10th Street Street Fair

Like so many East Villagers, I was away for at least part of the Memorial Day weekend. I missed the "Memorial Day Punk Show!!" in Tompkins Square Park. (Another East Villager told me he saw it from a distance and it looked "very generic" — I think he mispronounced "geriatric"!

I did go to the 10th Street Street Fair though:

Entering the fair from First Avenue.

The band wasn't playing when I passed through, just Led Zeppelin.

"All of my love…"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a tricycle tractor appeared!

Tricycle tractor.

That's pretty much it! I walked to Second Avenue, where it ended, turned around and walked back, and then went home. At no point did I see a sausage and onions truck, or a zeppole truck.

A street fair isn't a street fair without traditional street fair fare!

Poised to Make History

It occurred to me last night, while I was walking down St. Mark's Place in the cold: I think I know why the cool old pickup truck is still parked here.

Cool old pickup truck still parked on St. Mark's Place.

Recent newspaper articles have told of the upcoming 40th anniversary of the release of the album Physical Graffiti, by a band called Led Zeppelin. The album cover was a photograph of the building beside Big Steve's Fun City. I wrote about it here.

I think the owner of the cool old pickup truck is looking to get his truck into the photos that will be taken in the near future! Maybe he'll even get to meet Jimmy Page!

That's what I would do if I had a cool old pickup truck… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cool #pickuptrucks #stmarksplace #ledzeppelin #physicalgraffiti

Physical GraffiTea

Over on St. Mark's Place, between First Avenue and Avenue A, there is a building that is a "must see" on walking tours of the neighborhood, due to the fact that it's pictured on the cover of an album by a band called Led Zeppelin.

St. Mark's Place building

Here's the cover:

"Physical Graffiti" album cover.

Led Zeppelin was popular in the 1970s, with songs like "Stairway to Heaven", which was the anthem of a generation in the years before "Freebird".

Today, this store is all that remains of that time:

Physical GraffiTea.

East Villagers bring the past to life with store names!

#eastvillage #avenuea #firstavenue #ledzeppelin #physicalgraffitea #stmarksplace