Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Walls & Windows 1980

A reader sent in a link to the blog Multiglom, showing photos from New York in 1980. The blogger, UK novelist Anne Billson, took a bunch of photos of walls and windows in the Village. She writes, "Once, when I was taking a photograph of a wall, a man came up to me and grumbled, 'Why is everyone always taking photos of walls?'"

That's easy--because the walls of the city tell a story in peeling layers of posters and graffiti.


all photos by Anne Billson

One recalls New Wave singer Lene Lovich (check her out) and Lucia Dlugoszewski, the creator of over a hundred musical instruments (have a listen).

Another wall features posters pleading with New Yorkers to "help stop the nuclear nightmare" and also "learn to meditate." Peter and the Girlfriends had a concert, along with The Idiot Orchestra, while film and video played at the Mudd Club.



Does anyone remember a shop called Defiant Pose?



And here's a classic cobbler shop shot. If the shop is still there, which I doubt, it likely looks exactly the same as it did in 1980. Where do all the shoe-sole neon signs go when they vanish?



See more at Multiglom.

3 comments:

T. Rinaldi said...

A very similar (but not identical) neon shoe sole hangs in the window of John's Shoe Repair at 30 Irving Place.

Marty Wombacher said...

Ha, I thought of John's shoe repair when I saw that photo too! Very cool photos and links today!

Unknown said...

My brother Mike opened Defiant Pose around 79'. He did OK there giving Trash and Vaudeville some competition on St Marks. Yo, remember when Granny Takes A Trip was on the east side in midtown?

Mike started out renting the front half of Bleecker Bob's and Broadway Al's Village Oldies on Bleecker and Sullivan selling tee shirts and quickly investing in head shop paraphernalia.Yeah, those days are long gone.I may be wrong but 8th Street and Broadway was, I think, the first Gap jeans store in the city. Could go on and on bit I'd be a'ramblin' like Sam Elliot's character in the Big Lebowski. To the good ole days and RIP Michael.