When you imagine a 1930s West Village bar or club, a hole-in-the-wall speakeasy or dimly lit jazz joint probably comes to mind. But the popular Village Barn, in the basement of 52 West Eighth Street, had a hokey, country yokel theme, where, as a 1939 New York Times article put it, “the humor is rough and ready, the accents nasal, the costumes rural.”
The only clue to the hick theme in this 1936 New Yorker ad is the bit about live turtle races. Turtle races?
When the Village Barn closed in the late 1960s, it became Electric Lady Studios, where Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, and pretty much every other rock group recorded. Above ground was the late, great 8th Street Playhouse, which ran cult classics and revivals until it shut its doors in 1992.
Tags: 8th Street Playhouse, Electric Ladyland, Village Barn, West Village Clubs
July 17, 2008 at 5:20 pm |
I actually have a souvenir photo with my grandfather and grandmother at the village barn
July 20, 2008 at 3:33 pm |
i have a souvenir photo too! that’s why i searched this restaurant…
July 20, 2008 at 3:46 pm |
Several people each week search for the Village Barn; must be a lot of souvenir photos floating around! if you want, send in a jpg to ephemeralnewyork -at- Gmail.com, and I’ll post them. I’d love to see what the inside looked like.
July 31, 2008 at 2:14 am |
We have a swizzle stick from the Village Barn 52 W 8th st Greenwich Village , N.Y. Is this of any historical relevance?
November 12, 2008 at 12:54 am |
I have a picture of my Dad as a young Army officer at the Village Barn, dated October 12, 1946. Can’t see much of the club, sorry. But I thought, I wonder if that’s close to Ladyland, where I worked as a recording engineer occasionally in the late 80’s, early 90’s.
This site answered my question. I was recording rock & roll in the same spot my Dad was hanging out 40-some years earlier! This was years before I was born – I didn’t even move to NYC ’til ‘75.
January 11, 2009 at 12:35 am |
I have a picture of my mother with her co-workers taken during the war. It’s in an orange folder and the print on the front shows a barn with an old hick farmer putting up a sign that says: Big Doins at the Village Barn Restaurant, 52 W. 8th St., NYC (bet 5th & 6th Ave.).
On the back of the souvenir folder is a picture of a Minuteman with this slogan encircling him: The More Bonds You Buy – The More Planes Will Fly. It also says to write to James Swann if you want extra copies.
I had no idea this became Electric Lady Studios. What a trip!
February 14, 2009 at 5:47 am |
As a child in the mid-1960s, I went with my family to the Village Barn on a number of occasions because it was owned by a relation of my mother, Elaine Jantzen Willis, who I think was named Meyer Horowitz. It was always very exciting. My brothers and I got to go on stage and sing a song, and once my brother Tommy and I pushed my brother George out on the dance floor with one of the ladies who had come to our table. I loved all the decor, especially the unusual signs. We have pictures of the club from this time that show the decor. I tried to find the club by the address when I first started working in the city a number of years ago and found Electric Ladyland Studios in its place. When I hit the door buzzer on the street I explained my quest to find the place but whomever answered told me to go away. I was just watching “Nick and Nora’s Endless Playlist” and they shot a scene in the studio that triggered me to search for the Village Barn. I love the Web.
February 18, 2009 at 9:40 pm |
I knew Bob Parker Who played at the VB .with the Riders of the purple sage
February 18, 2009 at 9:43 pm |
1948I Saw the riders of the Purple Sage,at the Village Barn