Ahead of a new exhibn at Kapp Kapp gallery, photographer Stanley Stellar remisc about gay life at the much-mythologised New York piers the 70s and 80s
Contents:
- A LOST UTOPIA: STANLEY STELLAR’S PORTRAS AT NEW YORK’S “GAY PIERS”
- HE CAPTURED A CLANSTE GAY CULTURE AMID THE DERELICT PIERS
- 25THJO JUNE 25TH FOR THE ANNUAL NYC PRI MARCH!EXPLOREBROWSE EVENTSFILTER BYPRI PRODUCEDFEATUREDFREE EVENT21+YOUTHPARTNER EVENTRETJUN252:00 PMTHE DLBLISS DAYSNYC PRI'S ANNUAL CELEBRATN OF LGBTQIA+ WOMXN, FORMERLY KNOWN AS FEMME FATALEMORE TAILSJUN252:00 PMBROOKLYN ARMY TERMALPRI ISLANDCHRISTA AGUILERA ANNOUNCED AS HEADLER OF NYC PRI'S PRI ISLANDMORE TAILSJUN2511:00 AMNEW YORK, NYTHE MARCHTHE NYC PRI MARCH ON JUNE 25TH WILL BEG OM 25TH STREET AND 5TH AVENUEMORE TAILSJUN2511:00 AMGREENWICH VILLAGEPRIFTPRIFT IS BACK FOR OUR ANNUAL LGBTQIA+ STREET FAIRMORE TAILSJUN242:00 PMCLUB LAMBDA BKTEAZENYC PRI'S ANNUAL CELEBRATN OF QUEER EXISTENCE TEAZING NEW YORK'S MOST DIVERSE PARTY EXPERIENCMORE TAILSJUN2412:00 PMDOMO PARKYOUTH PRITHE QUEER AFFIRMG EVENT CELEBRATG OUR MUNY’S YOUTH PLAYS BROOKLYN’S DOMO PARKMORE TAILSJUN1811:30 AMTHE ALTMAN BUILDGTHE BNCHAN LGBTQIA+ CULARY EXPERIENCEMORE TAILSJUN174:30 PM154 CHRISTOPHER STTHE RALLYJORDYN JAY AND MILAN GARçON HOST NYC PRI'S THE RALLYMORE TAILSJUN264:00 AMPOLYGON BKFEVER AFTERHOURSWE'RE THRILLED TO SERVE YOU NYCS LARGT, FIERCT AND FAVORE LGBTQ+ AFTERHOURS EVENT!MORE TAILSJUN2510:00 PMKNOCKDOWN CENTERHORSE MEAT DISJOSH WOOD PRODUCTNS IS PROUD TO PRENT HORSE MEAT DISCO NEW YORK’S 2023 PRIDE PARTYMORE TAILSJUN255:00 PMAVANT GARDNERALEGRIA PRIDE 2023ALEGRIA PRIDE IS A DAY & NIGHT EVENT ON SUNDAY, JUNE 25THMORE TAILSJUN253:00 PMELSEWHERE ROOFTOPHOT RABB PRENTS – TRIPLE CROWNWE HAVE THE BETIFUL ELSEWHERE BROOKLYN ROOFTOP OVERLOOKG THE CY SKYLEMORE TAILSJUN2410:00 PMTERMAL 5NYC PRI XXLNISSIM + COX = NYC PRI XXLMORE TAILSJUN244:00 PMNEBULAPOSHPOSH IS BEG HOSTED AT NEBULA, A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT IMMERSIVE VENUE WH MOVG LED SCREENS OM THE ROOF TO THE FLOORS.MORE TAILSJUN2411:00 AMPIER 17HTER STREET FAIRTHE BT STREET FAIR OF NEW YORK CY IS OUTDOORS ON SATURDAY, JUNE 24TH TO CELEBRATE PRI WEEKENDMORE TAILSJUN245:00 AMTHE MEADOWS BKRESETRET AFTER HOURS TAK ON PRI NYC SATURDAY MORNG, JUNE 24THMORE TAILSJUN244:00 AMTHE COCKPOSCURO PRIANTON CENO EVENTS IS PROUD TO TRODUCE THE OFFICIAL AFTER HOURS OF NYC PRI SATURDAY MORNGMORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMWEBSTER HALLHOT RABB PRENTS – PRIDAYJO 2000+ QUEERS AT THE NEWLY RENOVATED LEGENDARY WEBSTER HALL!MORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMHK HALLBRÜTALLY PROUDBRÜTALLY PROUD FALLY RETURNS TO MANHATTAN TO THE GOLIATH HELL’S KCHEN NIGHT CLUB - HK HALLMORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMTERMAL 5MATEE PERVERTEUROPE’S BIGGT EVENT TO NYC FOR AN XXL PRI EDN.MORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMSILO BKSCTNTHE BT OF MASC & FEMME SCTN WOMEN CENTERED RAVE AND DANCE PETN FOR QTBIPOCMORE TAILSJUN238:00 PMUNR THE K BRIDGELADYLAND FTIVALLADYLAND FTIVAL IS AN ANNUAL OUTDOOR QUEER MIC EXTRAVAGANZA AND PRI PARTY HELD BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.MORE TAILSJUN237:00 PMROLLERWAVE HOE BKSTRI WH PRIA CELEBRATN OF THE PNEERG NTRIBUTNS OF OUR LGBTQ+ FAYMORE TAILSJUN237:00 PM1 BOWLG GREENNATIVE PRI EXTRAVAGANZACELEBRATE THIS YEAR’S NYC PRI “STRENGTH SOLIDARY” AT THE SMHSONIAN’S NATNAL MM OF THE AMERIN INDIAN, FRIDAY, JUNE 23 AT 7 P.M.MORE TAILSJUN2210:00 PM3 DOLLAR BILLLIBERNCHYDANCE WORLDS COLLI LIKE NEVER BEFORE!MORE TAILSJUN227:00 PMACE HOTELQUEERPALOOZAJO RAW HONEY AS THEY KICK OFF “QUEERPALOOZA”, THEIR NYC PRI WEEK OF EVENTS CELEBRATG QTBIPOC.MORE TAILSJUN217:05 PMYANKEE STADIUMYANKE PRI NIGHTJO THE NEW YORK YANKE AS WE CELEBRATE NEW YORK’S LEGACY OF PRI FOR SELECT GAM DURG JUNE.MORE TAILSJUN217:00 PMCHELSEA MIC HALLSO MANY ISSU WH LAS!FOR PRI MONTH, THE SHOW IS GOG TO BE BIGGER, BETTER AND GAYER THAN EVER BEFORE!MORE TAILSJUN20
- HISTORIC GAY PIER - PIER 45
- CANNED CKTAIL ‘GAY WATER’ AIMS TO SH ON BUD LIGHT’S DYLAN MULVANEY DISASTER
A LOST UTOPIA: STANLEY STELLAR’S PORTRAS AT NEW YORK’S “GAY PIERS”
* new york gay piers *
For over a century, the Greenwich Village wateront along the Hudson River, cludg the Christopher Street Pier at Wt 10th and Wt Streets, has been a statn for the LGBT muny that has evolved om a place for cisg and sex for gay men to an important safe haven for a margalized queer muny – mostly queer homels youth of lor.
By World War I, the area had bee a popular cisg area for gay men, and by the 1930s the openg of the elevated Miller (Wt Si) Highway (now molished) cut through the area makg more of a backwater. The ncentratn of men, numero bars and wareho, and nighttime isolatn tablished the wateront as one of the ma centers for gay life that thrived well after World War II.
This enabled the area to reta s populary for gay men to cise and have sex at night. Around the time of the June 1969 Stonewall uprisg, Christopher Street beme an important gay thoroughfare and, th, the ma rridor to the wateront. The dilapidated stctur – cludg Pier 45 (known as the Christopher Street Pier) oppose Wt 10th Street, and piers 46, 48, and 51 – were reappropriated as a statn for gay men to sunbathe naked, cise, and have public sex by the early 1970s.
HE CAPTURED A CLANSTE GAY CULTURE AMID THE DERELICT PIERS
Before was a playground for the rich, Manhattan's fartht-wt reach were the stompg ground of young gay men creatg art and lookg for sual enunt * new york gay piers *
Gay bars replaced former wateront taverns on the wtern end of Christopher Street and adjacent blocks.
Six of the 14 buildgs the adjacent New York Cy Weehawken Street Historic District hoed gay bars om the early 1970s to the prent, cludg the lotn of the former Ramrod. The ground floor of the former Keller Hotel (Barrow and Wt Streets) hoed the Keller Bar, which was reputed to be the olst gay “leather bar” the cy om 1956 to 1998.
Many of those plac that were seamen’s bars and longshoremen’s bars beme gay bars.
25THJO JUNE 25TH FOR THE ANNUAL NYC PRI MARCH!EXPLOREBROWSE EVENTSFILTER BYPRI PRODUCEDFEATUREDFREE EVENT21+YOUTHPARTNER EVENTRETJUN252:00 PMTHE DLBLISS DAYSNYC PRI'S ANNUAL CELEBRATN OF LGBTQIA+ WOMXN, FORMERLY KNOWN AS FEMME FATALEMORE TAILSJUN252:00 PMBROOKLYN ARMY TERMALPRI ISLANDCHRISTA AGUILERA ANNOUNCED AS HEADLER OF NYC PRI'S PRI ISLANDMORE TAILSJUN2511:00 AMNEW YORK, NYTHE MARCHTHE NYC PRI MARCH ON JUNE 25TH WILL BEG OM 25TH STREET AND 5TH AVENUEMORE TAILSJUN2511:00 AMGREENWICH VILLAGEPRIFTPRIFT IS BACK FOR OUR ANNUAL LGBTQIA+ STREET FAIRMORE TAILSJUN242:00 PMCLUB LAMBDA BKTEAZENYC PRI'S ANNUAL CELEBRATN OF QUEER EXISTENCE TEAZING NEW YORK'S MOST DIVERSE PARTY EXPERIENCMORE TAILSJUN2412:00 PMDOMO PARKYOUTH PRITHE QUEER AFFIRMG EVENT CELEBRATG OUR MUNY’S YOUTH PLAYS BROOKLYN’S DOMO PARKMORE TAILSJUN1811:30 AMTHE ALTMAN BUILDGTHE BNCHAN LGBTQIA+ CULARY EXPERIENCEMORE TAILSJUN174:30 PM154 CHRISTOPHER STTHE RALLYJORDYN JAY AND MILAN GARçON HOST NYC PRI'S THE RALLYMORE TAILSJUN264:00 AMPOLYGON BKFEVER AFTERHOURSWE'RE THRILLED TO SERVE YOU NYCS LARGT, FIERCT AND FAVORE LGBTQ+ AFTERHOURS EVENT!MORE TAILSJUN2510:00 PMKNOCKDOWN CENTERHORSE MEAT DISJOSH WOOD PRODUCTNS IS PROUD TO PRENT HORSE MEAT DISCO NEW YORK’S 2023 PRIDE PARTYMORE TAILSJUN255:00 PMAVANT GARDNERALEGRIA PRIDE 2023ALEGRIA PRIDE IS A DAY & NIGHT EVENT ON SUNDAY, JUNE 25THMORE TAILSJUN253:00 PMELSEWHERE ROOFTOPHOT RABB PRENTS – TRIPLE CROWNWE HAVE THE BETIFUL ELSEWHERE BROOKLYN ROOFTOP OVERLOOKG THE CY SKYLEMORE TAILSJUN2410:00 PMTERMAL 5NYC PRI XXLNISSIM + COX = NYC PRI XXLMORE TAILSJUN244:00 PMNEBULAPOSHPOSH IS BEG HOSTED AT NEBULA, A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT IMMERSIVE VENUE WH MOVG LED SCREENS OM THE ROOF TO THE FLOORS.MORE TAILSJUN2411:00 AMPIER 17HTER STREET FAIRTHE BT STREET FAIR OF NEW YORK CY IS OUTDOORS ON SATURDAY, JUNE 24TH TO CELEBRATE PRI WEEKENDMORE TAILSJUN245:00 AMTHE MEADOWS BKRESETRET AFTER HOURS TAK ON PRI NYC SATURDAY MORNG, JUNE 24THMORE TAILSJUN244:00 AMTHE COCKPOSCURO PRIANTON CENO EVENTS IS PROUD TO TRODUCE THE OFFICIAL AFTER HOURS OF NYC PRI SATURDAY MORNGMORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMWEBSTER HALLHOT RABB PRENTS – PRIDAYJO 2000+ QUEERS AT THE NEWLY RENOVATED LEGENDARY WEBSTER HALL!MORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMHK HALLBRÜTALLY PROUDBRÜTALLY PROUD FALLY RETURNS TO MANHATTAN TO THE GOLIATH HELL’S KCHEN NIGHT CLUB - HK HALLMORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMTERMAL 5MATEE PERVERTEUROPE’S BIGGT EVENT TO NYC FOR AN XXL PRI EDN.MORE TAILSJUN2310:00 PMSILO BKSCTNTHE BT OF MASC & FEMME SCTN WOMEN CENTERED RAVE AND DANCE PETN FOR QTBIPOCMORE TAILSJUN238:00 PMUNR THE K BRIDGELADYLAND FTIVALLADYLAND FTIVAL IS AN ANNUAL OUTDOOR QUEER MIC EXTRAVAGANZA AND PRI PARTY HELD BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.MORE TAILSJUN237:00 PMROLLERWAVE HOE BKSTRI WH PRIA CELEBRATN OF THE PNEERG NTRIBUTNS OF OUR LGBTQ+ FAYMORE TAILSJUN237:00 PM1 BOWLG GREENNATIVE PRI EXTRAVAGANZACELEBRATE THIS YEAR’S NYC PRI “STRENGTH SOLIDARY” AT THE SMHSONIAN’S NATNAL MM OF THE AMERIN INDIAN, FRIDAY, JUNE 23 AT 7 P.M.MORE TAILSJUN2210:00 PM3 DOLLAR BILLLIBERNCHYDANCE WORLDS COLLI LIKE NEVER BEFORE!MORE TAILSJUN227:00 PMACE HOTELQUEERPALOOZAJO RAW HONEY AS THEY KICK OFF “QUEERPALOOZA”, THEIR NYC PRI WEEK OF EVENTS CELEBRATG QTBIPOC.MORE TAILSJUN217:05 PMYANKEE STADIUMYANKE PRI NIGHTJO THE NEW YORK YANKE AS WE CELEBRATE NEW YORK’S LEGACY OF PRI FOR SELECT GAM DURG JUNE.MORE TAILSJUN217:00 PMCHELSEA MIC HALLSO MANY ISSU WH LAS!FOR PRI MONTH, THE SHOW IS GOG TO BE BIGGER, BETTER AND GAYER THAN EVER BEFORE!MORE TAILSJUN20
Pier 45: Historic Gay Pier - See 38 traveler reviews, 57 ndid photos, and great als for New York Cy, NY, at Tripadvisor. * new york gay piers *
From 1975 to 1986, Black photographer Alv Baltrop took photos of gay men cisg among the ed archecture.
At the same time, the fight for the rights of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people, spurred by the 1969 Stonewall rts, was lerally transformg the cultural and social landspe of New York Cy. Gay men sudnly felt ee to sunbathe on the piers naked, cise, and have sex public. While artists llaborated to transform the buildgs of Pier 34 to makhift art studs and exhibn spac, gay men were nvertg Pier 46 to what Delmas Howe lls an "arena for sexual theater.
HISTORIC GAY PIER - PIER 45
He is thor of Male Dire: The Homoerotic Amerin Art and Ambn and Love Morn Amerin Art, and edor wh Alejandro Anrs and Diana Ln of The Social and the Real, also published by PSU Prs. " The segregatn of gay men Greenwich Village ma a fertile environment for the appropriatn of the yed piers along Hudson River as arenas for sexual and social teractn.
By the 1960s, the massive piers along Manhattan’s Hudson River wateront that projected to the water stood largely abandoned and easily accsible om Greenwich Village, which gay men were begng to take over.
CANNED CKTAIL ‘GAY WATER’ AIMS TO SH ON BUD LIGHT’S DYLAN MULVANEY DISASTER
In the ’70s and ’80s, the piers beme a popular spot for gay men to sunbathe naked beneath huge murals by artists like Gtav “Tava” Von Will. What this space lacked fort and ameni for timate liaisons, ma up for by providg the anonymy gay men required at the time to survive. Infamoly, many gay men went to the abandoned piers near Christopher Street lookg for sex, or as a place to hang out and sunbathe durg the summer months.
Gay men want to nnect, and they will gravate toward those plac that allow them to do so, even if they’re lotns others would shun or fear to set foot. “It’s a show about three gay piers, ” Stellar told AnOther. In the cy, gay men uld only meet at night, the dark, clubs or bars.
Homo History wr “ The piers were dangero; several men fell to their aths through the rottg floors and there was also the ever prent threat of beg robbed by dg addicts, attacked by gay bashers or arrted by the NYPD. A Lost Utopia: Stanley Stellar’s Portras at New York’s “Gay Piers” | AnOtherRick Dacrd, 1981Photography by Stanley StellarAhead of a new exhibn at Kapp Kapp gallery, photographer Stanley Stellar remisc about gay life at the much-mythologised New York piers the 70s and 80sJanuary 13, 2022.