Weegee's Bowery
By Billy Kung
The Bowery, a neighborhood in the southern part of Manhattan Island, was known as New York City’s “Skid Row” from 1940s through the 1970s. It was favored by derelicts and the unemployed as a gathering point, but it was also a colorful place occupied by flophouses and brothels, cheap clothing stores, low-cost eateries, as well as a hot spot for after-hour nightclubs such as the raucous drinking establishment and cabaret called Sammy’s, located at 267 Bowery. Currently on view by appointment only at the International Center of Photography (ICP) gallery at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey, is a collection of photographs by the renowned press photographer Weegee—whose real name is Arthur Fellig—titled “Weegee’s Bowery,” a visual document of the Bowery through the eyes of one of the most flamboyant characters in the history of photo reportage.
During this period in New York’s history, there was a lot of criminal activity under the looming presence of the Mob; and where there were murders, that’s where one would find Fellig. Fedora topped over a broad face, armed with a 4x5 Speed graphic camera and strobe, and rarely seen without a Cuban stogey clenched between his teeth, Fellig often appeared at a crime scene before anyone else, even the police. Thus, the nickname Weegee (a reference to the Ouija board game) was coined by his colleagues for his knack of always knowing where to be when a story broke, and was one that Fellig adopted happily.
