The most famous (and probably the most important) punk club in all music history was CBGB, a crappy place with horrific bathrooms at 315 Bleeker Street in New York. Beginning in 1974, this is where punk first took root—although no one was calling it “punk” back at the beginning. The club hung on until October 15, 2006, when rent pressures and encroaching gentrification forced the place to close.
You’ve probably seen pictures of the front door of the club with the famous “CBGB-OMFUG” awning hanging over the sidewalk. One awning ended up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Another was rescued from a dumpster by a manager. It sat under his bed for a decade before he auctioned it off for $30,000.
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