CBGB'S

Welcome to CBGB's. Contrary to owner Hilly Kristal's initial intent to showcase Country, Bluegrass, and Blues (hence the name CBGB's), this venue quickly became known as the birthplace of American Punk Rock.

The Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Blondie, The Misfits, The Dead Kennedy's, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Joan Jet & The Blackhearts, The B-52's, The Beastie Boys, and countless other icons of the 70's and 80's all got their start on these hollowed grounds.
Nirvana played here in 1989. 2 years later, they would be a worldwide success, 4 years after that, the band's frontman, Kurt Cobain, would join the infamous 27 Club alongside Jean Michael Basquiat.

Financial difficulties and legal disputes ultimately led to CBGB's closure. The final show, held on October 15, 2006, was attended by many fans and musicians who had been part of CBGB's incredible legacy. Here’s Patti Smith's closing words: "This place is going to become a clothing store, but it’s not about the bricks and mortar, it's about the spirit". Two years later, rockstar fashion designer John Varvatos transformed the space into his flagship store.

Many of the club's original fixtures, including its infamous bathroom graffiti wall, were preserved and moved to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Various other pieces of memorabilia, including fixtures, photographs, and posters, have been displayed in different exhibits and museums around the world, all monuments to rock and roll history.

Thankfully, much of the essence of CBGB's still exists in the space today. Step inside and you'll be greeted with walls papered in flyers of its heyday, time capsuled in fiberglass for preservation. Walking further in the space, you'll see a concert stage against the wall to your right. The original placement of the stage was much further back, near the end of the space and facing toward the door.

If you were lucky enough to attend a show here, you'd have entered a giant, nearly empty room save for the stage, speakers, and several hundred youths coming into adulthood... moshing together, bonding together, and forging an era of punk rock culture that remains with us today.