Bowery in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Tin Palace Jazz Club

From Speakeasy To Tin Palace Jazz

— 325 Bowery —

Tin Palace Jazz Club Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 15, 2016

1. Tin Palace Jazz Club Marker

Inscription. You are standing in front of the 1970s home of the Tin Palace, a vital part of New York’s alternative music scene. Originally a Federal-style 3-story, built circa 1830, it was allegedly a speakeasy run by gangster Meyer Lansky in the 1920s. In 1970, writer Paul Pines and partners converted the rundown property into a club that presented Brazilian music and jazz, wanting “to build up a grass-roots place not to make a killing at the door.” When writer Stanley Crouch and saxophonist David Murray moved in upstairs, they convinced Pines to add a Sunday avant-garde jazz series. Pines left in 1976, but Crouch continued the club’s innovative spirit.

Until it closed in 1980, the Tin Palace was a destination for musicians and fans from around the world. The club continually fostered the most dynamic contemporary music, from Eddie Jefferson/Richie Cole and Shelia Jordan/Roswell Rudd, to Jimmy Guiffre, James Blood Ulmer, Leroy Jenkins, Roscoe Mitchell, Paul Bley, Steve Swallow and Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre. It staged the first performances of the long-lived World Saxophone Quartet.”(sic)

-David Neil Lee, author, The Battle of the Five Spot

Erected 2016 by Bowery Alliance of Neighbors.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music

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• Entertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1830.

Location. 40° 43.542′ N, 73° 59.509′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in the Bowery. Marker is at the intersection of Bowery and East 2nd Street, on the right when traveling north on Bowery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 325 Bowery, New York NY 10003, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Secret Cemetery Secret Garden (here, next to this marker); Then You Saw It/Now You Don’t (within shouting distance of this marker); Bouwerie Lane Theater (within shouting distance of this marker); Casting At The Cast Iron Bank: (within shouting distance of this marker); World’s Smallest Opera House (within shouting distance of this marker); Alexander’s Musee (within shouting distance of this marker); CBGB (within shouting distance of this marker); Hats, Hardware & Horses (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.

More about this marker. One of more than sixty entries in the “Windows on the Bowery” series.

Also see . . . The Bowery Historic District - National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places documentation - download

Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 15, 2016

2. Inset

The Tin Palace

(Submitted on April 9, 2024, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.)

Tin Palace Jazz Club Marker site image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Larry Gertner, 2016

3. Tin Palace Jazz Club Marker site

325 Bowery as Primi, July 2016

Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 15, 2016

4. Inset

Stanley Crouch (left), Patricia Spears Jones, David Murray, Philip Wilson, Bobo Shaw, and others

Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 15, 2016

5. Inset

The World Saxophone Quartet

Photographed By Larry Gertner, July 15, 2016

6. Inset

Recorded live at the Tin Palace, 1970

Credits. This page was last revised on April 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 24, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 357 times since then and 80 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 24, 2019, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.