a parking lot, where the Latin Quarter once stood
That troubling dynamic, gentrification, continues to push its way into my neighborhood, Manhattan's East Village. "East Village" is itself a relatively recent appellation, intended to make the area sound more attractive. Few bemoan the decrease in crime or open drug dealing, but with those changes a neighborhood often seems to lose its character as well.
The saga of CBGB has played out in the papers here over the past few months. Founded in 1973, the club became famous as a home of punk and new wave, helping launch the careers of the Ramones, Television, and the Talking Heads. Its address is no longer the Bowery of old, however, and rents have skyrocketed. The club has been in a protracted battle with its landlord over back rent and eviction. Last week, they finally reached an agreement to remain there through next October. CBGB's owner hopes to reopen in a new location after that.
The destruction of the Variety Theatre, just a few blocks up the road, received much less media attention.
The Variety didn't have the iconic status of CBGB, but it had its own long, interesting history. It was over 90 years old and at various times had been a venue for everything from off-Broadway plays to gay porn movies. It made a cameo appearance in Taxi Driver (a great look at the lost New York of the 1970s, not to mention a classic film on its own merits). Obviously none of that was enough to preserve the Variety as a landmark.
The lot's future is a mystery. It would be a real shame if it is turned into another Starbucks or NYU dorm.
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I'm glad to hear that the whole CBGB's thing has at least reached some level of stability, although I'm sure that once the club ends up moving it'll never be the same. Nothing in Houston lasts as long as things in other cities, but gentrification is even occurring here, with the sudden explosion in condos and townhomes in areas that were viewed as unsavory only a couple of years ago. It's an interesting cycle of urban life - low rents attract artists and musicians and interesting small businesses, which are then followed by an influx of young wealthy people, who then drive up rents and drive out the entire reason they moved there in the first place. I don't know if there are any cities that have successfully busted this cycle, but I'd like to see one.