New York Songlines: 1st Street

South:

Avalon Bowery Place

11 (corner): This 2007 development, associated with the larger Avalon Chrystie Place across Houston, spelled the destruction of two historic structures despite the strenuous efforts of neighborhood residents.

25 (corner): Was Mars Bar, cool punky dive--closed in 2011

E
A
S
T

1
S
T

S
T
R
E
E
T

North:

Corner: Was XOXO, a performance space/gallery run by artist Julius Klein in the 1990s. Now a vacant lot, the building having been demolished by the city c. 1997.

South:

31: The Colony, a five-story tenement

35: Was Re:place, art gallery and eco-friendly housewares

37: The original East Village location of Dixon Place, a salon launched in 1986 in Ellie Covan's living room. It was named for amateur publisher Daniel Dixon, whose Paris apartment was the location of an earlier incarnation. Later this address had The Doubling Cube, gambling-themed crafts.

43: Was True Mirror Company, which makes "non-reversing looking glasses"--to see yourself as others see you.

51: Site of Justus Schwab's Saloon, hangout in the late 19th Century for anarchists like Emma Goldman and Johann Most. Schwab, president of the Social Revolutionary Club, was arrested in 1870 for singing the "Marseillaise" in Tompkins Square Park.

First Park

Corner: A sliver of playground created in 1935 from land left over from widening Houston Street. Renovated in 1997.

The snack stand, formerly known as Le Kiosk, is now run by Veselka, the popular East Village Ukrainian diner, and serves an abbreviated version of their menu.

E
A
S
T

1
S
T

S
T
R
E
E
T

North:

Corner: Gulf gas station is on the site of the Second Avenue Bath House.

36: St. Joseph's Hospitality House, where radical Catholic Dorothy Day started the Catholic Worker.

40: Apartments were originally Public School 79 (ca. 1885). Has a glass pyramid on the roof.

42: Chez es Saada, Moroccan, opening here in 1997 began the transformation of this block into a restaurant row.

44: Studio of artist Julius Klein; Sounds Right Sound, music studio

54: Prune, an eclectic eatery whose name comes from the owner's childhood nickname, not from a featured ingredient.

56: Lower Eastside Girls Club

58: The Elephant, fashionable Thai, is in the Lenmor Apartments.

64: Star 64 (aka Starfoods) was Smith, celebrity restaurant.

66: Abetta Boiler & Welding Service

68: Tuck Shop, Australian fast food

70: Mirari was Maria Del Greco boutique; Alpana Bawa, contemporary Indian clothing

72: Tasting Room, tiny wine bar, is below City Lore, an organization founded in 1986 to ''convey the richness of New York's cultural heritage.''

76: Live Juice, not much bigger than a lemonade stand. "Fresh Juice -- Strong Coffee."

Corner (13 1st Ave): Boca Chica, festive South American

South:

Peretz Square

E
A
S
T

1
S
T

S
T
R
E
E
T

North:

Corner (12 1st Ave): One and One, Irish-y pub

78: Himalayan Cafe; Tai Thai

94: Max Meltzer Towers, 1971 NYCHA building named for a judge.

108: Building with Star of David near the roof is a former synagogue; originally Beth Haknesseth Anshe Padheitze, a Polish congregation, later the Lithuanian Kochob Jacob Anshe Kamenetz Lite.

114: Punjabi Grocery, Indian vegetarian hole-in-the-wall. Very tasty, and amazingly cheap. Also sells Sikh music and periodicals. A hangout for cab and livery drivers.

116: Cafe@A1, an Internet cafe

118: Chutney, similar to Punjabi Grocery. The address of Darinka, legendary semi-legal East Village club where They Might Be Giants got their start, and Karen Finley, Eric Bogosian and Spalding Gray used to perform. It had room for about 100 people but often held far more.

Corner (5 Ave A): Nice Guy Eddie's, bar named for one of the more repellent characters in Reservoir Dogs. In the early 1990s, it was a music club called Street Level.