1975: First Class Accomodations on the Bowery

"I might be a dishwasher up in the mountains but I'll tell you something...In New York I go strictly first class..."
(Photo by Michael D. Zettler)

The above photo originally appeared in the long-out-of-print book "The Bowery" by Michael D. Zettler (1975). The book is a stunning B&W photographic look at conditions on the Bowery circa 1974-1975.

In the above photo, a man, with suitcase in hand, walks south along the Bowery. Destination: The Palace Hotel - in his mind, first class digs. One wonders what his usual arrangements were if he thought the Palace was "first class." Just beyond the man and above his head is the new, white, graffitti-free awning that hangs over the doorway of the neighboring CBGB, which had been open for just over a year at the time the photo was taken.

New York Times: "Brooks & Dunn have a song, “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone.” Maybe the Cro-Mags should cover that one..."

Yes, the New York Times actually printed that suggestion earlier today in a cool piece about the Rocks Off Rock and Roll History Walking Tours in New York City that we've been reading about recently. The Times article is titled "Walk This Way: The Punk Tour" and you can read it HERE.

Can't make it to NYC this summer (like this very frustrated blogger) and want to know what you're missing out on so you can be even more obsessively bummed out about not making out there to actually take one of these tours yourself? Or maybe you're a New Yorker who just wants to know what kind of bang you get for your buck on one of these tours? All is revealed in the video below.