A couple of clubs on the Bowery in 1983

About a hundred years before this ad ran in the East Village Eye, 261 Bowery was the decades-long home of Mike Lyons Restaurant.

It was a refuge for politicians, musicians, raconteurs, and other characters who populated the Bowery’s dance-hall heyday.

In 1983, it housed the Buskers Club, a short-lived rock venue.

A little bit north at no. 315 was CBGB’s. This New Wave-y ad also comes from a 1983 East Village Eye.

Does anyone know what happened to Unknown Gender—and Huge Killer Ship and Wild Wild West, for that matter?

The short-lived “Robotorium” of Mott Street

What in the world did they do or sell at the Robotorium? In the early 1980s, it occupied a small storefront on Mott Street near Prince Street, back when this little crossroads was considered part of Little Italy and Nolita had yet to be dreamed up.

Robot paraphernalia—sounds like a cool little place. Now, 252 Mott Street houses a designer eyewear store.

This ad appeared in a 1982 edition of the East Village Eye.