A photographer named Steve Butcher who has lived in the Lower East Side for more than 30 years shared a treasure trove of vintage photos of the neighborhood with Bowery Boogie. The color photos are from between 1980 and 1985, and the black-and-whites are from 1996. It’s of course old news that the Lower East Side is totally different than it was back then, but we never get tired of comparing. In Butcher’s photos, it could easily be mistaken for the Bronx during the “Bronx is Burning” era, or a movie set depicting Hell on Earth. Bowery Boogie has a bunch more, so head over there for your daily dose of Bad Old Days nostalgia.
(Photos: Steve Butcher)
