Title: Anthology Film Archives

Address: 80 Wooster Street

Description : In 1964 Jonas Mekas founded the Film-maker’s Cinematheque and in 1970 he established the Anthology Film Archives - both which flourished at 80 Wooster (Bernstein & Shaprio 76). Mekas, like Maciunas had a grand vision. The Film-maker’s Cinematheque was to serve “as a center for the showing and promoting of non-commercial, avant-garde, cinema and the best of the commercial film classic”, according to Mekas (Bernstein & Shapiro 76). It was to publish books and magazines on cinema (including Film Culture, a quarterly magazine which first appearing in January 1955), assist grants to film makers, and “intervene as amicus curiae in court and appellate proceedings involving motion picture censorship and licensing questions” (Bernstein & Shaprio 77). When Maciunas began to look for buildings in 1966-1967, Mekas jumped on the opportunity. He said “I told him that I would take the ground two floors of 80 Wooster for and 16/18 Greene Street for two showcases and I made a deposit” (Bernstein & Shapiro). Maciunas saw Cinematheque as an integral part of his artists cooperative vision, according to Bernstein and Shapiro. Mekas agreed to pay $8,000 for the ground floor and the basement to house Cinematheque I. Mekas wrote, “Cinematheque I, will be able to premiere all avant-garde works without fear of not covering rent” (Bernstein & Shaprio 78). The space for Cinematheque II was to be located at 18 Greene Street, a building that was supposed to be Flux-house I. Mekas, eventually moved his space for Cinematheque II at the Public Theater on Lafayette Street. At 80 Wooster, Mekas found a raw space previously occupied by the Miller Cardboard Company (Bernstein & Shapiro 80). On December 14, 1967, Mekas ran his first film ad for Film-maker’s Cinematheque I at 80 Wooster. “80 Wooster (Where the Spring St. and Wooster St. meet. By subway: Spring St. Station, three blocks south of Bleeker St. Cinema).” It also listed an entrance fee of $1.50, with the parenthetical that the cashier would admit patrons for $1 if they could not afford the regular fee (Bernstein & Shaprio 80).

Description Citation #1: Bernstein, Royslyn, and Shael Shapiro. Illegal Living. Vilnius: Jono Mekas Foundation, 2010. Print.

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Image Citation #1: Facade of 80 Wooster Street, ca. 1980. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of Jonas Mekas.

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Image Citation #2: New Year's Eve December 31, 1969 dinner at Cinematheque; from left, Peter Van Riper, Richard Foreman, Albert Fie, Geoff Hendricks, Sari Dienes, Hala Pietkiewicz, Barbara Stewart, Wolf Vostell, Al Hansen, Bob Watts and Alison Knowles. Photo by Peter Moore (C) Estate of Peter Moore/Vaga New York, NY

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Image Citation #3: Hermann Nitsch's Orgies-Mysteries Theater "action" at Cinematheque, March 16, 1968. Photo by Peter Moore (C) Estate of Peter Moore/Vaga New York, NY

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Building Location: 80 Wooster Street