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itsemilyshafer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
I am so sad I finished this book. I want to start it over again immediately. I never wanted it to end. Calhoun had me hooked from the dedication page. Absolutely in love with and obsessed with this book, and I cannot even begin to think about how long this must have taken to put together.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, and Police brutality
moth_dance's review against another edition
4.0
I only know the St. Marks of today, from 2018 and 2019, between the two years I've lived in Queens and commuted in to work and go to school at NYU. Obviously, I know that St. Marks has a deep history, and this book is an eager and intense look at some of that history without being a "history" book.
It's anecdotal. It's storytelling from people living within St. Marks. I also really enjoyed Ada's candor and added personal history, too.
Would have loved more pictures though.
It's anecdotal. It's storytelling from people living within St. Marks. I also really enjoyed Ada's candor and added personal history, too.
Would have loved more pictures though.
gillq's review against another edition
3.0
Really fun and interesting to read about my street! The book definitely had some lulls, but I’m so glad I read it. Learned things I never would’ve known otherwise, such as Andy Warhol living in my building at one point. Definitely makes me appreciate St Marks a little more. 3.5 stars.
hayleycarrasquillo's review against another edition
4.0
how lucky am i to have been able to read a book about the history of the street i live on! the author made it feel like i was actually living through each time period she described.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I had already known I was going to like Ada Calhoun’s tapestry of St. Marks stories and lore by the time I got halfway through it. But it’s what she said when inserting herself that took it to another level for me.
Calhoun was raised on the block through childhood and when talking about how chaotic and troublesome things were off St Marks in the 70s and 80s, she mentioned the resentment of some locals…including herself. That despite the great arts and music scene and thriving queer spaces, the block was poorly kept, trash ridden, loud and dangerous.
This confirmed what a family member of mine had said. They were raised on the opposite side of Tompkins Square Park and while they have a lot of great stories, it wasn’t the best place to grow up as a child.
Those of us like me who have had their metaphorical noses pressed to the glass of New York City, always hoping to live on St. Marks or some of the other popular avenues (before they became playgrounds for the rich) can stand to learn the lesson here. I loved the stories Calhoun shared and how she handled the transition from one generation to the next (and how each generation thought their respective era was the best). But she’s also very honest about her hometown block: it was not always great. Whatever great art or music or culture came out of it was born from a diet of pain that comes from urban neglect and federal indifference. What changed St. Marks was real estate developers deciding one day that this would be the place for the upper middle class (and now points north) to live.
It’s not a comprehensive history of what was going on in terms of real estate, politics, etc. More a pastiche of tales on what make St Marks so unique, for better and for worse. That she struck a balance between the two shows what an effective writer Calhoun is. Love New York all you want; I certainly do. Just remember that folks who grow up there often have a different perspective.
Calhoun was raised on the block through childhood and when talking about how chaotic and troublesome things were off St Marks in the 70s and 80s, she mentioned the resentment of some locals…including herself. That despite the great arts and music scene and thriving queer spaces, the block was poorly kept, trash ridden, loud and dangerous.
This confirmed what a family member of mine had said. They were raised on the opposite side of Tompkins Square Park and while they have a lot of great stories, it wasn’t the best place to grow up as a child.
Those of us like me who have had their metaphorical noses pressed to the glass of New York City, always hoping to live on St. Marks or some of the other popular avenues (before they became playgrounds for the rich) can stand to learn the lesson here. I loved the stories Calhoun shared and how she handled the transition from one generation to the next (and how each generation thought their respective era was the best). But she’s also very honest about her hometown block: it was not always great. Whatever great art or music or culture came out of it was born from a diet of pain that comes from urban neglect and federal indifference. What changed St. Marks was real estate developers deciding one day that this would be the place for the upper middle class (and now points north) to live.
It’s not a comprehensive history of what was going on in terms of real estate, politics, etc. More a pastiche of tales on what make St Marks so unique, for better and for worse. That she struck a balance between the two shows what an effective writer Calhoun is. Love New York all you want; I certainly do. Just remember that folks who grow up there often have a different perspective.
spaffrackett's review against another edition
3.0
Spotty but enjoyable. I lived on this street sometime in the 90's!
offbalance80's review against another edition
4.0
"Well, there goes the neighborhood."
We've all thought it, said it, or heard it. Ada Calhoun uses it as her thesis statement for her remarkable history of a rather small radius of East Village territory (a part of town I know and love well). She begins with the Lenape tribes that first settled around the area, and had to contend with Peter Stuyvesant and his ilk moving in and messing everything up. I was completely captivated by each capsule of time that Calhoun wrote about, particularly years I wasn't as familiar with (such as the early 20th century). I also deeply appreciated the way that she talked to not only the artists and edgy scenesters who chose St. Mark's as their home, but those who lived ordinary lives raising families and running small, non-remarkable businesses along the street. It provided a diverse look at the city that wasn't lacking in warmth or affection. The history sort of trails off around the time of the book's publication. I can appreciate the concept that St. Mark's Place will continue and the newer histories are still to be written, but the ending felt a bit abrupt. Still, if you enjoy NYC history, this book is a can't-miss.
We've all thought it, said it, or heard it. Ada Calhoun uses it as her thesis statement for her remarkable history of a rather small radius of East Village territory (a part of town I know and love well). She begins with the Lenape tribes that first settled around the area, and had to contend with Peter Stuyvesant and his ilk moving in and messing everything up. I was completely captivated by each capsule of time that Calhoun wrote about, particularly years I wasn't as familiar with (such as the early 20th century). I also deeply appreciated the way that she talked to not only the artists and edgy scenesters who chose St. Mark's as their home, but those who lived ordinary lives raising families and running small, non-remarkable businesses along the street. It provided a diverse look at the city that wasn't lacking in warmth or affection. The history sort of trails off around the time of the book's publication. I can appreciate the concept that St. Mark's Place will continue and the newer histories are still to be written, but the ending felt a bit abrupt. Still, if you enjoy NYC history, this book is a can't-miss.
sarahhallam's review against another edition
4.25
if I were mayor of New York I’d make it mandatory for everyone to read this book
hikemogan's review against another edition
5.0
This hyper-local (St. Marks is only three blocks long) history that begins in pre-colonial times and ends at present day never gets bogged down in sentimentality or nostalgia. Calhoun clearly brings a native St. Marks resident's lifetime of research and first-hand experience and this book is just so densely packed with stories big and small that it moves at a lightning pace. These stories could probably only be collected by a lifer; I doubt ever the most diligent outsider historian could pull off something as intimate and thorough. That's saying something considering she covers such a huge timeline, from the earliest settlement by the Stuyvesant family farm up to 2010s gentrification. Having grown up there, she also brings the perspectives not just of the dilettante punk rockers or hipsters after them (visiting for a day or for a year), but Calhoun brings the stories of lifelong Ukrainian and Puerto Rican families, children, the homeless, local business owners, and artists. She also closes with several of the oldest residents on the block-- including one who has lived on St. Marks since 1940-- saying that the best time to be there is right now. This is a beautiful book that I'm definitely going to re-read again sometime, maybe when/if Calhoun provides an update as time moves along.