April 19, 2004: Lower West Side
Have you ever noticed that no one talks about the Lower West Side the way they talk about the Lower East Side? To me, they are pretty similar neighborhoods- populated early on by poor Irish and Italian immigrants, and later colonized by the middle class. LWS is about fifty years ahead of LES on the gentrification curve, but I believe that the analogy sticks.
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that "hotel" is a just down the street from where i once lived.
Regarding the way people talk about the L.E.S., the difference between the Lower East and Lower West is important. The Lower East in the late 19th century was one of the most densely populated slums in the world, ever. The immigrants lived there, not on the west side. They worked on the west side. More importantly, in more recent history the Lower East Side is where a lot of influential bands got their starts, etc. The Lower West has always been more sparsely populated.
jake -- the rust-stained garage door is just plain beautiful. I'm so envious of that shot!
Yeah, the second one from the top is brilliant!
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