I was talking about this in a sound recording I have yet to listen back to. It’s a little thing that has bothered me for years. I don’t remember when but at some point Siberia Bar was forced out if its unusual location inside an MTA subway station. Speculation about where it might reopen generated a mild amount of interest from midtowners who knew anything about the bar. Eventually Siberia landed in a speakeasy type space near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, but for a short time I remember with crystal clean clarity that the words “SIBERIA BAR” briefly appeared on the glass at this space, which at the time was unoccupied. Today, as you can see, the space is taken by the Perfect Shape Nail Salon. This space is directly underneath Radio City Music Hall, and a stairwell nearby leads to the front door of that theater. There are also a couple of payphones up ahead on the left but you can’t see them here.
Former Possible Location for Siberia Bar
What’s bothered me for many years was an exchange between myself and someone on The Well, an early-Internet message board where I briefly had an account. “Well” stands for “Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link”. The Well was based in Sausalito but there was an active New York City contingent where Siberia Bar was among the discussion topics.
To this discussion I contributed my little anecdote of seeing that Siberia Bar might be relocating to Rockefeller Center. To this someone rather dimly replied “If you think Siberia Bar would relocate to Rockefeller Center then you don’t get Siberia Bar.” I have never known what this person meant by that, but it particularly irritated me because I was simply reporting a fact that the name of the bar had appeared on some glass at Rockefeller Center, and maybe asking if anyone had heard about this. I was not suggesting or advocating that the bar move there, and its name on the glass appeared to not just imply but indicate that the owner of the bar had at least considered moving into that space, and the owners of Rockefeller Center were enough on board to have at least taken this cosmetic step toward welcoming it there.
I responded by asking this individual to please, pray tell, for myself and others of Siberian ignorance, inform us was there is to get about that bar and your apparent suggestion that Rockefeller Center would be a woefully inappropriate place for it.
There was never a reply.
