Meatpacking 1985
A couple of months ago we got to see some wonderful photos of the Meatpacking District in the 1980s, thanks to Yvonne B. Now, photographer and author Brian Rose sends in a link to his amazing collection of photos featuring the Meatpacking District in 1985.
The desolate industrial neighborhood of the past stands in stark contrast to today's center of consumerism and luxury. In most of the photos there are no people, just shuttered meatpacking warehouses. The streets are quiet. No girls in Manolos. No cupcake eaters. No High Line tourists.
Today, in the view seen above, condos rise and rise.
Brian's photos are all in daylight, so you won't see any transgender prostitutes or leather men on the prowl. But there is evidence of their presence, like the hot-sheets Liberty Hotel, which still stands, and a rare shot of the entrance to the Mineshaft, the gay leather club featured in the Pacino movie Cruising. (Check out "Back in the Gays" for an insider's memory of the Mineshaft.)
There's also this lovely shot, which I include here because the corner also turned up in Yvonne B's collection--17th Street and 10th Avenue. Something attracted both photographers to the spot. Maybe it was that rusted-out LIQUORS sign, or the colorful mural, or the ghost sign for KIPS BAY BEER. All of it has vanished.
Visit Brian Rose's blog for much more of the Meatpacking District in the winter of 1985. And while you're at it, buy a copy of Brian's must-have book Time & Space on the Lower East Side.
The desolate industrial neighborhood of the past stands in stark contrast to today's center of consumerism and luxury. In most of the photos there are no people, just shuttered meatpacking warehouses. The streets are quiet. No girls in Manolos. No cupcake eaters. No High Line tourists.
Today, in the view seen above, condos rise and rise.
There's also this lovely shot, which I include here because the corner also turned up in Yvonne B's collection--17th Street and 10th Avenue. Something attracted both photographers to the spot. Maybe it was that rusted-out LIQUORS sign, or the colorful mural, or the ghost sign for KIPS BAY BEER. All of it has vanished.
Visit Brian Rose's blog for much more of the Meatpacking District in the winter of 1985. And while you're at it, buy a copy of Brian's must-have book Time & Space on the Lower East Side.
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