THE MULBERRY BEND

BROOKLYN'S PASSAGE OF ACHERON

2010-04-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

There is a secret tunnel they say, the tomb of a dead railroad car flipped over on its side like an iron whale and buried beneath Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue since 1861. Since then it has been the source of a flurry of folklore stories, hauntings, legends, and lurid secrets.

Some say Civil War spies buried the mysteriously missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary down there in a brass box. Others claim the tunnel holds weaponry from the notorious Smoky Hollow gang, bootlegging treasures, clues of 19th century espionage, and plenty more.

In 1861, Walt Whitman wrote a column in the Brooklyn Standard where he describes "the old tunnel, that used to lie there underground, a passage of Acheron like solemnity and darkness, now all closed up and filled up, and soon to be utterly forgotten, with all its reminiscences..."

The tunnel was rediscovered in 1981 by engineering student-turned-Brooklyn's own Indiana Jones, Bob Diamond. Diamond spent years in search of the tunnel and its supposed secrets. After scouring ancient engineering documents, obtaining city permissions, and crawling on his belly through 100ft of Brooklyn soot he was finally rewarded when he was poked through a hastily constructed brick and cobble wall and felt a blast of cold air rushing out from the 120 year old cave.

Currently there is a documentary is in the works exploring his great find and this amazing story. This trailer is pretty good insight to the story...

The tunnel was originally commissioned by Cornelius Vanderbilt's LIRR in 1844 when the nuisance of train-related pedestrian bloodshed was gumming up his all important train schedules. A small army of Irish workers did the digging, known later as sandhogs, using the cut and cover method and in truth, it became New York's very first subway.

By the 1850's the tunnels usefulness was waning so a contractor named Electus Lichtfield was hired to fill in the tunnel once and for all, but these being the glory days of New York construction corruption, graft and all around corner-cutting, Lichtfield does not such thing. Instead, in the interest of making a grand ole' profit, he walls in the tunnel on both ends, covers up the other entrances with cartloads of brick and dirt, and get some his "friends" at City Hall to confirm that the tunnel was gone forever...

Bob Diamond's incredible story of rediscovering the tunnel eventually uncovers Lichtfield's scam but his great con turned out to leave something of a legacy for New Yorkers in search of a little intrigue. Still, there are two areas of the tunnel that have not been opened up and Bob Diamond believes that Booth's diary and other lurid artifacts may still be entombed there. Diamond is now the official curator of this great piece of NYC archeology and occasionally runs tours of the defunct tunnel that Whitman called "dark as the grave, cold, damp, and silent."

There is a great collection of in-depth tunnel-related articles here: http://www.brooklynrail.net/proj_aatunnel.html

You can also read the story at Curious Expeditions: http://curiousexpeditions.org/?cat=35

~MB

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE & BARKING IRONS

2009-12-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

BARKING IRONS is very proud to announce our latest collaboration with Nashville guitar-picking man, Justin Townes Earle. Kin to the legendary Steve Earle, Justin will make believers out of every audience he encounters with his exceptionally crafted early country-blues sound. JTE is extremely well-versed in American music and folklore; he is a student of American roots and it shows brilliantly in his ability to craft original songs that sound like they were penned in 1919.

Upon our first meeting, Barking Irons was smitten with this strange character and his funny-sounding guitar as we chewed the fat over Civil War stories and the tales of American infamy.
It wasn't long before we decided that our respective minds would collaborate on something bound-to-be-great.

Barking Irons created this super-soft, vintage quality tee for JTE's Nov-Dec tour with Dan Auerbach. It is titled, "Holdin' Smoke" which came from old bluesman slang for someone whose stylings just cannot be touched by another. Only 200 were produced and that will be it for this particular style so get them while you can: available on JTE's road show.

"JTE Holdin' Smoke" on Dusty Black, by Barking Irons (2009)

MB is proud to be reporting on this masterful collaboration between two kindred spirits with penchants for sartorial excellence. JTE and Barking Irons have just nicked the surface with this one, stay tuned for more cool exciting things happening on this front.

Check out some JTE tunes

ABORIGINAL CITY

2009-12-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

The year 2009 is drawing to a close. Before it does, The Mulberry Bend would like to recognize that it was this year that stood as the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's historic arrival into Hudson Bay. He did this of course on his good ship The Half Moon on Sept 12th, 1609.

Manhattan was a very different place back then. More like The Hamptons actually, without the sweater shawls & khakis. Sound enchanting? We have no doubt that it was. Which is why the Dutch decided to move right in. Legend tells of men wading into the waters and plucking whole lobsters with their bare hands. Now if that doesn't make you wonder, perhaps a trip over to The Mannahatta Project will set wind in your sails.

Although it's been around for a little while now, The Mannahatta Project founded by Dr. Eric Sanderson, an Californian ecologist, now offers downloadable data and resources. Information about Mannahatta's once strong biodiversity and the over 55 ecological communities that once thrived in on this island is there for the plundering. Furthermore, if pictures and maps are your speed, you can mess with The Mannahatta Project's 10 different layers of time on the Google Map based overview of the island. That means you can type in your address and rewind time to see what once existed where you do now. Whatever it was, it was probably cleaner and looked a hell of a lot better than you do anyway.

CHASE- MANHATTAN - BURR?

2009-11-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

Have you ever found yourself half-drunk and impatiently waiting for your cash to spew out of an ATM and wondered about this wacky little symbol here?? It's okay... Mulberry Bend has.

This story begins in 1799 amidst the bitter rivalry of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Following a cholera outbreak in the then fledgling New York City, Burr won a crucial contract to drain fresh water ponds on Manhattan Island in order to supply fresh water to its inhabitants. This led him to found the Manhattan Company.

Hamilton had established the first corporate bank in New York, Bank of New York, in 1784 and enjoyed many years of fat profits without any competition. This irked Burr so much that he insisted that his newly established Manhattan Company obtain a clause in its charter that would allow it to become a bank, adding another layer to their fierce rivalry ... and we all know how that ended.

A. Burr - one hell of a model American !

Burr laid pipe all over Manhattan... literally. Always the cost-cutter, he hollowed out pine logs to carry the water to where it needed to go. Ultimately, Burr did a terrible job draining the water from Manhattan which led to awful public health and structural problems down the line but that's a different story. Have a look at his handy work:

See where this is headed?? Over the centuries the Manhattan Bank went thru several mergers and in 1930 John D. Rockefeller Jr. threw his hat in the ring and the bank became the largest in the nation. In the 1960's the bank decided that they needed a graphic logo - pretty revolutionary at the time - so they hired Chermayeff & Geismar Associates to whip something up.

They wanted something that would suggest security, organization, protection, equality, etc. but the designers also thought that they could make their clients happy by taking note of the venerated history of the bank which dated back to 1799. So they used Burr's old pine logs as the inspiration for the abstract image that would go on to become one of the most genre-defining corporate logos of the age.

To this day workers will occasionally unearth hollow pine logs during excavations like this one at Coenties Slip. It seems as though the ubiquity of the Burr's pine logs translates nicely to the evil corporate omnipresence of Chase logos in our fair city today.

Oh Burr, you always get the last laugh!

Weird...

~MB

RAT PITS OF NEW YORK

2009-11-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

"The Town is taken by its rats--ship-rats. And rats of the wharves. "

~Herman Melville

Saunter down Water Street near that movie set-like section underneath the Brooklyn Bridge and keep thine eyes peeled for a squat brick building that the postmen call #273. That is where the 'lore of a local man named Kit Burns took on its infamy.

Burns ran a well-kept tavern, buzzing with all manner of waterfront types of late 19th century New York. The bar men made good business but the real attraction was the fighting pits that earned the "Sportsman's Hall" its far-reaching reputation. Rats are plentiful along the East River so ol' Burns-ey had no difficulty procuring droves of the wily beasts while his dogs, terriers and ferret chasers, furnished their particular brand of entertainment.

A burlap sack of rats (10-stone) is emptied into the pit which is set up like an amphitheatre of sorts with vile men crowded in on the rough-hewn benches. The dog then goes to town making bloody work of as many rats as he can in the given "time," which is set by the screaming, stomping, blasphemously elated men who gamble upon this venture. Burns' dogs are the gladiators of the night and highly-regarded and even smothered with heroic affections in victory.

One eye witness recalls that some men would, "catch up the dog in their arms, and press it to their bosom in a frenzy of joy, or kiss it as if it were a human being, unmindful or careless of the fact that all this while the animal is smeared with the blood of its victims. The scene is disgusting beyond description."

Rat pits were actually a common attraction in old New York, a miniaturized gladiator affair with all the pomp and primal affections of the ancient Colosseum but none have gained such infamy as Kit Burns' Sporting Hall. We all would do well to remember the crass, ungodly beginnings of a town as tony and cosmopolitan as our modern day New York, Mulberry Bend is here to help.

Sorry for the absences friends, MB will be back up and running now so be sure to come back for more lurid tales...

HISTORY "CAPTURED"

2009-03-31T14:57:00.000-07:00

Last night MB witnessed an enthusiastic screening of the new documentary film, "Captured" in an event space on the Bowery. The film chronicles the life work of LES artist and consummate man-of-many-hats, Clayton Patterson, who tirelessly etched scenes of pre-gentrified Lower-East-Side life into a vast compendium of photos, films, and art for over 30 years. Like a modern day Herodotus, Patterson labored, often risking life and limb, so that us future generations and revelers of the L.E.S. could witness the blood that was spilled on this ground before our time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxUZSIf5yjQ

Clayton is victorious as a Lower East Side hero and the film does a good job of picking through his vast collection of divisive if not outright disturbing video footage, but the PBR guzzling audience seemed to walk away unaffected by the woes of lower-east-siders of the last generation. At one point rioters raid the lobby of a upscale apartment building on Tompkins square -a mere neanderthal to today's Avalon or Ludlow monstrosities - in a gesture of angst toward upscale gentrification, but how does one expect the current inhabitants to react to this? As you might expect, the tragedy felt by the LES dwellers of the 70's & 80's was lost on more than a few.

The precious footage that Clayton has rescued from anonymity however, is CAPTURED's greatest gift. The LES as ghetto; a lawless, shameless, bubbling miasma of crime, art, newness, fear, and infamy. MB has often wondered what New York might have looked like during the 1863 Draft Riots and the tapes of the Tompkins Square Riot might be just about as clear a window as we can get into what happens when peace in our city takes a holiday.

KINGS OF LEON TEES BY BARKING IRONS!

2009-01-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

The brothers Followill, proud sons of Tennessee, may be hitting their stride in 2009 with a breakneck touring schedule, a string of huge singles, and more fan power than ever before.

On Thursday, the Kings of Leon will take on a sold out MSG -their biggest US show to date and the buzz is palpable here in NYC.

In July, the KOL dropped in on the Barking Irons Bowery digs (as reported by MB) to discuss some new art work that Barking Irons had made expressly for the Kings of Leon. After the guys happily approved the work, Barking Irons set out to produce a limited edition run of three ultra-soft, beautifully made t-shirts to be sold on tour with the band. It is MB's distinct pleasure to showcase them here now:

REDLOGO >>>
<<< align="left"> YOUNG LOVERS - ONLY BY THE NIGHT

Each tee was produced on a super soft washed cotton picked by Barking Irons and sported an artful inside neck label for ultimate comfort and an added graphic punch. The KOL by Barking Irons tees are available for $34 at the Kings of Leon webstore and on tour only.

The whole band was super thrilled with the final outcome. Some joker even caught Nathan wearing TRICERATOPS on his day off (alterations his):

In addition to wearing their own gear, every now and then the Followill boys will end up on stage wearing one of the original Barking Irons pieces that they picked up on their visit to the Bowery.

We wish these boys the absolute best. Believe it or not, the KOL were an integral part of the founding of Barking Irons when back in 2003 their album "Youth & Young Manhood" fueled many a late night of screen-printing in the Bowery basements. Funny that...

Stay tuned for more KOL / Barking Irons collaborations to come.

'ROLE MODEL' TEE

2008-11-18T12:55:00.001-08:00

ACTOR, Sean William-Scott was caught wearing the ol' Barking Irons classic "Greensward" tee in his new movie, "Role Models" last week. The film has been advertising all over NYC with a giant pictures of Mr. Stifler wearing this vintage Barking Irons diddy. Aside from Scott, Role Models also stars Paul Rudd -a gallant knight of comedy these days and a Barking Irons fan to boot. The film has been scoring solid reviews as a good ol' knee-slapper, just the thing for our depression era blues.

For the curious among you who are wondering aimlessly about the history and meaning of the "greensward" shirt, rest easy and you may now unfurl your brow:

In 1860, the city commission of New York issued a design contest for a landscaping plan to fill the center portion of Manhattan island. Over 1000 entries were submitted from all over the globe, but it was a submission by Fredick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux entitled, "The Greensward Plan" that ultimately won the day.

The ambitious Greensward Plan proposed roughly 8 years of massive terraforming and redirection of waterways in order to reconfigure the feral, rock-strewn land into a sprawling opus of open public space in the center of the country's most crowded city.

It is remarkable to remember that while it may seem like a preserved natural space, Central Park and the Greensward Plan represent the totalizing efffect of man-made space. Every square foot of Central Park was mapped out and reformed by steam shovels and good old-fashioned Irish labor, more than anything else it represents man's ideal vision of nature.

Thank you Sean-William Scott for your wearing on chest a most memorable homage to manscaping.

The Greenward shirt is available on the Back Door section of the Barking Irons webstore, get yours NOW!!!

THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND

2008-10-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

In the closing weeks of this year's historic Presidential election we've all been hearing a lot about Barack Obama's ties to Weather Underground co-founder, Bill Ayers. For those who don't know, the Weather Underground was a radical student activist group that carried out (among other things) a string of terrorist bombings on Government buildings from 1969-1975. Typically the bombs were detonated at night so as to focus on the buildings themselves and not any their personnel.

Without fueling any more hype around the overblown controversy that continues to haunt Mr. Obama, the Mulberry Bend wishes to take notice of an inconspicuously quiet, leafy block in Greenwich Village and the footnote in history that transpired there.

It was March 7th, 1970 - A thunderous explosion from within No. 18 West 11th Street suddenly rattled the entire block. Fire immediately broke out amidst the the thick smoke and building wreckage. Two soot-covered young women emerged, one completely naked after narrowly escaping her shower. Confused neighbor, Dustin Hoffman stumbled out on the street...

A concerned neighbor saw the nude woman and took her in to get her something to wear. The stunned neighbor then returned to the street briefly, when she looked back the two women had disappeared. Three bodies were discovered in the ruins, all members of the Weather Underground.

No. 18 West 11th was discovered to be a Weather Underground safe-house and bomb factory. Someone had been tinkering with a pipe-bomb when it accidentally exploded. Police later found blasting caps, pipe-bombs, and anti-tank shell, and 60 sticks of dynamite in the house, enough explosives to "level both sides of the street."

Nowadays, if you find yourself walking along West 11th, look out for the somewhat angular building jutting out from the flat-facades of the 19th century row houses. It is a chilling reminder of this haunted house of American terror.

One cannot help but think that Bill Ayers was a pretty despicable person for advocating this kind of thing, but the idea that Mr. Obama would for some reason secretly hold some allegiances to this group or its dead ideas requires something of an overactive imagination.

Nevertheless, I don't think Mr. Ayers will do anymore damage than he has already done, and Barack Obama can remember like the song does,

You dont need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows...

KINGS OF LEON @ BARKING IRONS

2008-07-02T08:31:00.001-07:00

Preeminent rock band Kings of Leon dropped in on the Barking Irons Bowery digs last week to pick up some of our latest spring wares and to discuss a potential partnership with the Bowery Boys -more details to come.

As the band rifled through racks of t-shirts, woven shirts, accessories and more they found special interest in the various Civil War relics that populate the Barking Irons showroom. Caleb & Nathan Followill walked away with fistfulls of t-shirts and other Bowery paraphernalia.

Many beers were consumed in a relatively short period of time which eventually led to some unsteady picture taking (above). Occasionally, the band would incidentally drop a hint pertaining to their new album due out in October.

This is the second time that the Kings of Leon have come hunting for those rare Barking Irons goods -not currently available in Tennessee- however, this time was a much more spirited encounter as the band had a few days to kill before jetting off to Europe.

The Kings of Leon will be appearing at the All Points West Festival this August at Liberty State Park, NJ along with Radiohead and many others. The KOL continue to be a leading force in homegrown gritty rock'n'roll and they are proud friends of the Barking Irons gang. Stay tuned for more great things...

THE TORCH AND STEVE

2008-02-22T12:21:00.000-08:00

When Steve Varon, a valiant supporter of Barking Irons, asked us if we would help promote his cause by posting this video on Mulberry Bend we didnt have to think twice about it. Not only is Steve one of gentlest souls one could ever hope to meet, but his intended goal of getting the Dalai Lama himself to carry a torch at the opening ceremony of the controversial Chinese Olympics in 2008 is both inspiringly ambitious and ingeniously simple.

Perhaps in lingering reverence for Axl Rose we are all still resolved to wait in vain for a Chinese Democracy to ease us all in to the 21st century. The Chinese government continues to thrill in showing us its unbending will and superpower muscles. In our lifetime we are likely to see China noted as THE global power. If such is the case it seems onerous for them to begrudge this man of peace and prevent what would be a symbolic gesture of unity and peace to the world. As Steve says, "why don't you stop standing up and showing how strong you are against ...one man."

After all, this is the Dalai Lama not Kim Jong-il we are talking about. In China I guess it doesnt matter who you are -Axl may have said it best: "its hard to hold a candle... and we both know hearts can change..."

Good Luck to you Steve! We're pulling for you from the Bowery way 'down to Chinatown.

Go Check out Steve's Video:
"The Dalai Lama, The Torch, and Steve" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLYvTQMORt4 The more views the better.

A RARE SPECTACLE

2007-12-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

On Dec 10th, The Barking Irons had the good fortune to attend the premier for P.T. Anderson’s latest film, 'There Will Be Blood'. I would like to offer up a brief impression of the film for those who are yet to see it.

'There Will Be Blood' takes place in the western United States during the 1890’s. It's inspirations were partially based on Upton Sinclair’s novel ‘Oil!’, which is now out of print and quite difficult to find. Anderson wrote the screenplay which sees the anti-hero Daniel Plainview go about his affairs in pursuit of oil, money, blood kin. However these elements are dipped in metaphors for an altogether vibrant comment on men, capitalism, religion and manifest destiny. The main study, I believe, is focused on a man who’s veins course with oil. A capitalist so fully consumed that he ceases to be human. You can see a desire in Plainview to find his blood or his kin or even someone he can trust, but instead he devours the people around him with his saw-toothed anger and his unforgiving standards.

That being said, the character study of Daniel Plainview is nothing short of a spectacle. It is a trance inducing warp that displaced me in such a way I felt genuinely frightened at times. This is also in part (quite largely) due to Daniel Day Lewis’ performance. To that, I’d have to say watching this almost sequel performance to Bill the Butcher, but obviously different and with better direction, should make other performances blush by comparison. It is stunning. The film's score is nothing to forget either. Composed by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, the music is at times out of frame and almost abstract. Period sounds of strings and percussion lead you into emotions. Instead of laying on top of the acting and cinematography, the compositions sometimes precede the impending sequence by minutes. This was a brilliant plan. Much of this film reminds me of Citizen Kane, heralded as one of the greatest films ever made. And even from a layman like myself, I can say that this film, this performance is so important that it should be talked about for decades.

HOME OF THE BEAR

2007-12-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Bear Mountain area, New York. As unlikely a place as ever to find landmark evidence of a big impact on menswear. But hark! This is no ordinary place. This is sacred ground of the Algonquin’s. Home of the Bear they called it after the great Sachem (chief) P’Tauk-Seet (the Bear) pronounced (Tuck-Seet). A village exists here that has held a legend in mens fashion for over a century.

But before this story unravels itself lets take a trip back to England in the 1880's. The Prince of Wales has commissioned Henry Poole & Co. to tailor a special smoking jacket hybrid for him that will allow him to attend semi-casual galas without going through the ritual ‘top & tails’ routine of high class dinner-wear. It is rumored that the then Prince (Edward VII) had his eye on a young Cora Potter from America. Cora was a beautiful southern girl born in New Orleans and married to one James Potter of New York (Cue J. K. Rowling fans). Although Potter was not a wizard, he was a successful coffee broker and a highly influential dinner club founder back in the states. Thus in 1886 he and his wife were invited to attend a ball at the Prince's Sandringham, Norfolk estate in the UK. When James Potter asked the Prince what would be appropriate to wear to such an event, the Prince referred him to his custom tailor to get fitted for his newly designed dinner-wear. A ploy to get time alone with Mrs. Potter?

Funnily enough, Cora did not return immediately to America. She stayed behind in England to pursue acting, while James returned to New York to continue his business and social presence. In New York, James Potter wore his new outfit from the UK all around town and at his private dinner club near Bear Mountain. Customers at the popular dinner spot Delmonico's were noted to constantly ask where the attractive new attire was from. Most of the time, Potter’s dinner club was sighted as the area of attraction for this mysterious and new garb. Consequently Potter’s dinner club which was located back northwest of New York City was given credit for the uprising of this trend. P'tauk-Seet-Tough (Tuck-Seet-Toe) or Home of the Bear by that time (1870's-1880's) was known as Tuxedo, New York. Rather by chance or by the winds of fate, Edward VII, Cora & James Potter, and Algonquin Sachem P'Tauk-Seet had all played a hand in inventing the American Tuxedo.

Barking Irons has pioneered what we call the Hester Polo combining elements of the American Tuxedo shirt with a fine jersey polo shirt for several seasons now.

Cora Potter died in 1936. Upon leaving England in the late 19th century Oscar Wilde is quoted to say "With regard to Mrs. Brown-Potter, as acting is no longer considered absolutely essential for success on the English stage, there is really no reason why the pretty bright-eyed lady who charmed us all last June by her merry laugh and her nonchalant ways, should not--to borrow an expression from her native language--make a big boom and paint the town red. We sincerely hope she will; for, on the whole, the American invasion has done English society a great deal of good. American women are bright, clever, and wonderfully cosmopolitan. "

BARKING IRONS BLIND TIGER SAMPLE SALE

2007-12-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

Last friday, the good old boys at Barking Irons kicked off an entire weekend of amazing deals & steals with an evening of jazz-age pomp at their hauntingly beautiful loft space at 161 Bowery. The news was spread by Thrillist, Urban Daddy, Time Out NY, Daily Candy, and a host of independent bloggers (thanks). Apple-tinged Dark & Stormy cocktails flowed throughout the affair while old time Dixieland jazz quartet brought down the house.

Shoppers were escorted to the 4th floor in a rickety old manuel elevator by a short, disheveled-looking operator called "Mr. Moy" who speaks nary a word of english, but is quite wise beyond his years.

Once safely landed on the fourth floor shoppers were drawn into the jumpy rhythms and flighty clarinet of the jazz players and a lively bunch of lower-east-siders picking through all manner of fine sportswear including copious t-shirt styles, classic hoodies & flannels, and dashing Fireman Pea coats, all laid out like a feast. The smell of rum & ginger hung in the air and the evening rollicked on in the tempo and grandeur of a speakeasy of the roaring twenties.

But there may be no need to speak-easy about this affair. With the resounding success of this sample sale, Barking Irons is considering keeping the retail set-up throughout the holiday season so folks from California to New York Island know exactly which pit on the Bowery to stumble into when in need of some fine threads & a grand ole'time!

visit http://www.barkingirons.com/

THE BOWERY NOUVEAU

2007-11-13T15:41:00.000-08:00

First off, kudos to the Bowery Hotel and its creators Sean MacPherson & Eric Goode for creating a truly exquisite vision of the Bowery 'gone Continental. We have always believed the Bowery to be a distinct calling card of New York City appropriate for out-of-towners or visitors from abroad. Much like New York, it is an entity onto itself having a colored history that is commonly set apart from the development of the rest of the city. It has always been boldy unashamed of what it is, for better or for worse.

During the 19th century the Bowery was the shadowy low-brow theatre district; birthplace of the American minstrel shows (the first form of American popular music); tap-dancing, the New York dialect, and later epicenter to the vaudeville theatre era. The Bowery was a constant thoroughfare of the carnivalesque; it may have appeared dark & dismal but it was a place that was alive with deeply American inventions and cultural fermentation.

The creators of the Bowery Hotel have taken this "aesthetic idea" of the Bowery as dark & cozy, mysterious, cave-like, ragged and well-worn, and married it to a vision of almost European grandeur. Granted, the interior of the hotel is probably far more elegant than anything that ever lived on the Bowery, but we can appreciate a tasteful appropriation of style when we see it. All the tapestries are tattered like ancient Medieval art, the furniture shows bruises and homely dings & tears in non-obstrusive places, in one hallway there is a glass showcase of Barnum-esque oddities, and surrounding the lobby is a smoky, painted panorama of a river-scape opposing the dusty streets of the old Bowery. Everywhere this dude is speckled:

Bowery B'hoyo

He is their logo & leprechaun and he is friend to Barking Irons. We know the Bowery is in transition and that's all well and good, but first, a tip of our hat to the Bowery Hotel for honoring a legacy in pursuit of new riches.

In contrast to this tasteful homage to the history that is the Bowery Hotel there is the newly constructed New Museum on Bowery, which, along with the new Whole Foods ushers in a new era of Bowery development that breaks unabashedly with the shadowy past of our humble thoroughfare and its lowly fore-bearers.

The "New Museum" on Bowery

Now, I am not one of those who is staunchly opposed to the rising tide of development or one to lament the passing of old, decrepit buildings -this destruction/creation process is part of the life blood of New York, if it did not exist it would truly be something to lament- but these fancy pants architects need to call a spade a spade. This is an excerpt from a recent interview:

Question: How does your design address the context of the Bowery—the thoroughfare itself, the beginning of Prince Street at the site, the surrounding of smallish buildings of different styles and conditions?
Answer: We wanted to be as consistent as possible with the scale of the existing surroundings. However, our building has to accommodate a much bigger program than its neighbors do. By shifting the different levels of the structure in relation to one another, we are also diminishing the bulk and establishing a more effective, dynamic relationship with the buildings in the area. On the other hand, because this area is in transition, we believe the New Museum building should have a strong identity of its own in order to survive, especially on a street as tough as the Bowery.

If this isn't blowing theoretical smoke up our asses, I don't know what is. Your building is by no stretch of the imagination at harmony or in context with its surroundings, it sticks out like a sore thumb and that's exactly what you wanted it to do. And what does "diminishing the bulk" even supposed to mean?? Does it mean diminishing the crappiness?? If so, well done. But we're not so bitter, we know that its par for the course and thats how come your pants got so fancy, so welcome to the Bowery... I guess.

BLUSHING DIAMOND REVIEW

2007-11-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

. Burlesque is alive in Manhattan

If you've ever been to a burlesque show during the 1920's in Manhattan (don't deny it!) you would know what to expect when at Norman Gosney's latest spectacle. Tasteful undressing, vaudevillian chants and good humour are abound. The champagne is sold by the bottle only with its Halloween orange label and it's medicinal effects the whole night seems to blush red with memorable vignettes of classic burlesque.

A smile from Ms. Tickle, a wink from Ms. Amelia and one might forget that they had to show up to a back alley door and give a secret password to be let into a building and sent up to the 14th floor via freight elevator to a special thearter. Each time Mr. Gosney puts together one of his underground extravaganzas it is in a different location in a hidden part of town. And they are not frequent. I'm not entirely sure due to the secrecy of such nights, but I do believe years go by in between shows. Each show always has a theme. I've been to one years back that was a themed pirate showcase. All the ladies showing their individual talents. Spinning hoops, contorting their bodies, swallowing sausages. And its different acts from show to show.

. Ms. Tickle shows you how its done. Or rather undone.

Some of the players do return from former shows however. A crowd favorite, Frank Bray, classes-up the night with several tunes from 'Old Blue Eyes' and the performance is so close to perfection that one might mistake this man for the reincarnation. But Frank always offers up more as his comic timing and charismatic swagger push beyond expectations.
In the end its all down to your gracious host as he hams up the most vaudevillian promotions. Norman (always the master of ceremonies) can command crowds of New York socialites, Bowery Bums (as myself) and Celebrities alike (hello Bjork). He gets better every show i see him in. Cheers to you Norman and to all the lovely ladies in your show!

. Ahoy!

Ladies and gentlemen, if you ever find yourself down a cold steam pipe alley, bouncer at and un assuming back door asking for the secret password its "stolen bracelet".

SUNSHINE & SHADOW

2007-10-19T10:45:00.001-07:00

It is difficult for a gentleman to be discerning nowadays. Smaller independent brands are either destined to a shadowy existence or
or getting snuffed out after a few short seasons. With retail in a slump customers and retailers alike are reluctant to take chances on independent brands and instead gravitate towards bigger, more established labels. Only a few years back this wasn't so, there was an opening in the market for independent brands, people wanted original and subversive, something off-the-beaten-track and provocative.

Everybody knows the economy is in a spin. It is not at all surprising to learn that this opening has since slammed shut and the trend has swung back the other way in light of the circumstances. Everybody is being more cautious especially when it comes to fashion; but does this economic turn inevitably put the subversive consumer on hiatus? Does the falling dollar set the scene for a few years of sure-footed conformity in the fashion world?
Whatever be the outcome, The Good Ship Barking Irons along with a slew of other independents are sailing on in an ever-more brazen direction, through the shadows toward an eventual sunrise.

It is a classic business tale of David & Goliath: we have to rely on getting scrappy and staying lean in order to hold out in this fight. There are several factors working against us, but being a nimble brand is our greatest strength if we can hang in there long enough. The armchair economists predict that the economy will bounce back again, maybe so, but I glean from the experts that we may not have hit the bottom yet. Until then, we here on the Bowery are going to keep our candles burning...

New Fall Collection In Stores; available at Bloomingdales & Nordstroms as well as other specialty retailers

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

2007-04-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Running a business from the Bowery is somewhat of a task in itself it seems. Its not the occasional drooling Meth addict outside our door from the clinic a few blocks away. I actually like the reality of their company. Or the Bowery Mission and its perpetual crowd of loiterers outside its doors. Its the Bowery itself, with its many mysteries and omnimous presence that I think creates friction with the world around it. For instance, there is one phenomenon that I cannot rightly get passed in our days at the Barking Irons HQ. Quite often we get the innocent question about our address, “Bowery what?”. It baffles people that a street doesn’t have a surname. “Bowery Street?” they say? “No, just BOWERY” we counter. Time and time again it is a problem. We’ve even had couriers pause shipment because of this. Of course none of these people are from New York. However it brings up the question of why the Bowery is so mysterious to people. Better yet, what is the Bowery? and what does it mean today?

You may say that its the lack of the surname that excludes the Bowery from other streets. Then again, Broadway doesn’t have a surname. Or is it because it has the word “Way” in it that it may be excused from such trials? It is however true that the Bowery had a surname prior to 1807, where it was then called a Road and before that a Lane. But to know why Bowery is called simply Bowery is to know how this road to perdition became such a mark on Manhattan in the first place.

Bowery and Grand St. with the old 'L' tracks casting shadows for theives to hide.

Bowery or Bouwerij in the old Dutch spelling was, the little country road to Peter Stuyvesant’s farm established in the 17th century. Bouwerij literally meant farm or farmland. Peter Stuyvesant was the patriarch of New York. A peg legged dutchman who single handedly purified young New York from the sins of an unruly colony of farmers and feuding dutch traders.

Later on, in the 19th century, Bowery became the poor man’s Broadway. It was filled with Museums, Theaters and Flop Houses of the day. Song writer Stephen Foster died on the Bowery, George Washington drank on the Bowery and legend has it there has never been any Churches built on the Bowery. That fact can be claimed by no other main artery of Manhattan. Perhaps that is a clue to the Bowery's true identity. For Bowery was never a safe road (until Whole Foods opened).

The Bowery’s fall from grace began almost at the same time that it gained notoriety. Covered by a giant ‘L’ in the mid 19th century (which explains why the street is so wide today), it was cast in a dark shadow. This, no doubt, aided its mystique and its violence. Many gangs roamed the Bowery. From the Atlantic Guard to the Slaughterhousers to the Bowery B’hoys, each new decade brought more infamy. Then during 70’s and 80’s the Bowery was born again. It was the famed birthplace of punk, some might say. A baptism occurred, as the Ramones took the stage for the first time in 1974. Located at 315 Bowery, CBGB’s became a mecca for the new punk scene. But as worshipped as CBGB's was, it was not the church of the Bowery.

The secret church on the Bowery exists in the most obvious of places it turns out. Getting back to the origin of the Bowery I found that it doesnt necessarily have a church on it, but it actually leads to a church. The Second Dutch Reformed Church existed where St. Marks Church exists today. Right on the old Stuyvesant farm and rightfully at the top of the Bowery. Why is this so significant to New Yorkers? Well as a church it may or may not be, but as the final resting place of Peter Stuyvesant, it should be the holiest of grounds.

TELL'N STORIES

2007-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

The Original Sin. . .
Ever heard of Pump Street in Manhattan?

Pump Street. Or what used to be Pump Street and is now Canal, existed around 1829. This name was adopted from the Teawater Garden which was a resort near Chatham Sq. that was built around the Teawater Pump. What is the Teawater Pump you might ask? Why it’s a relic of the good ol’ Collect Pond. The Collect existed before Europeans decided to perform surgery on the landscape of Manhattan Island. The freshwater spring was a sanctuary for Native Americans and Colonists alike until it became polluted and overrun with mosquitoes. This is most certainly a result of the destruction of an ecosystem.

It must suck to die in Jersey
Meanwhile, Alexander Hamilton was shot on the banks of the Hudson River in a duel with rival Aaron Burr over a comment made in a New York campaign statement. Burr goes on to found the Manhattan Company and wins the contract to fill in the old Collect Pond and build a canal to drain it. Reports of the day sight the filling of the Collect Pond as more like a garbage landfill.

Canal and Broadway 1805
Once the pond was filled in, the apple had been bitten. A stinking marsh arose and the buildings that were built above it sank. The Five Points were born. Cursed by the island this site remained one of the worlds worst neighborhoods for decades.
Oh and the Manhattan Company merged with a company called Chase and they are still draining Manhattan. Only now they drain your pockets every time you withdraw from a non-Chase ATM.

PATRON SAINT OF AMERICA

2007-02-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

Cheers to Anthony Kiedis and his girl for this shot. It’s a good look. I’m always glad to see girls who know how to wear a fucking tee-shirt. Most women complain that we only make mens tees primarily. But that’s the point. Women and men alike are supposed to wear the same style. If you’ve ever bought our size “Small” you’d know its not particularly suited for a man. That’s because we have tried to cultivate this ‘cross-gender’ product from the start. Look at it this way, girls want to wear guy threads so why not make the most basic of garments compatible for both?

The shirt that she is wearing is called “Tamanend” and can be found in the Bazaar section of our site.
Chief Tamanend, or St. Tamanend was said to have died around 1698. His reputation was that of a peaceful conduit between the Native tribes of the Lenni-Lenape and the English settlers around the Philadelphia area. Tamanend promoted the peace and love of the colonists to other native tribes, until the stars and moon cease to exist. The name of the great king was then carried from generation to generation and from colony to colony until he gained its most notable of churches “The Society of St. Tammany” or “Tammany Hall” in New York City during the 18th century. This political mecca was fixed with a giant marble statue of the chief atop its massive façade.

The ‘Tammany Tiger’ came into play later in the society’s history as William “Boss” Tweed gained his seat as the “Sachem” of Tammany Hall. Tweed, who had owned and run the infamous “Big Six” engine co. adopted the Tiger as part of his symbol. He then brought it into Tammany Hall with him, thus giving birth to the iconic Tammany Tiger.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?

2007-02-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

To watch this guy in action is truly spectacular. But he was only the DJ. This was taken at the Gilded Age show on Friday. Eugene Hutz of Bulgaria Bar and Gogol Bordello fronted an early night of good ol’ fashion at Gilded Age’s huge loft showroom off East 4th. Amongst all our other peers and elders, I think Gilded Age does it right. There was an emphasis on fabrications and treatments and a de-emphasis on branding and over-the-top dandyism (if that’s a word). This can be expected from our kids at GA, but what’s most interesting is the execution of their convictions. They are both honest and without censorship.
It was a chill party afterwards, as the loft was none too crowded but had retained enough interesting people and free wine to stick around and chew the fat. The president of Converse was introduced to me as I slurred my way into an awkward conversation. Its not typical that I let the alcohol speak for me but Friday night was one of those moments. As he commented on the fact that I was wearing Chuck Taylors, I brilliantly quipped “Yeah, and they’re soaking wet”. One of my better moments I might add.

GET DOWN, OLD HAGUE!

2007-01-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

For our Fall 2007 season I was being dragged into this "ghostly" theme by my research. Originally it wasn’t a conscious idea, it was more a theme that I kept running into accidentally. I became aware of it after prints started looking diffused rather than sharp. This diffusion was more or less a defense against knock offs. With all the iconography cropping up in prints now-a-days, I was trying to get a distinct technique that would separate Barking Irons from the recent flare of antique prints. Most of it is done with my pencil, but some of it is a result of older print shop methods and halftones in some of our out of print books.

The Daniel Divver print is not an example of this diffusion, but it is an example of how the now conscious theme of ghosts has become a part of the Fall 2007 collection.

Daniel Divver was born in Ireland in 1839. Soon after he came to New York and lived in the city's 4th Ward (Lower East Side closest to the East River). Divver, like all youth, had a fascination with being a volunteer fireman. When he became of age he joined the Eagle Engine Company No. 13 and proved his worth as one of the ladder's best men. As soon as the Civil War broke out, Daniel Divver joined the First Fire Zouaves and was elected Second Lieutenant. In 1861 during the battle of Bull Run, Divver's company met with a rally of Rebels.

Outnumbered and too proud to turn tail, Divver is reported to have rolled up he sleeves and yelled his old engine company's familiar "Get Down, Old Hague!" before rushing forward to his death. The Zouaves eventually pushed the Rebel force back enough to find Divver's body before his final breath. They said their goodbyes but could not move him as the South made another sally and Daniel Divver was never seen again. Until now. . .

2006-06-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

The MULBERRY BEND welcomes you.

Here's a little story:

In the old-timey days of New York's Lower-East Side 'down near what is now Federal Plaza, Mulberry Street used to bend leading you directly into the depths of the Five Points. Well-to-do city folk considered "the bend" to be the cut off, or point of no return as it were since beyond that elbow in the street a man might expect to lose much more than a pitiful rookerful of change.

Photographer/police blotter, Jacob Riis became obessesed with the terror and inhumanity that swarmed below the Mulberry Bend. The Five Points was the intersection of five streets (Mulberry, Worth, Little Water, Baxter, Bayard) and was said to be the deadliest intersection in the world. Riis, an immigrant and well on his way to becoming self-made, championed to cause of erradicating the Mulberry Bend, and he did!

Until now.

Even still however, the Five Points was one of the most fertile cultural places in New York -an offshoot of the Bowery- it was the neighborhood that introduced tap-dancing, and the rough & tumble New Yorker, its own particular New York dialect, and a original and unpretentious style of dress. Writers such as Horatio Alger, Stephen Crane, Edgar Allen Poe, and Charles Dickens were all fascinated with the life that teemed in the points.

The slums of the Five Points and the Bend evenutally fell in the 1890s and in their place sprang the grass, trees, swings, and benches of Columbus Park. If you go there now you may see the park and the various Historical Society signs which to little justice to the pages of dark history that were written on those corners and their surroundings, now you will see a string of Chinese funeral homes huddled in the armpits of towering Federal buildings. U.S. Marshalls in their cheap suits buldging with some sort of firearm, can be seen every which way and that-

The Mulberry Bend is being reawakened. Not to impinge upon a slum-free zone, or to threaten, or terrorize, but to bring voices down into the mouths of a culture resting beneath the surface, of a forgotten code.

We will bring you news and culture, art and history, thoughts and fashion. We wont be preening the Bowery in case that be your worry, we want it stir it back to life.

Help our Cause.