It’s just like Platform 9 3/4 – hidden in plain sight. See?
Right now, there’s some really cool art and Oaxaca, so I’m all for this hidden gem. Check it out!
Situated between the Bowery and 2nd Avenue, Extra Place is a former thru street that once connected East 1st Street to East 2nd Street. In the 1800s, Philip Minthorne divided his farmland between his sons and daughters. The land that was left over from the segmentation of land was an “Extra” street. Around the 1900s, Extra became a Place, where metal shops, garages, and speakeasies could be found. During the late 70s through the 90s, Hilly Kristal’s Country, Blue Grass and Blues venue (CBGB) on the Bowery had a backdoor that led to the alley where the club’s musicians, performers, poets and artists hung out. This graffiti filled backstage was an insider’s hangout for New York City’s Punk, No Wave, video, pop, and feminist art and activism sphere. Two decades later, AvalonBay Communities, Inc., attracted by the neighborhood’s history and culture, began to developAvalon Bowery Place, a mix of apartments and boutique retailers along the Bowery from East Houston Street to East 2nd Street. Being an integral part of Extra Place is an important aspect of Avalon Bowery Place’s identity.
(Reference: Forgotten New York, Kevin Walsh)
Jen Bokoff 