New York’s Magic Shop studio, home of David Bowie, Lou Reed and more, closes


Photo: Paul Bachmann for Live4ever Media

Photo: Paul Bachmann for Live4ever Media

The studio in which David Bowie very recently recorded what would prove to be his final studio album ‘Blackstar‘ has closed.

The Magic Shop in New York has hosted many other famous names since opening in 1988, such as the Ramones, Lou Reed and Arcade Fire, but is now no more. In a post on Facebook, owner Rosenthal has blamed gentrification.




“I get that New York City is always changing and adapting like the living city it is,” he’s said. “Maybe what I believe in is no longer of value, but it was for us and we lived it.”

“As the city becomes more of a corporate and condo island, some of us wish for a better balance between money and art, between progress and preservation, and we hope that one day we will see a reversal of the destruction of conscience and community we are witnessing.”

David Bowie released ‘Blackstar’ on his 69th birthday, January 8th 2016, and very sadly died only two days later.


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