Basin Street East - 525 Lexington Ave.
Then and Now |
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In 1963, Barbra moved
uptown to, as she has said, "a swankier nightclub" called Basin Street
East. The club was an intimate showroom inside the Shelton Towers
Hotel. The room was narrow and had several support columns running
down the middle, providing some guests with an obstructed view. Barbra
had to move her head from side to side while performing so as not to
alienate certain sections of her audience.
The room
can still be visited today and enjoyed for dinner. It's known as The
Shelton Grill and is located off the lobby of the hotel, now called
The Marriott East Side. The structure of the room is the same as it
was when it was Basin Street East. It even has those those same
columns in the center of the restaurant. With Benny Goodman playing
and Barbra Streisand singing, a visit to Basin Street East was indeed
a elegant night on the town during the 1960's. If you missed Barbra in
1963, you can still enjoy her Basin Street experience, which she
recreated on her "Timeless" DVD.
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At Basin Street
East, 1963
(photo:
Popsi NY) |
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The Blue Angel - 152 E. 55 St.
Then and Now |
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In New
York's golden age of nightclubs, the East 50's were swingin'. Barbra
was part of this scene in the '60's when she appeared at The Blue
Angel on East 55 Street. The club was inspired by a cabaret in Germany
made famous by Marlene Dietrich's 1930 film. The Blue Angel, along
with the Village Vanguard were owned by Max Gordon. Still
in the infancy of her career, Barbra shared the bill at The
Blue Angel with other more known entertainers. Regardless, her time at
The Blue Angel and Basin Street East a few blocks away provided Barbra
with show business legitimacy in New York and served as a platform
from which her career would catapult in short order.
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The Blue
Angel fire then, and the site
now |
The original building which housed The Blue Angel was
destroyed by a devastating fire on December 18, 1975. Seven
people lost their lives. The tragic demise of The Blue Angel
brought fire code reform to New York City. As a result, "The Blue
Angel Law" was enacted requiring public establishments to install
sprinklers, emergency lighting and central alarm systems. The
structure that was erected on the site of the old Blue Angel gets
our vote as the ugliest building in present day New York.
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Jan Hus Playhouse - 351 E. 74 St.
Then and Now |
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In
May, 1960, Barbra joined an acting troop in New York called The
Actors Co-op. They took space in an off-Broadway theatre called
The Jan Hus Playhouse. Their production was a satirical play called
"The Insect Comedy" and Barbra would play four parts: butterfly,
second moth, Apatura Clythia and messenger. It lasted three
performances, closing on May 11.
The "The Insect Comedy" had a political theme which must have had a
lasting impression on Barbra. Decades later, Barbra took then
Secretary of State Madeline Albright to see a new production of the
play |
The Jan Hus
Playhouse today |
Barbra
met a fellow actor named Barry Dennen while working at the Jan Hus. A
friendship developed
between Barbra and Barry and it was Barry who
arranged for Barbra to appear at some of her early club dates in The
Village. The
Jan Hus Playhouse still exists today (above) and is part of the Jan
Hus Presbyterian Church. By the way, the playhouse was named for a
priest and martyr who lived in eastern Europe during the 1400s. He is
a national hero in the Czech Republic.
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"Lowenstein's Office" - 4 E. 74 St.
Then and Now
In
1991, Barbra's production crew took over a small section of East 74
Street as she filmed the finale of "The Prince of Tides." A townhouse
exterior served as Lowenstein's Manhattan office in the film.
Fittingly, the home is located in the most expensive neighborhood in
NYC, right off of Fifth Avenue in what is urbanely referred to as the
silk stocking district. |
 
"Lowenstein's Office": then and
now (for Halloween!) |
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Metromedia Studios - 205 E. 67 St.
Then and Now
In 1961,
Barbra was a regular guest on the New York City based television show,
"PM East." Barbra played sidekick to Mike Wallace on the talk show
which also served as a singing showcase for her.
The
studio was called Metromedia in 1961 and was located just down the
block from where Barbra lived. Today, the studio is the home of FOX
news and the local New York affiliate.
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Barbra on "PM East" then, and
Metromedia Studios now |
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The Walkup Apt. - 1157
Third Ave.
Then and Now
Barbra's career struggles happened early and were over quickly. As
budding actors, she and Elliott Gould lived in a walkup tenement
apartment on Third Avenue at 67th Street, conveniently above
Oscar's Salt of the Sea restaurant. It had four rooms and
commanded all of $60 a month. It also came with a live-in pet, a pesky
little rodent Barbra and Elliott named "Oscar."In a
1991 interview on "60 Minutes," Mike Wallace
brought Barbra back to this location and visited the four room
apartment she called home some 30 years earlier. |
 
Barbra's Third
Avenue apartment:
then and now |
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