Gem Spa, the beloved East Village haunt for egg creams that was located on the corner of St. Mark’s Place and Second Avenue sadly closed in 2020.
Gem Spa is where Jack Kerouac and other beat poets got their egg creams in the 1950s and it also became a hangout for many musicians in the 1960s and 1970s, who performed at the Fillmore East and the Electric Circus, which were located on either side of the store. Patti Smith was a long-time customer and the New York Dolls shot their 1973 debut album, New York Dolls back cover in front of Gem Spa.
• Our 2001 35mm film photo of Gem Spa appears in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” and we currently have framed 11x14 inch prints available (2nd photo of framed print) at @villageworksnyc along with a few other iconic East Village mom-and-pop storefronts.
• • • • • #storefront #jamesandkarla #disappearingfaceofnewyork #eggcream #eastvillagenyc #momandpopshop #momandpopshops #gemspa
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