Lost Gems of 8th Street and St Mark's Place

Theatre 80 is chock full of history. According to the affable owner, Lorcan Otway, Frank Sinatra once performed on their stage. Stars such as Joan Crawford, Gloria Swanson, Jane Russell, Myrna Loy, Kitty Carlisle, and Dom DeLuise all visited this spot, pressing their hands into cement to decorate the sidewalk that lines the building. Most amazing was learning the history of Theatre 80 itself, designed and created by Lorcan’s father, Howard Otway. Howard had come from a family involved in theatre since the seventeenth century, and after running away to become a coal miner, returned to the world of theatre at fifteen to become an actor and published writer. During his thirty years of traveling and performing on various stages, Howard would always take notes on how the stages themselves specifically affected the performances. In 1964, Howard was able to receive a loan from Walter Scheib, who had run the space since its time as an illegal nightclub during the Prohibition Era. With the success of the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” in 1967, Howard was able to pay off the loan and ensure that 80 St. Marks Place could grow to be what it is today. Theatre 80 is part of a shrinking class of medium sized, off-Broadway theatres, and is truly one-of-a kind. Lorcan informed us that Howard’s main influences were Roman amphitheaters and German opera houses. He designed the theatre such that everyone is be able to see the entire performance, no matter where they were sitting. For this reason, the stage is enormous, taking up almost fifty percent of the room, and is also on a lower level than most other stages. The acoustics are also amazing, Lorcan telling us that a whisper on stage can be heard from the back row!

Under candlelight, Jules Bistro comes alive to the sounds of live jazz music. A French-inspired bistro, Jules cooks up some classic dishes – mussels in broth, escargot, steak frites, and crème-brulée for dessert. Bringing a little bit of Paris to St. Marks Place, Jules is the perfect spot to escape the busy city for a romantic dinner or drinks with friends. Maybe you can even brush up on your language skills with the friendly staff – many of whom are French natives.

Walking into L’Impasse feels in some secretively pleasurable way like trespassing in the dressing room of an old Hollywood A-List star like Rita Hayworth or Grace Kelly. It has been an 8th street institution since 1993. The shop brings in a wide variety of customers, including celebrities, high school prom shoppers, impersonators, and transgender women. “We make fine garments in a timely manner and we do not turn anyone away, ” said the manager, Roger McKenzie, at the time of our visit. He began working at L’Impasse after being a long time client. His passion for the upstairs showroom is evident. When we marveled at the beaded and lace wonders before us, he exclaimed, “Clothing has feelings. ” While making certain that we handled the items gently, he added, “You have to treat them with ease and softness. ”Each dress at L’Impasse is a work of art. Though outside pieces, mostly from Paris, are featured in the boutique, custom work is the shop's specialty. If you come in with an idea, L'Impasse's team can make it come to life. "The utmost care is devoted to each piece and each customer, " owner Abdul Sall told me. "We dress everyone from Beyonce to Rihanna to Lady Gaga - What we do is excellence. " He shared that L'Impasse goes way beyond being just a business. "For us it is more about the product and the service. " Elaborating, Abdul said, "When people leave L'Impasse they do not only look great, they feel like a different woman. "Abdul's parents were from West Africa, but he was born and raised in Paris. He came to New York in 1995 and spent thirteen years working for the original owner of the shop. He took over in 2009. When I inquired about his training in the fashion world, Abdul quickly responded, "Fashion cannot be taught. As long as you have a good eye, it works. I never went to school for this. " He shared that it has been an experience - a long road - since he did not speak English when he first arrived here and had little money in his pocket. Despite his difficulty adapting to this country, he persevered. "You can make your dreams come true if you put in the work - anything is possible. "When I asked what business was like on 8th Street in 2017, Abdul said that the street continues to change - over and over again - but that he keeps pushing. "As long as I have the drive, anything is doable, " he insisted. Though it may be said that fashion is also constantly changing and morphing, like 8th street, some things remain the same. Love, passion, and care trumps convenience and instant gratification. There is a definite reason why this charming boutique has stood the test of time on 8th street.

Sitting atop a pink, red, and black chair atop a pink, red, and black ottoman in a room bursting with every color and pattern imaginable, Storm Ritter appeared as regal figure. She was dressed to the nines, from her dramatic eyebrows to the shimmery pink paint all over her fingers. Her steel-toed boots were splattered with paint and she wore two pairs of glasses: a fuchsia-tinted pair on her face and a blue pair resting on her head. She seemed to represent a queen for rebels and artists alike. Her red, wide brimmed hat might as well have been a crown and the vibrantly colored chair might as well have been a throne. Her mission? “I make cool shit and I sell it, ” she said. At Storm Ritter Studio, Storm creates unique clothing items from her original paintings. A recent college graduate and lover of academics, she jumped around from school to school before eventually ending up in Enlightenment Studies at New York University’s Gallatin. She has done costume work for Saturday Night Live as well as freelance work for Vogue. In 2016, she opened Graey Studio, an experiment in individuality and rebellion. In 2017, Storm Ritter Studio became the newest iteration of this experiment. “It's a bit of a mess, ” said Storm as she showed us around her shop. Mess might be one word for it, but it was a carefully curated mess. To the Manhattan Sideways Team, it represented a kind of beautiful chaos. Ritter grew up in Florida with “hippie” parents and as such, finds inspiration in the creative energy of the 1960s, among other things. Many of her customers feel this influence and see her work as a “throwback” or homage to the Village of the beatnik and bohemian days. However, Ritter’s designs are much more than recycled inspiration. Because she paints ambidextrously, her work has a sort of whimsical, surreal, and ethereal quality. Her paintings and designs also incorporate a lot of symbolism, concepts that she learned from her mentor, celebrity psychic Frank Andrews. Storm is nothing if not a spiritual person, and she strives to imbue all of her creative work with spiritual energy. In addition to her original creations, she also sources vintage items - including jewels, sunglasses, books and dresses - altering them in one way or another before selling them. “Everything in this store is touched in some way, if it's not homemade, ” Storm informed us. Amidst the spectacle of color, she explained her creative process for her unisex clothing. First, she paints her works on the second floor, unofficially her studio. Then, these designs are digitally printed onto the fabrics in Georgia, and afterwards the fabrics are sent to Florida to be cut and manufactured into clothing before arriving in New York. What sets Storm apart from other clothing stores, she says, is the “interactive quality” of her products, not only because they require a combination of painting and textile manufacturing, but because customers can also commission works. Of course, she could not do it all without the help of her lovely feline sidekick. A lover of animals, Storm has five cats. “One of them has three legs, ” she told us, proudly, “he fought a coyote. He's a veteran. ” As she continued to share her story, a beautiful gray cat in a green dress paraded across the floor. “That's Velvet, ” said Storm, “she's a little sass factory. ”Sitting in the perfectly organized chaos of Storm Ritter’s shop, a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo raged on in the background. Colors and vibrant patterns and images surrounded us. “I just wanted to create a job where I could paint and be myself, ” said Storm.