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Gem Spa Is Auctioning Off Its Iconic Sign, Awning, Egg Cream Fountains & More
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 18, 2020
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 18, 2020
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Back in May, East Village landmark Gem Spa announced that they were closing for good after almost a century at the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue. The store had struggled in recent years with losing their license to sell cigarettes and lottery tickets, and rent increases—and the pandemic turned out to be the final straw.
Gem Spa is now auctioning off some of the most iconic objects from its store, including the landmark yellow-emblazoned Gem Spa sign; gates featuring work by renowned artist Paul Kostabi; their egg cream sign; the Gem Spa Sign which appeared in the film 200 Cigarettes; a long storefront menu, a yellow "best egg cream" storefront awning, the egg cream fountain pumps, some of the satirical "Schitibank" signs, and more.
They also include this brief history detailing the cultural importance of the store:
To illustrate the vital importance of its illustrious history, Gem Spa is featured on the back cover of the first album by the New York Dolls. Poets Allen Ginsberg and Ted Berrigan both mentioned the stand in their works, where Robert Mapplethorpe bought Patti Smith her first egg cream, Madonna shot Desperately Seeking Susan there in 1984, Lou Reed loved to get egg creams there, Jean-Michel Basquiat paid homage to Gem Spa in a 1982 painting. In 1966, The Village Voice called it the "official oasis of the East Village". Abbie Hoffman gathered people for his 1967 protest at the New York Stock Exchange at Gem Spa. it was known as a "hippie hangout". In the late 60s, it was midway between two other iconic venues, the Fillmore East and the Electric Circus, now gone forever.
The store originally opened in the 1920s, but wasn't operating under the name GEM Spa until 1957 (and originally it was GEMS, but they later dropped the "S"). Parul Patel had been running the joint for several years now, a job she took over after her father Ray, who bought the store in the mid-1980s, fell ill.
"Prior to the crisis, it had become increasingly apparent that the evolving character of the area was no longer able to sustain a corner creation like ours," the store wrote in May. "Coronavirus concerns closed our city, cratered businesses, and ultimately sealed the fate of our 100-year-old shop."
You can read more about the store's struggles last year here, as well as the campaign by passionate locals to rescue it.
The store's website is also selling lots of Gem Spa merch still as well, including shirts, sweatpants, studded beanies, tote bags, masks and more.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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