TheConcreteArchives

This is Saint Marks Place as it looked, also in November 1982....

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:49:14 -0500

This is Saint Marks Place as it looked, also in November 1982. The shop with the dresses hanging up in the window is Trash and Vaudeville, which is famous for supplying stars like The Ramones and Debbie Harry of Blondie with clothing during the golden age of punk rock in the 1970s and 80s. The store opened in 1975 and is still in its original location. Next door is the Valencia Hotel which was home to beat writer William S. Burroughs in the early 1970s. In the 1980s punk rock singer-songwriter GG Allin lived there. The hotel is now the St. Mark’s Hotel.

November, 1982: It was risky taking photographs in the subway...

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:41:00 -0500

November, 1982: It was risky taking photographs in the subway because there was a good chance you would get mugged and have your camera stolen. In the background is a poster with the words: ‘Scuse me, while you’re standin’ there… here’s 5 ways not to get mugged. Only three examples are left on the poster, the other two have been ripped off. In the 1983 edition of the New York Blue Guide book, there was some advice on traveling by subway:

“SUBWAY SAFETY: The New York subway system has a reputation for crime and filth which is not undeserved. Stations have been vandalized, cars sprayed with graffiti, platforms are smelly and filthy in many stations. In 1981 there were 15,812 felonies in the transit system including 13 murders, but it is also true that more than three million travelers ride the system daily and survive. Use common sense; be alert to your surroundings; stay with other people; don’t go down empty stairwells or ride in empty cars; don’t lean over the edge of the platform; if in doubt stay near the conductor who has a telephone, as does the attendant at the toll booth.”

Harvard undergrads David Mays and Jon Shecter, one a college...

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:38:00 -0400

Harvard undergrads David Mays and Jon Shecter, one a college radio disc jockey, the other a member of a white rap group called BMOC, bring on their classmates James Bernard and Ed Young to help grow what was a one-page newsletter into “the magazine of hip-hop music, culture and politics,” and the longest running U.S. rap periodical.

The Source, Issue 1.

August, 1988.

New York City Transit Police Caprice Classic.Manhattan, 1995.

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 02:25:41 -0400

New York City Transit Police Caprice Classic.

Manhattan, 1995.

Photo

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 02:08:43 -0400

A-Train.Manhattan, September 1993.

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 01:19:03 -0400

A-Train.

Manhattan, September 1993.

Photo

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:58:54 -0400

On August 27th, 1993, the word DEF was officially laid to rest....

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 19:39:34 -0400

On August 27th, 1993, the word DEF was officially laid to rest. It was that day when Rick Rubin - who initially was a part of Def Jam but later broke away and set up his own Def American Records label, which in turn morphed into American Records—supposedly officially laid the dated hip-hop slang word to rest. This he did via an extravagant funeral service and even went so far as to get a legal death certificate, buy a real life size casket, secure a plot at the Hollywood Cemetery (which is still there to this day), and hold a faux solemn, funeral ceremony with Rev Al Sharpton acting as officiator.

The Concrete Science: “The Miseducation Of Lauryn...

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:23:51 -0400

The Concrete Science: “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill”

The Source Magazine.August, 1996.

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:01:23 -0400

The Source Magazine.

August, 1996.

The Mecca.Photo taken on this day. May 10th, 1992.

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:55:33 -0400

The Mecca.

Photo taken on this day. May 10th, 1992.

Broadway + LafayetteManhattan, 1995.

Tue, 08 May 2012 23:37:38 -0400

Broadway + Lafayette

Manhattan, 1995.

Manhattan.November, 1992.

Tue, 08 May 2012 23:36:34 -0400

Manhattan.

November, 1992.

Union Square West, 1999.

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:45:10 -0400

Union Square West, 1999.

Rare shot of Tupac Shakur

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:27:11 -0400

Rare shot of Tupac Shakur

Entrance to 524 West 159th Street after renovations in 1996.

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:21:44 -0400

Entrance to 524 West 159th Street after renovations in 1996.

Entrance to 524 West 159th Street before renovations in 1994.

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:20:44 -0400

Entrance to 524 West 159th Street before renovations in 1994.

The interior hallway of 212 West 140th Street before renovations...

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:19:32 -0400

The interior hallway of 212 West 140th Street before renovations in 1994.

Miller Estate.

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:09:13 -0400

Miller Estate.

Photo

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:08:38 -0400