Born on the Bowery: NYC’s Tattoo History

Janes Walk

Led By Michelle Myles, NYC Tattoo History

We will meet at Daredevil Tattoo for a private viewing of their museum collection that includes artwork and machines from some of the earliest and most influential tattooers over the last 100 years. We will then walk through the Lower East Side and Chinatown discussing the rich immigrant history of the area and the notorious slum and gangland it became. We will walk through Chatham Square and up the Bowery where the first electric tattoo machine was invented and where the old time Bowery tattooers worked until tattooing was banned in 1961.

Accessibility

About an hour of walking on city streets

Location Information

RSVP is required and capacity is limited. Meeting location, ending location, and directions will be provided via email before walk date.

guided

Friday, May 2, 2025
11:00 AM
2 hours

Borough: Manhattan
Theme: History & Culture
Language: English
Members of the W.P.A. Federal Art Project art class at the Seamen's Institute. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, David Robbins, Archives of American Art.