One of Weegee’s favorite hangouts was Sammy’s Bar, located in the infamous Bowery section of New York. Manhattan’s skid row, the Bowery was filled with flophouses, bars, brothels, and music halls. In Life magazine, Weegee wrote of Sammy’s, “It is a haven for derelicts and a hangout for the well-heeled. Entertainment is provided by not only the ‘past their prime’ vaudevillians, but also by the frowzy men and blowzy women.”
This photograph depicts the strange intersection of the rich and downtrodden at the raucous bar. Some of Weegee’s other Sammy’s images capture the antics of the colorful performers and drunken revelers who congregated there at all hours.
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