A lot has changed in the 26 years since the East Village Eye published this guide to the neighborhood’s coolest bars and restaurants (bar drinks $1 till 10 pm, for starters).
The Ritz went back to being known as Webster Hall; CBGB, Downtown Beirut, and 8BC, among others, bit the dust; and perhaps strangest of all: the Palladium is now Palladium Hall, a towering New York University dormitory.
Tags: 1980s nightlife NYC, 8BC bar, CBGB, clubs and bars East Village, Downtown Beirut bar, East Village 1980s, East Village Eye, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, McSorley's Old Ale House, Palladium, vintage newspapers NYC
Ephemeral New York 
June 20, 2011 at 5:47 am |
I don’t recall the World being called “The World’s End” but it’s not inappropriate! Amongst other things I recall the World made a mark on the L.E.S. when the staff carried out a flyposter campaign demanding their unpaid wages !
June 20, 2011 at 10:37 am |
I was in Downtown Beirut a few times and always got in a fight with some skinheads, fists and blood went flying. Was between 9th and 10th Streets, I remember that. Boy, the area was tough in those days.
June 20, 2011 at 2:34 pm |
I remember Downtown Beirut only because they didn’t card!
June 20, 2011 at 4:29 pm |
I’ve been to Webster Hall and never realized it was the same place as the Ritz, where I attended many concerts in the ’80s! How funny.
June 21, 2011 at 2:35 am |
Well, Ellen, just proves you had a reeeeally good time back then.
June 21, 2011 at 2:36 am |
Oh, and….Roxy Music at the Palladium in 1979, the ‘Manifesto’ tour. Man, that was good.
June 21, 2011 at 3:24 am |
The Cat Club was my home away from home
June 21, 2011 at 5:10 am |
@Upstate Ellen ; Well, in a manner of speaking, it isn’t the same place. Not att all.
June 21, 2011 at 5:08 pm |
It’s a bit tragic to see some legendary landmarks come and go. C.B.G.B. will always have a strong presence in New York City, event years after its closing. Us New Yorkers like to know our history =)
June 21, 2011 at 8:20 pm |
I was the bass player of Mistaken Identity-we played No Se No a bunch of times. Once the ceiling above us leaked water all over our equipment while we were playing! Pretty fun place!
June 21, 2011 at 8:49 pm |
Remember all the bars, and played gigs in most of the clubs. Lismar Lounge was home of the Love Club. Bar/King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut was previously A7. I Lived next door to the Ritz. Fun times.
June 23, 2011 at 5:29 am |
I started NYU in the fall of 1985. The blurb you posted looks like my 1st year course schedule! One thing about being in your 40s is being able to say: “I saw The Pretenders at the Palladium!”
June 27, 2011 at 2:12 pm |
[…] the East Village March Against Rent Hikes (EV Grieve) Van Daag’s New Coffee Menu (Local EV) An East Village Nightlife Guide from 1985 (Ephemeral NY) Tremont: A Beachy Retreat in the Heart of the West Village (The Buzz) Wu Tang […]
June 28, 2011 at 8:35 pm |
WCOU/Tile Bar is still there, and still has a good jukebox last I visited.
Lismar Lounge is now DBA. JJ’s is now Coyote Ugly. King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut is now Niagara.
June 28, 2011 at 8:41 pm |
I just heard that dba ower is in critical after bad accident on Canal St & West B’way
http://evgrieve.com/2011/06/dba-owner-ray-deter-in-critical.html
July 7, 2011 at 3:03 pm |
Princess Pamela’s was the greatest! Great food custom made for you by Princess, great band led by her husband, and Princess would sashay out in something clingy (impressive on a woman of her substantial build). If you went with four or more people you pretty much owned the place for the night. I spend many, wonderful nights there with groups of friends, or dates. Princess Pamela made a first date’s jaw drop, when she us: “And how will you and Mrs. Newman be spending the rest of the weekend?”
September 10, 2012 at 8:14 pm |
The going there with Ed was a blast too.
August 7, 2012 at 1:37 am |
I love those days . ….pure fun…
December 31, 2012 at 7:34 am |
I love it still
February 22, 2014 at 4:28 pm |
Alcatraz? Spiral? Save The Robots? Park Inn Tavern?
Think “The World’s End” may be The World
July 21, 2014 at 1:15 am |
[…] East Village Eye guide from 1985 runs down the club scene and bars where you’d be drinking if you lived there in the Reagan […]
June 10, 2020 at 7:01 pm |
[…] the East Village March Against Rent Hikes (EV Grieve) Van Daag’s New Coffee Menu (Local EV) An East Village Nightlife Guide from 1985 (Ephemeral NY) Tremont: A Beachy Retreat in the Heart of the West Village (The Buzz) Wu Tang […]