I received this gem of a story from Bob Sienkiewicz who lives and breathes the B-F Area!
After accidentally discovering this place, I asked Bob to send me the bakground on the Fillmore East Gallery… Enjoy!
A great ALIVE story… (click on image for full view)
From Bob… (Bob works for Dave Franczyk’s office)
The Fillmore East Gallery was originally built to house a photographer’s studio dating back to the late forties. The original building was built @ 1915 as a single home (common space downstairs, bedrooms upstairs, likely similar to Dave Franczyk’s house at 858), and then storefronts were added after W.W.II, with the back studio section added in the fifties.
When I bought the building in 1987 it was a wreck: small fire damage, roof leaking, windows missing from fire, busted doors. I got what I thought was a good deal, and put a ton of $ into the place. The right storefront was to be an informal party venue (2 great parties in early 90’s: bands, movies, bonfire in the lot, etc.), hence the name “Fillmore East”. I got tired of cleaning up from house parties where I used to live at 18 Stanislaus St (an old rooming house with murals painted on the inside walls!); this was to be dedicated space. The space was also used for band practices for some well know local bands in the early/middle 90s.
I used to have displays in the storefront windows, but over the years the storefront space became generally neglected. Then last year when “cousin” Kelly had to move from Hertel to our glorious B-F neighborhood, he was looking for work space. So I offered him the Fillmore East for storage. He started doing some work out of there as well as displaying his “A” grade sculptures in the windows, so we decided to light up the windows at night and call it the “Fillmore East Gallery”.
