Blog – Joseph Papin Artist

Category: The Bowery

  • Faces of the Bowery

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    Drawings and note by Joseph Papin, circa 1957 “Some of the passersby on the Bowery The gentleman to the right explained he was 32 years with the Merchant Marine, spiced story with harrowing adventures on the high seas, concluding with a request for a drink.  Voiced disappointment when it was discovered I had no money.”…

  • The Other Side of the Street on the Bowery

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    We looked at the buildings on the even-numbered side of the Bowery circa 1957 compared to the most recent 2022 Google maps image. Tonight we are looking at the odd-numbered side. Once again, the document by Architectural and Urban Historian Kerri Culhane, The Bowery Historic District State and National Register Report (listed in the National…

  • The Tri-City Barber School on the Bowery

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    Joseph Papin’s drawing of the Bowery from yesterday’s post (March 27, 2024) includes a row of buildings – two of which housed the Tri-City Barber School – 206 and 204. The NYC gov website lists the address of the School as 206 Bowery – “Tri-City Barber School (c. 1933-46” (https://www.nyc.gov/assets/lpc/downloads/pdf/proposed_landmarks/206 Bowery House.pdf). Indeed, the 1933…

  • Buildings on the Bowery: Drawings by Joseph Papin

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    I discovered two wonderful resources in the process of working to correctly identify the addresses and names of the buildings in Joseph Papin’s Bowery street drawings. The Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN) put together a fascinating exhibit called Windows on the Bowery that provides photos and descriptions of some of the buildings on the Bowery…

  • The last Bowery flophouse

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    Joseph Papin, various Bowery flophouse hotel signs, circa 1957. The rest of the drawings in this post are circa 1957 unless noted. The stretch of road known as the Bowery is about one mile long, from Chatham Square to Cooper Square. The Bowery is no longer skid row. Some of the buildings on the Bowery…

  • Blackie McBride: 30 Years on the Bowery

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    “’Share and share alike’ was the motto of Blackie McBride, a citizen of 30 years standing on the Bowery. His face and general person showed the truth of his statement that he been all over and knew and had done it all! Blackie was of medium build, rather short with thinning gray hair and deep…

  • Stories on the Bowery

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    I had initially put together what I thought were all of Joseph Papin’s on-the-scene Bowery drawings and his notes. After the drawings and notes I found were compiled, I found many more. The drawings that surfaced later were illustrated in a manner somewhat similar to the style of some graphic novels, and told the stories…

  • The Bowery Mission

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    Joseph Papin, on-the-scene drawings on the Bowery at the Bowery Mission, circa 1957. “Basement, Bowery Mission, run by the Christian Herald, men know as ‘the boys’ wait in line to show identity cards and have meal ticket punched, next on schedule a 45 min message from the minister in upstairs chapel.” “Group of the boys,…

  • Drawing on the Bowery

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    “As an example of my wanderings, let me briefly introduce the Bowery …” (The Street is my Studio, Joseph Papin, American Artist, 1959). Drawings done on-the-scene circa 1957. “$0.60 per night, $2.85 per week” “Monroe Hotel on the Bowery providing the barest necessities for its patrons, rates seemed reasonable, reading facilities were provided for those…