The
Borough of Manhattan: The East Village,
Cafe Bizarre, 13 Cooper Square |
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Click here to go to Manhattan, the East Village or Greenwich Village.Three blocks south of
St. Mark's Place and the heart of the East Village, nestled
in Cooper Square, is a local institution....Cafe Bizarre. The cafe was first put on
the map during the tense 1960's as a center for radicals and since then it's been a
favorite hang out with the most underground, avant garde artists, political
theorists, philosophers, writers, poets, musicians, actors, playwrights, social reformers,
filmmakers, technophiles, and freaks. The clientele and the staff keep the vibe
going in Cafe Bizarre as the drugs and espressos flow as freely as the exchange of ideas
and all who enter there notice at once that this place is special...special because
prejudices and the constraints of society are left well outside the door. |
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After passing the various
assortment of colorful locals loitering out in front of the garish façade, the undaunted
patron finds himself in the crowded main floor with its subdued lighting and crowded brick
walls that are cluttered with all kinds of posters and pictures that extend over the
cafe's infamous history. Artists such as Ken Kesey, Pink Floyd, David Lynch, and
Corrosion of Conformity have their memorabilia strewn across the cafe as black lights glow
with strips of psychedelic patterned sheets draping across the ceiling. The tightly
packed entry is usually busy with patrons overflowing from the bar just off to the left
enjoying their drinks and talking about their latest projects with one another while they
wait in no particular hurry for a seat at one of the many booths lining the walls or a
table in the midst of the crowds floating from party to party. |
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of all this...the busy staff dashes from the kitchen window and the bar, keeping up with
the demands of the crowd in the main room or they dash off to the back and the stairs to
the coveted basement seating which is made available to only the most favored of patrons
and harkens back to the days of the back room in Studio 54. |
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Here is the holy of holies
to the locals as a small center room is viewed from the stairs that wind down from above
while dark alcoves through archways line walls. Each alcove is furnished with
futons, low tables, and large embroidered pillows strewn about the floors that are covered
with hand-woven rugs in Oriental patterns while the black lights and lava lamps emit their
dim glow while the patrons in this area engage in almost whatever activity seems to suit
them at the time. The smell of sparked joints, hashish, incense, liquor and even sex
hang thick in the air while the patrons relax, play their instruments, read their
writings, engage in convoluted conversations, and the like. |
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