St. Marks Is Dead: The Many Lives of America's Hippest Street: The Many Lives of America’s Hippest Street

Introduction -- "A very Eden," 10,000 BC-AD 1904 -- "Three blocks of unusual," 1905-1950 -- "They all ended up on that blanket on the corner," 1951-1974 -- "It was like if you turned the lights on and all the roaches ran," 1977-1991 -- "The era of fear has had a long enough reign," 1992-1999 -- Epilogue. "Hold my hand. Squeeze real tight," 2000-2015 -- St. Marks Place in popular culture -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.;St. Marks Place in New York City has spawned countless artistic and political movements, providing a backdrop for social and cultural revolutionaries from Leon Trotsky to Andy Warhol, the Ramones to the Beastie Boys, W.H. Auden to Keith Haring, Allen Ginsberg to the skaters of the movie Kids. Every group has maintained that their era, and no other, marked the street's apex, and that after they left--whether "they" were the Beats, the hippies, the punks, or the hardcore kids--the street was dead. In this idiosyncratic work of narrative history, enriched by more than two hundred interviews and dozens of rare images, St. Marks native Ada Calhoun uncovers the largely unknown 400-year history of this epicenter of American cool. She traces the street from its origins as a Dutch farm to its current incarnation as a hipster playground--organized around those pivotal moments when yet another group of miscreant denizens declared, "St. Marks is dead."--Adapted from book jacket. St. Marks Place in New York City has spawned countless artistic and political movements, providing a backdrop for social and cultural revolutionaries from Leon Trotsky to Andy Warhol, the Ramones to the Beastie Boys, W. H. Auden to Keith Haring, Allen Ginsberg to the skaters of the movie Kids. Every group has maintained that their era, and no other, marked the street's apex, and that after they left--whether they were the Beats, the hippies, the punks, or the hardcore kids--the street was dead. In this idiosyncratic work of narrative history, enriched by more than two hundred interviews and dozens of rare images, St. Marks native Ada Calhoun uncovers the largely unknown 400-year history of this epicenter of American cool. She traces the street from its origins as a Dutch farm to its current incarnation as a hipster playground--organized around those pivotal moments when yet another group of miscreant denizens declared, St. Marks is dead.--Adapted from book jacket. A very Eden : 10,000 BC-AD 1904 -- Three blocks of unusual : 1905-1950 -- They all ended up on that blanket on the corner : 1951-1974 -- It was like if you turned the lights on and all the roaches ran : 1977-1991 -- The era of fear has had a long enough reign : 1992-1999 -- Epilogue: Hold my hand, squeeze real tight : 2000-2015. Ada Calhoun. Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-397) and index. A New York Times Editors' Choice A vibrant narrative history of three hallowed Manhattan blocks—the epicenter of American cool. St. Marks Place in New York City has spawned countless artistic and political movements. Here Frank O’Hara caroused, Emma Goldman plotted, and the Velvet Underground wailed. But every generation of miscreant denizens believes that their era, and no other, marked the street’s apex. This idiosyncratic work of reportage tells the many layered history of the street—from its beginnings as Colonial Dutch Director-General Peter Stuyvesant’s pear orchard to today’s hipster playground—organized around those pivotal moments when critics declared “St. Marks is dead.” In a narrative enriched by hundreds of interviews and dozens of rare images, St. Marks native Ada Calhoun profiles iconic characters from W. H. Auden to Abbie Hoffman, from Keith Haring to the Beastie Boys, among many others. She argues that St. Marks has variously been an elite address, an immigrants’ haven, a mafia warzone, a hippie paradise, and a backdrop to the film Kids—but it has always been a place that outsiders call home. This idiosyncratic work offers a bold new perspective on gentrification, urban nostalgia, and the evolution of a community. St. Marks Place in New York City has spawned countless artistic and political movements. Here Frank O'Hara caroused, Emma Goldman plotted and the Velvet Underground wailed. Ada Calhoun tells the "(f)ascinating" (Village Voice) many-layered history of the street-from its beginnings as a pear orchard to today's hipster playground-organised around the pivotal moments when critics declared "St. Marks Is Dead". In this "timely, provocative, and stylishly written book" (The Atlantic), enriched by interviews and rare images, Calhoun profiles iconic characters from W.H. Auden to Abbie Hoffman, from Keith Haring to the Beastie Boys, St. Marks has variously been an elite address, an immigrants' haven, a mafia warzone, a hippie paradise and a backdrop to the film Kids - but it has always been a place that outsiders call home.