Several observant EVG readers noted that the commemorative plaque outside the onetime home of the Fillmore East at 105 Second Ave. near Sixth Street is MIA.
A tipster thought it looked as if the plaque had been ripped off the wall here of current tenant Apple Bank.
However, Andrew Berman, executive director of
Village Preservation, confirmed that the plaque had been damaged and is out for repairs.
So while the plaque is at the shop, it's a good time to revisit some Fillmore East history ... in case you don't recall seeing the Grateful Dead, Love and the Allman Brothers on a bill here for $3. (When did shows get so expensive? I remember when they were $1!)
The sibling to Bill Graham's Fillmore West in San Francisco brought performers such as Led Zeppelin, the Doors, B.B. King, Roberta Flack, the Byrds, the Grateful Dead, Taj Mahal, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez and the Who to the East Village starting in March 1968.
No. 105 opened in 1926 as a Yiddish theater, soon becoming
the Loew's Commodore movie house, followed by the Village Theater. In the 1980s, it was the nightclub The Saint, becoming Emigrant Bank in 1995 and then Apple Bank in 2013.
You can read about the history of the building and the 2,700-seat venue right
here.
And find a listing of every band who played the Fillmore East here.
Archival photos courtesy of Amalie R. Rothschild.