Bowery Nightlife
Bouwerij was the old Dutch word for farm.
George Washington is noted for having refreshed himself at The Bull's Head Tavern before riding down to the waterfront to witness the departure of British troops in 1783.
By the end of the 18th century The Bowery became New York's most elegant street, lined with fashionable shops and the mansions of prosperous residents. Lorenzo Da Ponte, the Librettist for Mozart's Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro, and Cosi Fan Tutte, ran one of the shops - a fruit and vegetable store - after he immigrated to New York City in 1806. But by the time of the Civil War, the mansions and shops had given way to brothels, beer gardens, and flophouses.
Home of many music halls in the 19th century, the Bowery later became notable for its economic depression. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was regarded as an impoverished area. The "Dead End Kids" (aka the "Bowery Boys") of film were from the Bowery. In the 1940s through the 1970s, the Bowery was New York City's "Skid Row," notable for "Bowery Bums" (alcoholics and homeless persons).
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Bowery was viewed as a high crime, low rent area. However, since the 1990s the entire Lower East Side has been reviving. As of July 2005, gentrification is contributing to ongoing change along the Bowery.
Today
the Bowery is rapidly developing and moving upmarket- In particular, the number of high-rise condominiums is growing. (yawn!)
Major streets that intersect the Bowery include Canal Street, Delancey Street (at which corner the subway station named Bowery is situated), Houston Street, and Bleecker Street.
|
