Brianland

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on the Hunter Thompson & The Beat Generation panel
at GonzoFest July, 17, 2026 — photo by Erin Hemmer

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On my recent July return to my beloved NYC, I stayed in the old hotel next door to where I basically grew up in New York — the north-west corner of Washington Square Park — the former Hotel Earle, which was the bohemian go-to joint that’s housed Ernest Hemingway, Dylan Thomas, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, you name it.

The Earle in the 1920s — and hasn’t changed a frickin bit!

But for me its importance was that I ‘grew up’ right next door at 27 Washington Square North — living in Eddie Condon’s apartment with his widow on the third floor overlooking the park.  Anybody who knew me in the ’80s sure remembers this place!

27 Washington Square North

As soon as I checked into the hotel and walked out the front door — I was ‘home.’  I mean — it was profound and overwhelming.  I was immediately talking to anyone and everyone, pointing out historic sites, and giving people directions.  Yes, a lot has changed in the Village, but the Spirit of the people seems to be eternal, going back at least 150 years.

And it was the people of New York who were the stars of the play that played out over the next two weeks.  I spent *hours* in Washington Square Park and it was as alive with artists & adventurers as it’s ever been.  I stopped in at all sorts of Village establishments — bars, clubs, restaurants, shops — and as much as I love all of New York City, the Village is different.  It’s where people like me are.  In my many Adventures around Manhattan, I’d find myself in Midtown or on the Upper West or whatever, and after a few minutes I’d realize ‘this ain’t home.’  I’d continue to explore, of course — Strawberry Fields, Times Square, the East Village, all over — but they were all foreign.  I was an outsider lookin in.  In the center of the Village, I was an insider lookin out.

And my love of the people of New York extended to the audiences of the many events I experienced — from the Hunter Thompson GonzoFest in the East Village to Death of A Salesman and Hamilton on Broadway to movies like The Invite, It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World and The Odyssey in IMAX to the Village Vanguard, Joe’s Pub and the Museum of Modern Art.  These were all peopled by people who were smart and lived their lives in the arts.  That’s something I loved and forgot about Manhattan.  The conversations.  The connections.  The camaraderie.  In my globe-trotting experience, there’s no place in the world that matches this.

Front row of the mezzanine for “Hamilton”

And speaking of people, that very first morning in Washington Square Park I bumped into the daughter of Eddie & Phyllis Condon, and we reconnected and she invited me up to see the apartment.  I walked around pointing out everything that was the same and different from 40 years ago.  She showed me my old room and said it was now just a guest room . . . and invited me to come and stay in the room where I grew up next time I’m back! 

Eddie & Phyllis Condon with their daughters on Washington Square North

So, I saw some great art, experienced some of the best theater and music created by humans, dug a lot of great architecture and history, walked down some Memory Lanes — but it was the people who were the story.

Ol’ Thomas Wolfe coined You Can’t Go Home Again, and that may apply to where you grew up as a child, but I came to New York City as a 19-yr-old, and Greenwich Village formed the adult I became.  And as soon as I walked out the door and into Washington Square Park — I knew I’d come home.

The Kerouac BAR sign at the Kettle of Fish
photo by Erin Hemmer

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Here’s my book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Jack Kerouac with the cover shot taken where Jack stood in front of the sign in its original location at the Kettle of Fish at 114 MacDougal Street . . . 

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At the Hunter Thompson GonzoFest in NYC (July 16–19, 2026) I was on a panel about Hunter and The Beat Generation.  Here’s a bunch of the connections between the two I noticed . .

“Hunter Thompson and The Beat Generation” panel at GonzoFest in NYC

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A Gary Hart rally on the edge of Washington Square Park in 1984 changed my life and turned me on to what politics could be . . .

Gary Hart rally 1984 Washington Square

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This “Returning Home To New York City” piece and New York in general is about The Power of The Collective.  I wrote about that very subject for The Rolling Stone Book of The Beats . . .

Rolling Stone Book of The Beats, Power of The Collective

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The Dylan masterpiece of a biopic A Complete Unknown is a fantastic portrait of Greenwich Village in one of its many heydays in the mid-’60s.  This is a scene-by-scene breakdown of the entire movie with all sorts of details about the locations and the people featured in the film . . .

“A Complete Unknown” Scene Breakdown – Time Codes, Song Titles, Quotes & Context

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Theater was a huge part of my life when I lived there — something I returned to on this recent visit.  Here’s some of the Playbills from some of the hundreds of plays I saw on New York stages . . .

The Play’s The Thing

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Here’s the wild Adventure Tale of one of the best nights in New York City in the last 50 or 100 years . . .

Obama Election Night NYC 2008

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by BrianHassett.com

karmacoupon@gmail.com — BrianHassett.com

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