Bowery Scene, circa 1940s
“Darkened by the gridwork of the Third Avenue elevated, the Bowery was a shadowy boulevard of netherworld appeals. Tattoo parlors dotted the avenue, the signs and display windows assuring potential customers what they could expect. With its shady reputation and inexpensive services, the Bowery was the Fifth avenue of day laborers, itinerant seamen, drifters and drunks—men who could get a black eye repainted to look natural for as little as a dime.”
From New York in the Forties
