Let's Talk About History

That bastion of art, music, and literature, cooking supply stores, bygone city relics like the old elevated train line and so much more?the Bowery?is now officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It's not landmark status by any means, but the designation does bolster preservationists' goals to keep the thoroughfare as is. A blowout fete to celebrate the award is scheduled for March 20. And in case you would dare question why the Bowery matters, the chair of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, which co-sponsored the nomination, listed the wide-ranging cultural institutions the Bowery has birthed: "[T]ap dance, vaudeville, Yiddish theater, Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, abstract expressionism and punk." [Bowery Boogie; CurbedWire Inbox]