Gerde's Folk City

Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village of Manhattan in New York City. Opened by Mike Porco in 1960, as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to present occasional music. It was first located at 11 West 4th Street (in a building which no longer exists), before moving six blocks west in 1970, to 130 West 3rd Street. The club closed in 1987. On January 26, 1960, Gerdes turned into a music venue called The Fifth Peg, in cooperation with Izzy Young, the director of the Folklore Center. The Fifth Peg's debut bill was gospel folk singer Brother John Sellars and Ed McCurdy, writer of the anti-war classic "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream". Porco and Young had a falling-out, and on June 1, 1960, Gerdes Folk City was officially born, with a bill featuring folk singers Carolyn Hester and Logan English. Gerdes Folk City was soon booked by English and folk enthusiast Charlie Rothschild (who later became Judy Collins' long-time manager). Gerdes Folk City quickly emerged as one of the central music venues of the era, helping to launch the careers of several musical acts, from Bob Dylan to Sonic Youth, and showcased numerous music styles from folk to alternative rock. In July 1963, owner Mike Porco was interviewed during a live Gerdes Folk City music set by the Folk Music Worldwide radio show, Porco noting that he'd seen musi

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