Cafe Wha?

115 MacDougal Street | Greenwich Village | built 1908

Open on the map5 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1958

   September 15

   Donald Goldman turns the old coal stable into a 200-seat theater

   Donald Goldman converts the former Messler coal stable at 115 MacDougal Street into a permanent home for his Shakespearewrights company, opening a 200-seat theater on September 15, 1958. The new space features a curtainless stage and, notably for the time, air conditioning. The building had already served as a police stable and later a garage before Goldman's renovation.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1959

   Manny Roth opens Cafe Wha? in the basement nightclub

   A year after Goldman's theater opens, Manny Roth's Cafe Wha? begins sharing the same building at 115 MacDougal Street. The basket-house nightclub, where performers work for tips passed around in wicker baskets, becomes a launching pad for young musicians and comedians. In October 1961, city officials fine Roth $60 for operating a cabaret without a license.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1961

   January

   Bob Dylan plays one of his first New York stages

   Newly arrived from Minnesota in January 1961, Bob Dylan performed at the Cafe Wha?'s afternoon hootenannies, among his first appearances in the city.

   Source: Wikipedia

4. 1966

   Summer

   Jimi Hendrix is discovered here

   Playing as Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, Hendrix held a residency here in 1966. Chas Chandler of the Animals saw him and brought him to London, where he formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

   Source: Wikipedia

5. 1979

   January

   Quentin Crisp headlines a one-man show at the Players Theatre

   In January 1979, Quentin Crisp performs "An Evening with Quentin Crisp" at the Players Theatre, then occupying the building at 115 MacDougal Street. The 70-year-old Englishman discusses what it was like to be openly homosexual before that was widely accepted. A New York Times critic praises it as a witty and moving evening of theater.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• The Players TheatreWikipedia
• The Messler Coal Stables -- No. 115 MacDougal StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
• Cafe Wha?: the whys, wheres, whos and howsThe Bowery Boys

Nearby

• Comedy Cellar117 MacDougal Street | 14 entries
• 1 Minetta Lane2 entries
• Minetta Tavern111 MacDougal Street | 5 entries
• Minetta Garage122 West 3rd Street | 2 entries
• 3 Minetta Lane1 entry
• 120 West 3rd Street2 entries

All 518 buildings with stories in Greenwich Village