Marie's Crisis Cafe is a piano bar and gay bar located at 59 Grove Street in the
West Village
The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...
of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Constructed on the site of
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
's home, the location originally served as a brothel before gradually transitioning to a bar. By the early 1970s, the bar had become an established presence in the West Village for the nascent gay community and, over time, also became a popular piano bar. Today, the bar is known for its boisterous
sing-along
Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spirituals ...
culture and popularity among
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
industry participants and fans.
History
The bar occupies the same location as
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
's former residence and the location where he died.
The building currently occupied by the bar was constructed in 1838 and originally served as a brothel and boarding house.
By the 1890s, the establishment had become an early gay bar (referred to at the time as a "boy bar").
In 1929, the bar was acquired by Marie DuMont and renamed "Marie's".
At some point in the mid-20th century, the bar acquired a
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
glass etching of the American and French revolutions that now sits behind the bar.
In 1972, the Grant family acquired the bar and added the word "Crisis" to the bar's name in an acknowledgment to Thomas Paine's ''
The American Crisis
''The American Crisis'', or simply ''The Crisis'', is a pamphlet series by eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosopher and author Thomas Paine, originally published from 1776 to 1783 during the American Revolution. Thirteen numbered pamphlets w ...
''.
Current operations
Today, the bar is a notable gay bar and sing-along piano bar.
The bar is particularly popular with fans of
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musicals and industry professionals.
In media
Marie's Crisis has been featured in several television programs including ''
The Politician
''The Politician'' is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by James Shirley, and first published in 1655.
Publication
''The Politician,'' along with another Shirley play, '' The Gentleman of Venice,'' was published by the bookseller Hu ...
'', ''
High Maintenance
''High Maintenance'' is an American Anthology series, anthology comedy-drama television show, television and web series, web series created by ex-husband and wife team Ben Sinclair (actor), Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. The show follows The ...
'', and ''
Younger
Younger or Youngers may refer to:
People
* Younger (surname)
* List of people known as the Elder or the Younger
Arts and entertainment
* ''Younger'', an American novel by Pamela Redmond Satran
** ''Younger'' (TV series), an American sitcom base ...
''.
The cafe also appears in the 1950
film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
''
''.
nycinfilm
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See also
* List of dive bars
Following is a list of notable dive bars:
* The 5 Point Cafe – Seattle, Washington
* Ace's & Deuce's Lounge – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Blue Moon Tavern – Seattle
* The Cock – New York City
* Comet Tavern – Seattle
* Dockside Saloon ...
References
External links
*
{{LGBT in New York
Musical theatre
Dive bars in New York (state)
West Village
LGBT nightclubs in New York (state)
LGBT drinking establishments in New York City