161 W. 22nd

http://www.wm.edu/so/7thgrade/photos/NYC/Images/24.jpg UCB Theatre Front, circa March 2002

Helped by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s battle against obscenity, the UCB moved to its first home on February 4, 1999 at 161 West 22nd Street, the former home of the New Harmony, a strip club reported to be seedier than seedy.

Next to the theater on the left was a tile shop, home to the famous "Tile Shop Lady". TSL had an eternal chip on her shoulder about the theater, partly because people from the theater would hang out outside her shop and be loud. It is rumoured that she helped in getting the UCB booted from 161 in late 2002. The tile shop is still there.

The space that once was UCBT now hosts a coffee shop/yoga school called "Sparks". It's OK, though a little creepy. There is a waitress there who's very cute except something's weird with her eyes. They're a little too far apart.