The Variety was demolished to make room for the Toll Brothers' monster 110 Third and it was certainly the most tragic loss on this block. The nickelodeon opened in 1914 and that marquee was added in 1923--wrote the Times, "The lights buzzing on the underside of the marquee, when they were on, enveloped the passerby in a warm, glowing field. People going past the theater, even in the daytime, got a whiff of vintage celluloid, and at night it was intoxicating."
In the 1980s it showed gay porn then turned into an off-Broadway theater.
At the northern end of the block, on the 14th St. end, was Disco Donut, seen here in these screenshots from the film Downtown 81.
Above Disco Donut was a place called Carmelita's Reception House (click for pic). Lori Horvitz recalls Carmelita's as "a second floor establishment above Disco Donut on the corner of Fourteenth Street and Third Avenue. For some reason, I thought Carmelita's was a massage parlor that doubled as a house of prostitution. Only years later did I find out it was a legitimate bar that frequently held parties for gay women."
And climbing into the way, way back machine, here's another look at the same corner in 1934:
Of course, the city changes. A pawn shop becomes a 99-cent store, a taxi dance hall becomes a lesbian club, an ice-cream parlor becomes a donut shop. These are fluid alterations. And then there are irrevocable annihilations.
More on 14th and 3rd:
Little Jam
Robin Raj
Grace & Hope
28 comments:
Nice piece, thanks. I saw a handful of productions at the Variety, and was really shocked to see it go (especially considering what replaced it). The vintage facade was such a period classic and a great reminder of the neighborhood's history.
Nice post, JM. Being an ardent Scorsese fan, I frequently point out that strip to friends given its placement in "Taxi Driver." I also vividly remember Disco Donuts. In 1982, Devo came to town and played at the Palladium around the corner (when it was still a concert hall and not yet a nightclub). I was fifteen and lived way uptown at the time. I remember stopping into Disco Donuts after the show with some friends (all of us wearing 'Spudrings,' the large, bowl-like collars Devo were sporting at the time in an effort to replicate the success of their energy domes from a couple of years earlier). The guy behind the counter looked up at us as we approached and muttered "Is the circus in town or something?"
and yet gothic cabinet craft endures . . . go figure
There was an early 80s indie film called VARIETY that shot a bunch of scenes at that theater, although it was officially set in Times Square. It actually belongs on any list of films shot on location in an earlier, sleazier NYC era. Also has cameos by Nan Goldin and other downtown arty folks of the 70s/80s.
http://cinematreasures.org/theater/288/
http://blog.spout.com/2009/04/27/porn-and-being-poor-then-now-bette-gordon-interview-tribeca-2009/
Great post, Jeremiah. And, I love your story, Alex.
thanks guys--i'm trying to remember the dive bar on the SW corner of 13th and 3rd. never been able to find photos of it. anyone?
Time change yeah, the difference is that back in the old days every block had a different and unique store.
Now it's the same damn franchise literally on every block.
St Marks Place has Pink Berry and Mango. Bleeker, the same shit.
It's like, why come to NY at all? So you could hit Pink Berry? What is so damn unique about Pink Berry! What is wrong with people? Are people that freakin robotic?!
I guess people are just sheep by nature and there are only a few nostalgist like us around.
The point is, New York has lost THE PEOPLE that make it New York. It's a bunch of fanny pack wearing tourist!
Manhattan has no sense of excitement, danger, adventure, it's a bunch of NYPD SECURITY CAMERAS and Chain stores. The only block worth hanging out in is MacDougal which has a slight touch of the old NYC. The rest like the East Village is a bunch of yuppies and tourist. There are like less than %1 rent controlled people left probably.
Everytime I go there It's a bunch of these hipster people. They are so freakin weird. They hate New York, they love Pink Berry, and chains like Whole Foods. They think people with NY accents are stupid or something. Everytime I talk to these jerks they say "are you from New Jersey" and they sound like they are from freakin california.
with these valley girl accents (the guys have it to)
They should just go back to whereve they came from becuase they really SUCK and are POSERS.
They all act like they went to Harvard or something and are some ELITE people, and the blue collar guys are bunch of idiots they can make fun of. Actually, dumb ass hipsters, they are from HERE AND YOU ARE NOT.
Was the dive "The Dugout" or was that one block south?
I remember reading that the Replacements had an album release party at Carmelita's, and not having the nerve to crash (being underaged and all)...
That dive bar was THE DUG OUT. Great place.
In my novel "Variety, Spice of Life" (due out next year sometime) which takes place in 1970 the lead character spends most of his time in the Variety or the Metropolitan movie house, which became a notorious gay theater. 14th Street was just like 42nd Street in those days. Gaudy and perverse too.
Looking Glass / Finnerty's
That bar for years was The Dugout, then became The Pit Stop, Looking Glass and finally Finnertys.
Taxi Driver shot a lot on 13th street. You can still visit the doorway where DeNiro shot Keitel and the building where Jodi Foster "worked" is still there I think.
When I lived in NY, the only was I was able to find the above locations was by using the Variety Theatre as a reference point from the film. Sad to see it gone...and replace by utter crap.
This site has the info:
http://www.markallencam.com/taxidriverthenandnow.html
The Dugout was an old heavy drinking bar with old drinker, down 3 steps and you were in a seedy joint of which the Bowery would have proud
I think this big blue building was one where a construction worker fell to his death and landed on a taxi cab. Does that sound familiar?
I also think that once I went into the apartment that was above the Variety, during the time it was a theater. The floors were very crooked.
This site makes me remember how much I forget. It's actually all a big blur.
Nice work JM, I remember getting propositioned by a street walker for the first time in that general vicinity circa 1983. My brother thought it was very funny, but I was so surprised that I was speechless. It was a long way from the suburbs back then.
i also got propositioned by a prostitute here--14th and 3rd, by the XXX video peeps which are now an NYU dorm/duane reade. it wasn't all that long ago really.
anyone have pics of the Dugout?
I hate this "I am from here; you are not" talk @ Anonymous 1:26 p.m. New York is New York because it welcomes all people from all places -- it's the light at the end of the tunnel for the kid from the Midwest who won't ever belong anywhere else; it's the land of opportunity for the Hatian immigrant who joins her cousins and works hard to "make it." New York would be nothing if it weren't for smart, talented immigrants -- both from elsewhere in the United States and from overseas.
That said, what also makes New York this beacon of hope is because it's different from everywhere else. It's not Omaha. It's not Dallas. It's not Los Angeles. Unfortunately, with changes documented so artfully -- and mournfully -- in this post by Jeremiah, it will soon be just like everywhere else.
In the photo with the taxi the Dugout is down a few stairs but I'm sure movie crews may have spruced up a bit
"Carmelita's Lite Lounge" was, in fact, a brothel and an after-hours club rolled into one. Palladium after-parties were held there.
Carmelita's Lite Lounge was a happening joint at one time. The one time I was in there I saw Malcolm Forbes standing at the bar.
It's like the line from The Women of Brewster Place: "No one cries when a street dies."
I'm looking for information--especially photos--on the old Dugout bar that was next door to the Variety. Can anyone help? Thank you!!!
the dive bar at the corner was indeed the "Dug Out," echoing its similarity to a dug out on a baseball diamond - the bar was 2 or three steps below sidewalk level and the steps ran the entire width of the bar. I attended Stuyvesant H.S. on E.15th street from 1981-1985(years before it relocated to the north end of Battery Park City). My buddies and I on occasion drank $0.50 drafts served in frosty mugs at the Dug Out. We were barely 16 and the barkeep served us, no questions asked. Different times.
I remember the Dugout being a few doors off the corner, on Third Ave. Akimbo, do you remember all the photos on the walls? Any other details about the space? I was underage there too!
I am compelled by everyone's fond memories of the Variety Theater to show off a photo I took some years back. I am also a Taxi Driver aficionado and can appreciate all the references made.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnjkim/485267552/
here's the link
for what ever the 101 reasons, more people move to NYC. for school & work. if you dont like these mid western types dont talk to them! dont even try to look @ them- (go to the tea parlour in chinatown, shop when no ones in the store or better yet have your things delieved). & for one million & one reasons the ENTIRE world is becoming the same. the same chain stores etc. that is the fault of the new one world govt & muti national ownership & trading. (new world order). its bigger than you. most people just like to travel (& complain about TSA), arrive, & look @ the malls which are the same as where they live! they are called tourists. no, these chain stores were not built for the mid westerner residents of new york! this is happening all over the world, end of case. for rich for poor for middle class total. thats it: one world goverment called big business corporations. thats it here it is.
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