#73 Webster Hall 'The Devil's Playhouse'

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, Places & Travel

4.8 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2009

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Webster Hall, as beautifully worn and rough-hewn as it was during its heyday in the 1910s and 20s, disguises a very surprising past, a significant venue in the history of the labor movement, Greenwich Village bohemia, gay and lesbian life, and pop and rock music. Its ballroom has hosted the likes of Emma Goldman, Marcel Duchamp, Elvis Presley, Robert F Kennedy and Madonna. Listen in to find out how it got it's reputation as 'the devil's playhouse'. www.boweryboyspodcast.com Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The Bowry Boys Episode 73, Webster Hall, the Devil's Playhouse.
0:05.5	Hey, it's the Bowry Boys.
0:07.0	Hey.
0:08.0	The Bowry Boys is brought to you by EuroChipo.com.
0:12.0	EuroChipo editors personally visit and review the best budget hotels in Europe.
0:17.0	Now with hotels in New York City, on the web at EuroChipo.com.
0:21.0	I've been New Year. Welcome to this mini episode of the Bowry Boys. I'm Greg Young.
0:26.0	In 2008, the Landmark Preservation Committee put a lot of new buildings on their list.
0:31.0	If you happen to be glancing down that list of all the buildings that were officially made New York landmarks,
0:36.0	I'm guessing your eye probably abruptly stopped when it got to Webster Hall,
0:41.0	which officially received its Landmark designation in March of last year.
0:45.0	Webster Hall is a performance space and nightclub today in the East Village located at 125 East 11th Street
0:52.0	between 3rd and 4th avenues.
0:54.0	Today it's known for dance parties and ladies' nights.
0:58.0	And while there are newer flashier clubs in the city by far,
1:02.0	it's as reliable today for great live music acts,
1:05.0	and of course the drunken college students that often accompany them.
1:09.0	Just a few weeks ago, in fact, I happened to walk by
1:12.0	and I think I saw somebody barf in the gutter right outside.
1:15.0	And so you must be thinking this is what they're calling a landmark these days.
1:20.0	Well believe it or not, Webster Hall is actually way overdue to being named a New York landmark.
1:26.0	And it's 128 year history.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tom Meyers, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Tom Meyers and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.