Anthony Pisano And His House Of Treasures

Things went full circle in researching the subject of today’s post. A couple weeks ago when I was in Rolf’s, I met a woman named, Patti, who heard me telling the owner about this blog. She told me she had heard of my blog because she had seen a link on the fine blog, EV Grieve. Then she told me about a short film/documentary she had seen about a guy who lives in the East Village and has an apartment almost overflowing with unusual antiques and tchotchkes and he keeps his door open and invites people to come in and take a look at his collection. Patti emailed me a link to the movie  called, "This Is My Home." I watched it and I really wanted to meet this gentlemen and see his apartment. The film didn’t say where the apartment was located, but Patti said she was sure it was somewhere in the East Village. When you want to know where something in the East Village is located, who you going to call? No, not the Ghostbusters, you call EV Grieve! Well, actually I emailed him and he knew of the man and pointed me in the right direction, which we’ll travel to right now.

And here we go, off to the East Village. It's a nice day out, so we'll just walk. EV Grieve told me the place was on 7th Street, between 1st Street and Avenue A.

I got to the apartment and the door was wide open. I knocked, stuck my head in and was told to come on in. I walked to the back in the narrow apartment and met the man himself, Anthony Pisano. He was sitting and chatting with his son, Anthony, Jr. I was amazed by all the things in his house and asked if I could take some photos. Anthony was very nice and said I was more than welcome, but asked if I could give him an hour or so to get all the lights lit, so I could have the full experience. I agreed and went home and came back an hour later.

An Hour Later

When I got back, there was a group of people in front of Anthony's apartment talking with him.

And here's the group, from left: Victor, Kelley, Hannah, Anthony and Anthony, Jr. Hannah lives in Brooklyn and is originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. Victor and Kelley are visiting from Knoxville and they had seen the same documentary online and had made a trip to see Anthony and his home.

They were getting ready to go as I got there and here's Anthony saying goodbye. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were touched by Anthony's kindness. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

And now it's time for my tour as Anthony welcomes me into his one-of-a-kind abode.

It's a long, narrow, railroad style apartment and there's so much to see and look at, it causes brain overload. Here's the left hand side...

And the right hand side. Time to take a look at some of these treasures in his collection. Instead of captions, for the photos below, I thought I'd use some quotes from Anthony from the film as he speaks about his unique home and outlook on life.

People see my place and they think it’s an antique shop, but it’s not, it’s just collectibles that I’ve had over the years.

And this is my home and I invite people into my home.

People stop and they’ll say, “What is this?” And I tell them, “Well, go inside, satisfy your curiosity and then come out and tell me what it is, cause I don’t know!

When people stop in front of my place, they bring life to me!

A lot of people pass, they have these earphones on and they’ll see me but they’ll just go by, it’s as if some people are afraid to talk, one on one. That doesn’t give me any satisfaction.

Life is you talk with people, you touch them in a sense.

This place, I’ve met so many people.

When people use my place, for any reason, that gives me a lot of beautiful feelings.

A lot of people say, “Why do you keep your door open?” Why not? It’s my home.

I sit outside from morning to evening and I’ve made so many friends!

All these things are things for people to enjoy.

As many people as I’ve had in my place, not one item was taken.

I keep my door open and anyone can come and see everything I have.

Anthony and his son sat on the front stoop drinking ice water as I was looking around and taking pictures. When I came back out he asked if I had seen the whole apartment. I told him I didn't go in the back area because I thought it was a private area. Anthony said I was welcome to go in the back and when I did, I found a piano in the back! Unbelievable! And if you look closely, you'll see his cat napping on top of it. This has to be the coolest apartment in New York City!

I didn't want to come without adding something to Anthony's collection, so I brought him a Gumby and Pokey and he quickly put them out amongst all the other treasures. If you're in the area, stop by and see Anthony and his wonderful home. Just listen for the Frank Sinatra music playing and you'll find him. I guarantee you'll leave with a smile plastered on your face.

Further Reading: Laughing Squid, Dangerous Minds and hypervocal.

Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you candy.
Come on-a my house, my house, I'm gonna give you everything.

 Surprise link, click on it...I dare you! (Warning CBBM mutation sighting...aaaaahh!)

Positively 4th Street

A Tour of Bob Dylan’s Greenwich Village

I recently read a book called, “A Freewheelin’ Time—A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties.” It was written by Suze Rotolo who was Bob Dylan’s girlfriend in the early sixties and lived with him on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village. I thought it would be fun to visit some of the places mentioned in the memoir, take photos and include a sprinkling of Rotolo’s memories from the times that were-a-changing. The sections in the captions pulled from the book are italicized.

We'll walk right down Sixth Avenue to Greenwich Village.

And here we are at West 4th Street. Positively!

Bob Dylan’s first apartment in Greenwich Village—161 W. 4th Street

And then Columbia Records signed him [Dylan] delivering him the first heady whiffs of fame. At last some decent money was in the offing, and he began looking for an apartment of his own. 161 W. 4th Street was a small four story building just west of 6th Avenue.

I read online he paid 60 bucks a month to live in the top floor apartment of this building. I'd hate to guess how much it is a month now. The cover of the album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" was shot a couple blocks from here and I want to take a shot of that street, but first there's something I have to do.

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Cover on Jones Street

What I need to do is buy a copy of that record. I'm hoping they have one in here at Bleecker Street Records.

There's Bob in the window, so that's a good sign!

And here's the Bob Dylan section...

And yes, they have the album! Now it's back to where they shot this legendary cover!

And here we are on Jones Street where the album cover was shot, just a block away from Bob Dylan's and Suze Rotolo's apartment. I tried holding the cover up with the street, but it just didn't work. Then I thought, "Hey, you've got Photoshop, bring them back to the future!" So that's what I did below.

I huddled up to Bob as we walked up and down Jones Street per instructions from [photographer] Don and encouraging smiles from Billy. Bob stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and leaned into me. We walked the length of Jones Street facing West Fourth with Bleecker Street at our backs. I was never given a release to sign or paid anything. It never dawned on me to ask.

In my travels in the Village I walked past the House of Oldies and there was the Nashville Skyline Bob Dylan tipping his hat in the window.

Bleecker Street

Bleecker Street was the Times Square of Greenwich Village because of all the tourists who gravitated to the numerous clubs and bars, especially on the weekends.

The Bitter End—147 Bleecker Street

The Bitter End was on street level, around the corner from the Gaslight, on the more touristy Bleecker Street, and had a bigger stage with a real backstage for the performers to hang out. If there was a pecking order to these up-and-coming folk and stand-up comedy places in the early 1960s, the Bitter End was just below the more established Village Gate, also on Bleecker.

Here's some ads from the past in the window at The Bitter End.

July 23rd is the official Bitter End Day in New York, I need to put that on my calendar.

There's no escaping Bob in Greenwich Village. Here he is on a bookstore table sandwiched between books by David Sedaris and Joseph Campbell.

Cafe Wha?—115 MacDougal Street

MacDougal Street meant passing all those other clubs and coffeehouses: The Gaslight, The Figaro, Rienzi’s, Fat Black Pussy Cat, Cafe Wha?, and numerous others.

Cafe Wha? is reportedly the first place Dylan played when he arrived in New York City on January 24, 1961. The legend has it that it was a snowy night and Dylan came into the club on a hootenanny night and the club wasn’t too full. Dylan asked the owner, Manny Roth if he could play and Manny gave him the nod. Dylan sang some Woody Guthrie songs and was on his way. Recently reformed Van Halen played a set here before releasing their latest album and embarking on a new tour. It makes sense since Manny Roth is singer David Lee Roth’s uncle. I don’t think Van Halen did a Woody Guthrie number in their set, though.

While walking to the last stop in this tour, I spied an old Newsweek with a Bob Dylan cover in the window of Rebel Rebel record store.

White Horse Taven—567 Hudson Street

At the White Horse I was introduced to the paralyzing effect of Irish whiskey when I drank Irish coffee, Ireland’s cappucino. Paddy, Tom and Liam Clancy, the Irish folksingers who performed as the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem, occupied a table in the back room most nights. Already very well known, they sang and told stories and had a good time along with everyone else who ended their evenings at the White Horse.

The White Horse Tavern is a classic Greenwich Village bar.

And there's a familiar face behind the bar.

It's bartender Bob, who I met two years ago on my 365 day bar crawl! Bob remembered me and was pleased I had successfully finished that mission.

White horses look down and gallop on the wooden beam above the bar.

White horse heads adorn the chandeliers illuminating the tavern.

A 3-D piece of art recreates the tavern in the corner of the bar.

And I need to show another Dylan at the end of this tour: A painting of Dylan Thomas at the White Horse Tavern back in the day who reportedly drank himself to death at the White Horse Tavern.

Further Reading: New York Times, The Guardian and NPR.

My love she’s like some raven,
At my window with a broken wing.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

Cheeseburger Saturday Night At My Apartment

Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger! Starring Marty’s apartment, with a special guest appearance from the Food Emporium and featuring The Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome tonight’s host, Marty’s apartment!

Two nights I don't go out are New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day, so we'll be having Cheeseburger Saturday Night at home sweet home. All I have to do is get the ingredients, get back home and lock the door! I'm out early and as you can see, it's starting already!

Okay, we'll get the ingredients for a homemade Cheeseburger Saturday Night in here and then hightail it home before the streets turn into a river of green vomit.

And the dance begins! Time to get home and lock the doors.

Okay, we're at home sweet home and here's what I got for tonight's home-cooked Saturday Night Cheeseburger: Velveeta Shreds, Sociable crackers, smoked cheddar cheese, diced onions, rye bread and hot Italian sausage. Time to get cooking!

But first, a pre-dinner beer, it is St. Patrick's Day after all. Too rah loo rah loo rah and all that jazz.

And I decided to play T. Rex's CD, Slider as background music. Get it? Slider, cheeseburger... Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...

Okay, I've prepared the burger in its raw form. I seasoned the hot Italian sausage with Colman's mustard powder, pepper, hot chili powder and a dash of A1 Sauce. I also folded in about a cup of the Velveeta shreds to give the burger a bit of a Juicy Lucy taste. I then formed it using this burger press suggested by the Duncester.

Here's the diced onions fried up and seasoned with curry powder. We'll put them to the side and concentrate on the burger next.

Here it is in the pan and I added a hit of pepper on top. Can never have enough pepper!

Okay, we'll cover it up and let it cook on a low heat...

Which allows time for a beer and Sociable cracker break..

And a musical interlude from T. Rex.

Okay, three beers and a half of box of Sociable's later and the burger's all done. It looks delicious! Look at the Velveeta bubbling out from within it! Okay, time to assemble tonight's burger!

Here's the toasted rye bread with melted smoked cheddar cheese on top of it.

Okay, we're almost there...

And the fried onions finish it off. Alright, time to try this creation!

A little tough to eat, I may have to finish it off with a fork, but it's delicious! And afterwards I had emailed with Goggla and she said she hoped there would be something green on the burger. Too late for anything green on the burger, but...

Here's a little sharin' of the green from the various Gumby's in my apartment! Goodnight and see you all tomorrow!

Further Reading: Taste of Home, Canary Bird’s Nest and Food Network.

I’ve got a lot of patience, baby,
And that’s a lot of patience to lose.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

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Bonus Mick Mykola Demetiuk Book Linkage!

Author and TWM commenter, Mick Mykola Dementiuk has a new e-book that's just been published by JIMS Books. The title is, "Kisser, A Masculine Femininity" and you can check it out and buy a pdf copy right here for just $2.39: "Kisser, A Masculine Femininity."