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Tag: Gem Spa

Building Blocks in the East Village, One Story At A Time…

You often hear it said that every building tells a story. This insight sounds reasonable enough. But if you don’t know what the story is, you’ll find yourself standing in front of a taciturn building wondering what you’re looking at. This would be a shame, particularly in a neighborhood like the East Village, where so […]

    The Humble “Nerve Center” of the City: Gem Spa

    The East Village is a rich palimpsest of fascinating histories. If many of them seem to share as their geographic nucleus the corner of 2nd and St Mark’s Place, that’s because, for a hundred years, there stood a 24-hour general store, the mythic stature of which increased with each successive countercultural wave that crashed on […]

      Gem Spa: An 80 Year Old Institution Fighting for its Survival

      New Yorkers love their small businesses, so it was no surprise that the plight of East Village mainstay Gem Spa drew so much attention and support from local residents and visitors alike.  The almost 80-year-old corner stand has always sold a plethora of handy items, from snacks to newspapers, drinks to hats, toiletries and sunglasses […]

      Many Layers of History at St. Marks and 2nd Avenue!

      This post is part of a series about Village blocks that correspond to calendar dates.  You can read some of the other ones here. August is here and so is another date that corresponds with a Village intersection! As we are now in the 8th month, we’re taking a look at every East Villager’s favorite […]