https://mashable.com/feature/sammys-bowery-follies Space Tech Life Social Good Entertainment Deals [ ] Search Cancel * * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Space Tech Apps & Software Cybersecurity Mobile Smart Home Social Media Space Tech Industry Transportation All Tech Life Digital Culture Family & Parenting Health & Wellness Sex, Dating & Relationships All Life Social Good Activism Climate Change Gender LGBTQ Mental Health Racial Justice Sustainability All Social Good Entertainment Games Movies Podcasts TV Shows All Entertainment Goods & Services Courses House & Home Online Dating Software Mashable Shop All Goods & Services Reviews Newsletters Videos c. 1945 Sammy's Bowery Follies Booze, bums and ballads at the world's greatest dive bar by Alex Q. Arbuckle [Retronaut] [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images In 1934, Sammy Fuchs opened a saloon at 267 Bowery on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Surrounded by flophouses and missions, Sammy's Bowery Follies catered mainly to the homeless, the penniless, and the generally down and out. That changed somewhat in the early '40s after a surprising customer passed through: a monocle-wearing gentleman who turned out to be a British lord tired of the fussy formality of the uptown clubs. Sensing a new market, Sammy acquired a cabaret license, built a stage, hired some aging vaudevillians and began advertising his bar as the "Stork Club of the Bowery," a nod to the famed nightclub uptown. [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images From 8 in the morning until 4 the next morning Sammy's is an alcoholic haven for the derelicts whose presence has made the Bowery a universal symbol of poverty and futility. It is also a popular stopping point for prosperous people from uptown who like to see how the other half staggers. LIFE MAGAZINE, Dec. 4, 1944 [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images The plan worked. Fancy folks, tourists and celebrities began seeking out Sammy's, looking for a chance to loosen their ties and slum it a little bit in the Gay Nineties-themed dive. It was not uncommon to find a socialite in an opera gown wedged between a sailor on shore leave and a passed-out drunk. Sammy recognized the importance of atmosphere, and served free food and drinks to some of his more colorful regulars (characters with names such as Prune Juice Jenny, Box Car Gussie and Tugboat Ethel, the "Queen of the Bowery") to preserve the ambience. The notable photographer Weegee made Sammy's one of his regular shooting grounds, and even held his book launch parties there. [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images By the end of World War II, Sammy's was serving some 100,000 customers a year, as literal busloads of tourists were dropped off outside, eager to drink and sing along with hobos, dwarves and assorted misfits. Sammy Fuchs died in 1969. A year later,the bar finally closed. The closing ceremony was attended by over 700 loyal patrons. [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images There's no cigarette girl -- a vending machine puts out cigarettes for a penny apiece. There's no hatcheck girl -- patrons prefer to dance with their hats and coats on. But there is a lulu of a floor show. Weegee [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] A police officer breaks up a fight outside the bar. Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] Image: Bettmann/Getty Images [uploads] A bloodied man is escorted away from Sammy's after a brawl. Image: Bettmann/Getty Images Share this story Share Tweet * Curation: Alex Q. 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