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Photos, Videos, Articles & More From Late '80s And Early '90s Williamsburg

By

Jen Carlson

Published Jan 12, 2012

Modified Jan 13, 2012

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By

Jen Carlson

Published Jan 12, 2012

Modified Jan 13, 2012

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Do you guys miss the old days of Williamsburg, like before The Edge and $5 pour-over coffees? And we're not talking that one time you went to Kokie's bar in 2001 to score some snow, we're talking the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, when shit was real. Click through for a look back at the gentrifiers before the gentrifiers, or at least before the commercialized PBR/American Apparel-brand hipsters, and like, way before the yupsters moved in with their bohemian-chic lifestyle and rock n' roll playgrounds.

These photos are from this Facebook album, where the compiler notes, "Williamsburg was transformed in the early 90s from an artist colony to an urban subculture in its own right. Immersionism received influence and collaboration from spaces in lower Manhattan that had been doing work in this direction since the late 70s, including Gargoyle Mechanique, Generator, Gas Station, Collective Unconscious, and others."

You'll see fliers for shows (King Missile seemed to enjoy playing there); articles on the emerging scene in the neighborhood—including one on Lalalandia on Grand Street which offered up a late night dining experience (video below); and photos of parties on the Williamsburg Waterfront, before the Open Space Alliance or JellyNYC even existed.

Tagged

1980s

1990s

gentrification

williamsburg

Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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