The Village Gate Sign

The Bleecker Street sign in Greenwich Village for the legendary music venue The Village Gate still stands, though the venue closed in 1993.

Art D’Lugoff, the impressario on the sign, was the owner of the Village Gate from its opening in 1958 until its final closing in 1993. The sign still displays two placards, not from the Gate’s final night as you might expect, but two of D’Lugoff’s personal favorites, Jacques Brel and Penny Arcade.

The Village Gate was a pivotal venue in the village music scene, having hosted shows for Jacques Brel, Bob Dylan, Richrd Pryor, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Byrd, Thelonious Monk, and tons more.

Today, the upstairs of the Village Gate is occupied by a CVS pharmacy, and the basement stage houses Le Poisson Rouge, a new music venue that opened in 2008. Though The Gate is gone, the sign remains as a testament to the respect still felt for its importance to the music of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.