>>EXCERPT — New York: PHOTOGRAPHER W. Fricke, 50 Bowery: For more than three centuries, 50-52 Bowery has held a place at the crossroads of change. A German immigrant named
William Kramer created what would become one of the city’s most celebrated beer gardens. According to The Times, “the better class” of Germans frequented the elaborately decorated space, which could host about 2,000 at a time. They drank lager from dimpled glass mugs while taking in performances by the country’s first “ladies’ orchestra.” In headier times, it was a gambling den run by a bare-knuckle boxer and a celebrated beer garden and concert hall that incubated Tin Pan Alley talent and Yiddish vaudeville stars.
