Building History
The original purpose of the building, built in the 1850s, was for a lumber yard. Its last incarnation before becoming the BPC was as a formica tabletop manufacturer that ran on DC current. Plywood scraps were used to heat the building via a pot-belly stove.
Currently, a group of arts-oriented investors owns the building. Other tenants include Washington Square Films on the 2nd floor, and the Manhatta on the ground floor next door to the Club.
In the 2002 New York Times article written about the club, Bob Holman talked about the then-risky choice to open the club in "storied skid row" that was is the Bowery:
The Bowery is a vein of change. Being blind is not the way to retain the aspects of the past that need to be honored. In order to change the world, you have to be in the world. As you get older, the risk of selling out and becoming part of that system stays real but it's mitigated by wanting to get in there and dig... I can't tell if we are making it in the big sense, but we're making an impression.Read more about this topic: Bowery Poetry Club
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