from 9 Second Ave. is likely being carted away right now. So it seems like a fitting time for a tribute. Goggla paid her final respects at the Gog Log yesterday.
She has stayed in touch with many of the former patrons, "but there has been nothing to replace that tiny, grungy room that brought everyone together and embodied such fun and chaos."
She has hundreds of Mars Bar photos at Flickr documenting the bar right up until the very end.
That's a wonderful tribute that Goggla put together. She definitely was the documentarian of Mars.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this, Grieve.
ReplyDeleteThere is one thing that bothers me about my Mars posts and that is they are very one-sided. One thing I loved about the place was that it was a different experience for everyone. If you ask one person about their memories, they could be totally different than those of others who may have been right there on the next bar stool. It just can't be defined by just one person.
I wonder if people would be interested in sharing their stories?
I enjoyed meeting my fellow bloggers there and formed friendships. It was a fun place..laid back and bohemian and cool. I was only there a couple of times but I had a great time every time.
ReplyDeleteGoggla, your photos are beautiful. I love your sentiments.
goodbye yellow brick road, where the dogs of society howl, you can't plant me in your penthouse, I'm going back to my plough
ReplyDeleteThanks Goggla....my story is that I used to drink at Mars a LONG time ago...pre ironic hipster. Then life took me away, back to SF. Then a couple of years ago I felt the pull back to NYC from my boring life in NJ.
ReplyDeleteI found a lot of fun places to drink and talk, but then drawn back I found mars again....one night I got my friends from NJ to come in and showed them the places I loved....the place they ALL loved the best? Mars....then a few months later my last visit....
I drifted in on a saturday afternoon. Drinking ice cold buds with some regulars, a bartender artist and a fun fellow teacher from brooklyn fending off the advances of a recent transplant to the city, all was right with my world..... but that was the end and I never returned.....
Goggla:
ReplyDeleteI was a casual daytime user of the Mars Bar on and off for 20-plus years. I adored the bar during the daylight hours. I didn't recognize the place at night — late night. A different kind of drunk and vibe that I like to do without.
I used to frequent the Mars Bar in the 80s, back when they had a jukebox stacked with 45s. The had Ballroom Blitz by the Sweet and I'd play it over and over. There was a strange crackhead couple; she was a tough mannish older woman, he was a young investment banker speeding towards disaster. They were a hot mess before I ever knew the term. I shudder to remember those nights, but I swear it's not a bad kind of shudder. I had no desire to revisit, but it was right and proper that The Mars Bar was there.
ReplyDeleteI don't even drink any more, but please God, keep the Blarney Cove safe!