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Let’s take a stroll down Ludlow Street circa 1995…

The following snippet of footage is a glimpse of Ludlow Street “on the corner of East Houston and Katz’s Delicatessen” as filmed by Corey Shaff (narrated by Ronnie DeMonarco). “Planet Ludlow,” as it’s called, is essentially a four-minute tour of the block and its stock of artsy retail tenants and onetime standbys. Before nightlife totally ruined the area.

This time capsule is a further reminder of the change that has pummeled the area in the last two decades. The Ludlow, Ludlow Hotel, Orchard Hell Building, and Rat Castle are not even a thought yet; Max Fish is six years old. Shaff chronicles shifts that culminated in the “thriving, out-of-the-way artist community.” There is a nice shout-out to Aaron Rose’s Alleged Gallery (#172), which operated from 1992-1997; skater Harold Hunter makes an appearance on camera.

Shaff filmed other notable Lower East Side stories back in the day. Vanishing NY posted yesterday about the former makeshift art gallery that occupied a vacant gas station at Avenue B and East 2nd Street around the same time (later evicted for the Duane Reade condo building).