KGB (bar)

Soviet-era themed bar in New York City, US

KGB

Location| 85 E. 4th Street, East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Coordinates| 40°43′36″N 73°59′24″W﻿ / ﻿40.726580°N 73.989923°W﻿ / 40.726580; -73.989923
Type| Bar
Opened| 1993
Website
Official website

KGB is a Soviet era-themed ("Communist chic"[1] ) bar located in the East Village of New York City at 85 E. 4th Street, New York, New York 10003.

## History

[edit]

Before its present incarnation, the building had been the Palm Casino, a speakeasy controlled by Lucky Luciano. From 1948 to 1988 it was a private social club for communists and socialists.[2] On the bar's walls are "Stalinist woodcuts, World War II posters, a picture of Valentina V. Tereshkova, hammer-and-sickle flags and the odd Lenin bust and balalaika."[3][4]

Inspired by the Soviet-era memorabilia stored in the building,[5] KGB Bar opened in 1993,[6] and became one of the most popular book-reading venues in New York City.[2] Popular authors read here pro bono on Sunday evenings (fiction), Monday evenings (poetry), and most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.[7] KGB has been named best literary venue in New York City by New York magazine[citation needed], The Village Voice[citation needed], and others.[3]

## Reading series

[edit]

The bar hosts several regular reading series which include:

* Trumpet Fiction – Literary fiction and arts, held on the second Saturday of every month, hosted by Jonathan Kravetz
* Fantastic Fiction – A monthly speculative fiction reading series at the KGB Bar, held on the third Wednesday of every month, currently hosted by Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel
* Monday Night Poetry Series – Founded by David Lehman and Star Black, this legendary series has lasted more than a decade and features an impressive slate of major contemporary poets in its fall and spring seasons. The series spawned a book, The KGB Bar Book of Poems, in 2000. Currently, the event is hosted by John Deming, Jada Gordon, Susan Lewis, and Tyler Allen Penny.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Wilson, John (February 15, 1999). "Communist Chic". Washington Examiner. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
2. ^ a b Collins, Glenn (September 25, 1998). "A Cold War Relic Is a Literary Hot Spot; New Authors Hope Someone Important Is Listening to Them at Bar's Readings". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
3. ^ a b Woychuk, Denis, Founder & President "KGB Bar: A Brief and Distorted History", Retrieved on March 30, 2008.
4. ^ Kortava, David (March 20, 2017). "Russia and Revolution at KGB Bar". The New Yorker.
5. ^ Broder, Mitch (March 15, 1997). "Back in the U.S.S.R." The Journal News (White Plains, NY). pp. C1, C7. Retrieved March 2, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Marcius, Chelsia Rose (November 1, 2020). "Read It – Or Weep". New York Daily News. p. 3. Retrieved March 2, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Morris, Bill (July 15, 2001). "Best of New York: The word is out". New York Daily News. p. 10-Lifeline. Retrieved February 28, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Fantastic Fiction at KGB
* Trumpet Fiction

* v
* t
* e

East Village and NoHo

Manhattan, New York City

Green spaces

* Abe Lebewohl Park
* Carmen Pabón del Amanecer Jardín
* Chico Mendez Mural Garden (former)
* Esperanza Garden (former)
* La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez
* Liz Christy Garden
* New York Marble Cemetery
* New York City Marble Cemetery
* Open Road Park
* Tompkins Square Park

Education

* Cooper Union
* 41 Cooper Square
* East Side Community High School
* Grace Church School
* Harvey Milk High School
* High School for Health Professions and Human Services
* Ottendorfer Library
* Third Street Music School Settlement

Religion

* Church of the Immaculate Conception and Clergy Houses
* Church of the Most Holy Redeemer
* Church of the Nativity
* German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Mark
* Grace Church
* Middle Collegiate Church
* Mission of Our Lady of Loreto (Sheen Center, Barat Settlement House)
* San Isidoro y San Leandro Western Orthodox Catholic Church of the Hispanic Mozarabic Rite
* Slovenian Church of St. Cyril in New York
* St. Ann's Armenian Catholic Cathedral
* St. Ann Church
* St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church
* St. Emeric Church
* St. George's Church
* St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery
* St. Nicholas Kirche
* St. Nicholas of Myra Church
* St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church
* Tabernacle Baptist Church

Culture

| Restaurants/
nightlife|

* B&H Dairy
* Bungalow
* Burp Castle
* CheLi
* Club Cumming
* Death & Co.
* Foul Witch
* Foxface Natural
* HAGS
* Joe's Pub
* Kanoyama
* KGB
* Lucien
* McSorley's
* Nuyorican Poets Café
* Penny
* Please Don't Tell
* Pommes Frites
* Pyramid Club
* Somtum Der
* Superiority Burger
* The Cock
* The Talking Band
* Torien
* Tuome
* Veniero's
* Veselka
* Webster Hall

|

Theater|

* Astor Place Theatre
* Classic Stage Company
* Connelly Theater
* La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
* Metropolitan Playhouse
* Nublu Club
* Orpheum Theatre
* Performance Space New York
* Playwrights Horizons Theater School
* The Public Theater
* Joe's Pub
* Theatre 80
* Theater for the New City
* Village East by Angelika
* WOW Café

Stores|

* Barbara Feinman Millinery
* Ray's Candy Store
* Strand Bookstore
* Trash and Vaudeville

Museums and galleries|

* Anthology Film Archives
* Brant Foundation
* Merchant's House Museum
* Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York

Other|

* 4th Street Food Co-op
* Alamo
* C-Squat
* The Houston Bowery Wall
* Museum of Broken Windows
* Russian & Turkish Baths
* The Standard, East Village

Former|

* 8BC
* A7
* Angel's Share
* Astor Opera House
* Cagen
* Charas/El Bohio
* Club 57
* Dos Blockos
* Fez
* Five Spot Café
* Gem Spa
* Ground Zero Gallery
* Heartbreak
* Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co.
* Jewel Bako
* Kiev Restaurant
* Kim's Video and Music
* King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
* Kyo Ya
* Lanza's
* Limbo
* Lit Lounge
* Lucy's
* Lynn Redgrave Theater
* New St. Marks Baths
* New Theatre Comique
* New York Vauxhall Gardens
* Now Gallery
* Old Reliable Theatre Tavern
* Other Music
* Paresis Hall
* The Ritz
* The Saint
* SideWalk Cafe
* Sin-é
* St. Mark's Bookshop
* St. Mark's Playhouse
* Ukiyo
* Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre

Other buildings

* 51 Astor Place
* 339 Lafayette Street
* 640 Broadway
* 770 Broadway
* Astor Place Tower
* Bayard–Condict Building
* Bracetti Plaza
* Christodora House
* Colonnade Row
* De Vinne Press Building
* Firehouse, Engine Company 33 and Ladder Company 9
* First Houses
* Hamilton Fish House
* Hamilton-Holly House
* Isaac T. Hopper House
* Metropolitan Savings Bank Building
* Riis Houses
* Robbins & Appleton Building
* Schermerhorn Building
* Silk Building
* Tompkins Square Lodging House for Boys and Industrial School
* Stuyvesant Polyclinic Hospital
* Van Tassell and Kearney Horse Auction Mart
* Village View

Transportation

| Subway stations|

* First Avenue
* Second Avenue
* Third Avenue
* Astor Place
* Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street
* Eighth Street–New York University

|

Streets|

* First Avenue
* Second Avenue
* Third Avenue
* 4th Street
* 6th Street (Curry Row)
* 8th Street and St. Mark's Place
* 14th Street
* Astor Place
* Avenue A
* Avenue B
* Avenue C
* Avenue D
* Bleecker Street
* Bond Street
* Bowery
* Broadway
* Cooper Square
* Great Jones Street
* Houston Street
* Lafayette Street
* Taras Shevchenko Place

Regions

* Alphabet City
* Book Row
* East 10th Street Historic District
* East Village/Lower East Side Historic District
* Little Germany
* St. Mark's Historic District
* Yiddish Theatre District

See also: Manhattan Community Board 2, Manhattan Community Board 3, 9th Precinct
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