NYC Beastie Adventure

[YoungRemy]

I mapped out this little half day adventure for Lower Manhattan/East Village/ LES/Brooklyn for any adventurers out there who are in NYC and looking to soak up some Beastie Boys history. I'm headed out there this weekend for a wedding in Brooklyn and I have reserved Sunday morning for my mecca.

"I'll be glad if it helps anyone else out too."

these are the spots that I am interested in, but if you have questions about any other locations, feel free to ask.


Part 1 of the trip: Lower Manhattan
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=51...4,5&t=m& z=16

Oscilloscope Laboratories to 59 Chrystie St.- TriBeCa and Chinatown
"sell our CD's on Canal, before we make 'em..."
walking East on Canal and North on Chrystie

59 Chrystie St. to 171 Avenue A. past two East Village Murals
"I live in the Village, wherever I go I walk to..."
continue on Chrystie walking North until it becomes 2nd Avenue.
the first mural by Danielle Mastrion is on East 1st st. visible from 2nd Ave.
it's the one on the side of the trailer of the Beastie Boys as part of the Centre Fuge art project
continue up 2nd Ave. and walk East on 7th Street towards 1st Ave. to see the next mural- the one of MCA by Cram Concepts.

go to 1st ave and head north 1 block. take St. Mark's Place East through the heart of East Village towards Ave A and Tompkins Square Park
(sidenote- 96 St. Marks place is the building location for the Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti album cover)

When you get to Avenue A, head North to between 10th and 11th Streets, home to 171A Studios (now BAD Burger), site of Beastie Boys first EP Pollywog Stew.

I recommend Nino's Pizza on St. Marks and Avenue A. as well as people watching in Tompkins Square Park. I'm sure the Beastie Boys spent plenty of their days doing the same thing.

Ave A to Ludlow and Rivington
"Raised on the LES, Manhattan Island..."
head South on Avenue A and walk one block West on Houston St. and turn left heading South on Ludlow. Rivington should be two blocks down.
soak that shit in and head down to Delancey St. and turn left facing East until you see the Delancey Street subway station(F Train)

Part 2 of the trip: Underground, underneath the skyscrapes
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=40...m&z=15&start=0

Delancey Street to Avenue P Brooklyn
"Head for the last car, fluorescent light blackout..."

Take the F Train (Orange) Brooklyn Bound (Coney Island-Stillwell) to Ave P station to see two rooftop murals. The most recent one just went up by an unnamed artist and is visible between the (closed) Smith/9th Station and 4th Ave station. unfortunately I don't know which side it's on so you might have to keep your eyes peeled and double back if necessary.
"hide your eyes, wait, I saw you lookin', my name's MCA made in Downtown Brooklyn..."

continue on the Coney Island bound F Train until the Avenue P station in Midwood. the MCA Gratitude mural by Entree Lifestyle is on Avenue P and 2nd Ave, on the rooftop. you should be able to see it from the subway station stairs or platform.
"elevated platform, never gonna conform..."

that's where my adventure will end, unless I'm felling up for a walk through Midwood to Adam's high school "Edward R. Murrow out on Avenue L"

you could also find your way back up through Brooklyn to the Albee Square Mall and end up at the High Street Station if you are really up for it. those routes will take a lot of transfers but it's all doable in a half day tops...

[JoLovesMCA]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for this. I imagine this will help us out with our tour in August.

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by JoLovesMCA

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for this. I imagine this will help us out with our tour in August.

Wurd.

[sab0tage]

Excellent. Just hope I can get back to NY one day to do it too

[CoolAsACucumber]

I may have to print this off as I am heading to the City myself this weekend and planned on hitting some Beastie spots. Thanks so much for mapping the murals because I wanted to see a few.

I definitely plan on hitting Edward R. Murrow High while I'm in Brooklyn when my man and I head towards Coney Island.

I have a question for anyone who can answer....did the Boys film their "Alive" video in Brooklyn Bridge Park because I was planning on going there too.

[CoolAsACucumber]

Oh and on St. Mark's isn't that where Stromboli's is from that photo from '86?

[YoungRemy]

http://www.sfae.com/index.php?pg=302142&c=35

well played sir! right along the path at 1st Avenue and St. Marks.

[b-grrrlie]

This is so cool!
I hope I can make it to New York again sometime, was there for two and half weeks around 1992. Was busy visiting museums and vintage stores and my friend who lived there at the time showed me around (still have napkins from Nathan's...). A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then and I guess loads of things have changed. Would be great to be able to make it for the 50th birthday... (Yauch's that is, I'm already past it...) Noticed that Truman Capote's house is quite near the future Yauch Park, that would be nice to see as well.
Just gotta start saving.... but I'd like that allotment with the house as well....

[CoolAsACucumber]

Originally Posted by YoungRemy

http://www.sfae.com/index.php?pg=302142&c=35

well played sir! right along the path at 1st Avenue and St. Marks.

Thanks Remy...but alas, I'm a chick...couldn't you tell by my fan girl moments?

Anyway, i have a cool thing planned for Stomboli's. It isn't anything original, but I plan on taking that photo from 86 and holding it up to the modern facade and taking a photo of past and present. I'll post it when I get it.

So, is Brooklyn Bridge Park where Alive was filmed? Because I may do the same there.....

[Billy Corbitt]

Originally Posted by CoolAsACucumber

So, is Brooklyn Bridge Park where Alive was filmed? Because I may do the same there.....

have you tried scoping it out with google earth? or maps?

[CoolAsACucumber]

Originally Posted by Billy Corbitt

have you tried scoping it out with google earth? or maps?

You know, I may try that. I thought there were some hard core Beastie Boys historians out there that would know it.

I thought if I could get a screen cap from Alive that i could line it up with the scenery and snap a shot from there.

We shall see...wish me luck!

[Billy Corbitt]

i am sure there are; but it might be a diy thing.

oh and good luck.

[CoolAsACucumber]

Originally Posted by CoolAsACucumber

You know, I may try that. I thought there were some hard core Beastie Boys historians out there that would know it.

I thought if I could get a screen cap from Alive that i could line it up with the scenery and snap a shot from there.

We shall see...wish me luck!

oh good lord....Looks like Brooklyn Bridge Park has a few different places. I'm going to have to use some epic skills of observation and landmark mapping to get my Alive photos. And I don't have a fish lens so it might not be exact.....this is pretty exciting. The Beasties are getting my creative photography juices flowing....

[Billy Corbitt]

ok, i will ask around too.

[M|X|Y]

this looks cool, remz

not sure if you covered all of this, but check it out if you havent already

http://gothamist.com/2012/05/04/beastie_boys_tour.php

[WolfWoman]

I can only imagine how much MCA would cringe if he read this article now. But it does give you hope that people can change. Who would have guessed that the jerk who gave this interview would grow up to be such a great person?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beastie...25694/sizes/l/

[FlechaRojo]

That is awesome! I've never been to New York so I know next to nothing about what is where. Thank you for mapping it out - have an awesome time!

[beasties#1fan]

Yay! i love this thread!!!

[MCAadROCKMiKEd7]

Ugh I wish I could go. Jo why aren't you my neighbor so I could just travel with you? Lmao

[CoolAsACucumber]

Spent the weekend in the City, hitting the old Beastie haunts using some of Remy's points of interest. I posted the adventure on photobucket but for some reason, it posted them all in reverse. I started at Oscilloscope and went forward from there.

When I have time, I will properly title them.

http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/p...%20Day%202012/

[Billy Corbitt]

cool

[Bernard Goetz]

Nice!
This is just awesome:
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/p...May2012074.jpg

[CoolAsACucumber]

Originally Posted by Bernard Goetz

Nice!
This is just awesome:
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/p...May2012074.jpg

Aww, thanks! It took a bit of mapping and it didn't line up exactly because they were using their famous fisheye. There is some work being done in what I figured was the exact spot that they did it, but I think I got pretty damned close!

[100% ILL]

Pretty cool photos, looks like a fun day

[Mr. Juice]

A few more stops along the way:

Times Square
Playfully mimic the gestures in the Beastie Boys' "Right Right Now Now"

7 Ave. Subway Stop (54th/Broadway)
Play "Ch-Check It Out" on iPhone, while walking up the subway stairs and mugging for the camera like the Beastie Boys did in their 2004 Late Show performance. Note: You probably won't be able to make it all the way onto the floor of the Ed Sullivan Theater.

James Walker Field (Hudson/Clarkson)
Home of Adrock's softball team, The Pressure.

Murray's Cheese Shop (254 Bleecker)
"Listen up biters go please stop, while I'm politicin' at Murray's Cheese Shop."

Sosa Borella (460 Greenwich St.)
Where Sir Stewart Wallace is dining during his cameo in "Ch-Check It Out."

Albee Square Mall (138 Willoughby Street @Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn)
Shouted out in both "Dedication" and "Hey, Fuck You." Though the mall's no longer there, you can visit and shop for locally made goods at Dekalb Market. Make sure to sing your favorite Beastie lyrics shouting out Brooklyn.

[CoolAsACucumber]

Originally Posted by 100% ILL

Pretty cool photos, looks like a fun day

Oh, lord it was! My man and I hit some places that were tried and true for us, but walking in Chinatown and the East Village was nothing I had ever experienced before. I definitely looked like a tourist / Beastie fan girl every time I would find something, like the murals, and do my happy dance. I even showed the guys at Stromboli's the old Beastie photo so they knew what I was doing.

Brooklyn was absolutely awesome and (please I hope no one takes offense to this as I mean no disrespect whatsoever) when I was in Midwood I saw so many Jewish people (in worship attire) that I squealed with delight because it was so different.

On a side note though, my man and I decided to hit Coney Island from Brooklyn Bridge Park without a map thinking "how hard could it be" and ended up in Jamaica, Queens. When we got directions at a gas station, the two people who were waiting for their cars to get fixed were like "wow, you thought you were in Brooklyn? You are lost!"

The only sad feeling moment I had was when we left Brooklyn over the bridge. I did a video of the crossing and after I stopped the video I said, "Goodbye, Adam" because as I left Brooklyn, I knew it was time to actually say it. Not that he will ever leave my heart though!

[abbott]

Sounds sweet.

I spent 5 days walking around Manhattan about 5 years ago. I remember going to a photo studio in Soho, I think called the Morison Hotel. I bitched at the lady there because no Beastie photos were up. She did go get a book and told me she had some she could get.

I predicted then that soon it would be a host to Beastie photos and I am guessing I am right.

She told me she had a friend who use to watch the Beasties in a pizza joint. I said, Where are there photos, this is fucking Manhattan.

[CHECKHEAD2004]

Great pics!! I think I would bore my fiance out of his mind if I ever attempted a trip like this... LOL

[b-grrrlie]

Originally Posted by CoolAsACucumber

Spent the weekend in the City, hitting the old Beastie haunts using some of Remy's points of interest. I posted the adventure on photobucket but for some reason, it posted them all in reverse. I started at Oscilloscope and went forward from there.

When I have time, I will properly title them.

http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/p...%20Day%202012/

Originally Posted by Bernard Goetz

Nice!
This is just awesome:
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/p...May2012074.jpg

Originally Posted by CoolAsACucumber

Aww, thanks! It took a bit of mapping and it didn't line up exactly because they were using their famous fisheye. There is some work being done in what I figured was the exact spot that they did it, but I think I got pretty damned close!

Awesome!

I hope I can make a pilgrimage some time...

[CoolAsACucumber]

Originally Posted by b-grrrlie

Awesome!

I hope I can make a pilgrimage some time...

And that is exactly what it was, b-grrrlie. A pilgrimage. I went there to honor MCA, but came out of it with so much more respect for not only Adam Y., but for the Ad-Rock and Mike D. as well. I got a better understanding of where they came from and what shaped their music.

And at the same time, it opened my eyes on my own self and my thoughts on life and death itself.

Not to sound dramatic, but it was almost spiritual.