#gem spa

Fortunes Past

RIP Gem Spa (c1927-2020)

Madonna is seen during the filming of Desperately Seeking Susan (1985). This is where Patti Smith had an egg cream with Robert Mapplethorpe c1967. New York Dolls were photographed here 1973. This was where the punk community bumped into each other outside of CBGB. To keep it open 24 hours, 11 staff worked at GEM Spa 1957-1969.

“It was a meeting place, and if you stood there for a couple of hours you would see everyone you knew,” said David Johansen.

Village Voice in 1966 called it the "official oasis of the East Village." Basquiat painted it in 1982.

The last original egg cream spot. It was a Beats hangout 1950s, hippie hangout 1960s and punk hangout 1970s. Jewish and foreign-language papers dominated the newsstand until 1963, serving immigrant locals. The Village Voice and underground papers then dominated.

The owners have been (Hymie) Goldfeder family (c1927-1957), Ruby Silverstein and Harold Shepard (1957-1969), Irving Stein (1971), Ray Patel (1986-retired 2018) and daughter Parul Patel (2018-2020) who commuted from Jersey to try and save it. We chatted a lot and there was a shot until COVID-19.

East Village, 1984

I whipped up this drawing of an egg cream soda (and drank a few still life references) for a t-shirt collaboration between the iconic East Village spot GEM SPA and menswear brand LEFT FIELD. Originally the plan was to use the sales of the shirt to help Gem Spa keep their lights on and get through the pandemic until they could reopen but, unfortunately with no business coming in and still having to pay East Village rent, they had to close the store for good. 

It was then decided that Left Field would take their share of the proceeds from the t-shirt sales and donate it to LESPI - a non-profit that seeks to preserve the historic streetscapes and buildings of Manhattan's East Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy and the Bowery. 

Source: http://twitter.com/NYTMetro/status/1167090544742457344

Will Gem Spa go the way of CBGB, Dojo and Kim's Video? Another East Village locale is under threat. https://t.co/HBudRxp92n