JANUARY 18, 2025 was drab and drizzly, but 45 degrees and I thought I would head out before an expected snowfall and weeklong cold spell. I have wandered up the Bowery on occasion during FNY’s 25 years, the first major walk in 2005…thus this was that particular walk’s 20th anniversary. The Bowery is unchanged in some ways but utterly different in others. The full result of 2025’s Bowery walk will pop up down the road, but as a preview, here’s #136 Bowery, a.k.a. #2 Bleecker. This is an Italianate building with a “French Second Empire” mansard roof and corner tower, built by banker Robert Irwin (it was originally called the Irwin Building) and architect Nicholas Whyte in 1868. Between 1888 and 1942, the Third Avenue El rattled past it. Through its long history it has served as a hotel and a factory. Area oldtimers will remember the Bleecker Hardware Co. from 1935-1975. It has also been a theater workshop and the ground floor has also been a restaurant in recent years. More from Daytonian in Manhattan.
The building stands directly across the Bowery from the former famed rock club CBGB, now a John Varvatos retail store. For several years the Bleecker Street side has featured successive murals depicting various acts that played the venue, including the Bad Brains, one of punk’s first all Black groups. The Brains actually began as a jazz band in 1976 but switched to punk the following year, naming themselves after the Ramones’ “Bad Brain.” They were the house band in all but name at CBGB in 1982-1983. They have had many lineups over the years, with the constants Dr. Know on lead guitar and Darryl Jenifer on bass. While achieving moderate sales, they remain a headlining live act and have influenced dozens if not hundreds of bands that followed them.
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1/22/25