Bootleggers and Bohemians: The Defiant Nightlife of Greenwich Village During Prohibition

Enacted into law in October 1919, the Volstead Act took effect January 16, 1920, enforcing the then-newly established 18th Amendment and thereby prohibiting the manufacture and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Now known as Prohibition, this era of federally-mandated teetotalism lasted thirteen years, only to be repealed in 1933 by the ratification of the 21st Amendment, ending Prohibition.

Prohibition marked an huge shift in American culture. Seemingly overnight, bars and saloons, once integral to socialization and fraternization (at least for men), underwent a mass shutdown. The only legal way for one to purchase alcohol was limited to medicinal and religious purposes. For the first time in United States history, the tap ran completely dry. 

But, of course, the 1920s fizzed, bubbled, and roared nonetheless. It was an era defined by decadence, indulgence, and organized crime. Unsurprisingly, Prohibition was considered widely unpopular by many Americans, especially as the culture became more progressive; the New York Police Commissioner Richard Enright captured public opinion in the 1923 NYPD’s annual report to the mayor by stating “…the federal prohibition laws have neither the support nor the respect of the public….” 

And gangsters and mobsters capitalized on alcohol’s growing demand and dominated illegal trade channels, often bribing policemen and judges to turn a blind eye to their forbidden activities. Citizens relied on these bootleggers to fulfill their boozy needs and turned to illegally-run, unlicensed barrooms known as speakeasies in the absence of legal taverns and pubs. In the wake of Prohibition, speakeasies, also called blind pigs and gin joints, skyrocketed in popularity; by the late 1920s, there were some 32,000 speakeasies hidden within New York City alone.

Today we are looking at the Village’s nightlife behind all the closed doors, false walls, hidden back rooms, and, more specifically, the raids that nearly killed and rebels that maintained New York’s most illicit nightlife scene. 

Barney Gallant

Perhaps one of New York’s most beloved Prohibition protestors was Latvian immigrant Barney Gallant (1884-1968). Arriving in the States in 1903, Gallant found himself in the Village where he worked as a prominent restaurateur and even lived with playwright Eugene O’Neill. By 1919, Gallant was the manager at the esteemed Greenwich Village Inn on Sheridan Square, and adamantly opposed the federal ban on liquor. Ignoring the law, Gallant allowed his waiters to continue serving alcohol to customers, not knowing his patrons were undercover cops. Consequently, Gallant became the first New Yorker prosecuted under the Volstead Act.

Rather than learning his lesson, Gallant’s short jail-time stint ignited a Robin Hood-esque passion for partying and a determined Gallant opened a series of speakeasies and clubs beneath the government’s noses. In 1922, he started Club Gallant at 40 Washington Square South before moving the venue to 85 West Third Street. He went on to open the swankier, more exclusive Speako de Luxe, continuing to offer roisters space to release inhibitions and have themselves a drink (or two).

By the time Prohibition ended in 1933, Gallant was a local celebrity, with the press calling him the Mayor of Greenwich Village. Gallant continued to open and run restaurants and bars in the neighborhood before moving to Miami later in his life. Law-abiding citizen or not, Barry Gallant never let anyone go thirsty.

The Rainbow Inn Nightclub and the Greenwich Village Crew

Known for its eclectic streets, bars and restaurants that bleed into the streets, and bohemian residents, for decades, the East Village has sat at the epicenter of counterculture movements. From the East River to Bowery, the neighborhood was no stranger to nightlife, especially during Prohibition. 

At 82 East Fourth Street, just off Second Avenue, sat the Rainbow Inn Nightclub. A distinguished “dripping wet” secret nightery, it was the subject of a mass raid in 1930 when officials seized countless bottles of liquor, vats of wine, and barrels of beer. From 1953 to 1973 the basement nightery transformed into Club 82, a prominent nightclub known for its elaborate and entertaining drag show performances. While Club 82 eclipsed the venue’s speakeasy origins in terms of public impact, it never strayed far from ties to organized crime. For its twenty-year-long run, mafia Don Vito Genovese controlled the club with his wife, Anna Genovese operating as the club’s boss and head hostess.

Such criminal activity permeated the streets during Prohibition. A 1930 census reported that there were 77 speakeasies on the Bowery. The Genovese family was a powerful force, dominating New York’s organized crime ring. They controlled the Village Crew and operated out of Vito Genovese’s mother’s apartment at 208 Sullivan Street.

Even with the Volstead Act, partying in the Village persisted, just more covertly. Raids would happen, speakeasies would relocate, payouts would occur — the cycle continued until Prohibition’s end in 1933. Figures like Barney Gallant became symbols of resistance, and underground clubs, like the Rainbow Inn and those operated by the Genovese family, further solidified Greenwich Village and the East Village as epicenters of counterculture and nightlife, even in the face of governmental crackdowns.