The Bowery

The Bowery, originally a Lenape trail, has a complex history. Once upon a time it belonged to the down-and-out, who found shelter in its dive bars, missions, and flop houses, but it was also a magnet for artists, who together invented such popular American art forms as tap dance, musical theater, and punk. But in the ’90s, developers discovered the Bowery, and today, grass roots groups are fighting to preserve the old buildings that bore witness to the past. Come take a walk down the Bowery with Alice Sparberg Alexiou, author of Devil’s Mile: The Rich, Gritty History of the Bowery, and learn about New York’s oldest street and its unique and rollicking history.