Located in the basement, downstairs from a simple, nondescript door in the East Village of Manhattan, is Club 82. From 1958 to 1972, Club 82 was a female-impersonator/drag cabaret that was very popular among the gay community (it still has its own fan site). The club also attracted celebrities: David Bowie, Lou Reed, Blondie, and the New York Dolls all hung out here.

Diane Arbus frequented Club 82 to take photographs and to meet people she could shoot. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Arbus did not favor capturing snapshot portraits of her subjects. She would spend weeks, months, and sometimes years becoming acquainted with her subjects before getting the photo she wanted.

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From 1968 to 1971, the photographer Diane Arbus took a number of photographs at these locations. The Vineland Development Center and the Vineland Training Center have been providing housing and training for the developmentally disabled and their caretakers since the 1880s. The facilities have undergone several different name changes (thankfully), and the facility was named the American Institute for Mental Studies, or the "AIMS", when Arbus shot here.

There has been much speculation on the work that Arbus did here. Initially Arbus considered these photographs to be "lyric and tender and pretty", but by June 1971 she told mentor Lisette Model that she hated them.

Even today, these photographs hover between depicting the beauty of humanity in overcoming adversity, to the dangers of artistic exploitation. Much like the terminology changes to the institute itself, societal values are constantly shifting. Only now these people are immortalized.

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Formerly the headquarters for the Bell Telephone Laboratories, the 13 buildings at this address were transformed into the Westbeth Artists Community in 1968-1970. Westbeth is one of the first examples of adaptive reuse of an industrial space to residential and artistic use in the United States. Although applications are no longer being accepted, residents had to meet low- to middle-income requirements, be a practicing artist, and meet the approval of a board.

Diane Arbus lived here, and she taught a photography course here in 1971. On July 26, 1971, while living at Westbeth, Arbus took her own life by ingesting barbiturates and slashing her wrists with a razor. Her body was found two days later by artist Martin Israel; Arbus was 48 years old.

Side note: Vin Diesel also used to live here.

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Diane and Allan Arbus's studio and living quarters were located at this address on the Upper East Side. The Arbus's professional partnership ended in 1956, when Diane quit the business; the couple formally separated three years later.

Their neighbor and friend was Robert Brown, an actor from the TV show Here Come the Brides. Allan Arbus changed careers later in life, becoming an actor. Among numerous other roles, he was the recurring character Dr. Sidney Friedman on M*A*S*H.

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The parents of Diane Arbus, David Nemerov and Gertrude Russek Nemerov, owned Russek's Department Store at this location. Specializing in fur and women's clothing, Russek's slogan was "An Institution of Paris Fashions."

Diane met Allan Arbus, who worked as a photographer in the marketing department of the store, when she was thirteen. In 1941, Diane and Allan Arbus were married (Diane was eighteen years old at the time).

The couple had two children together (Doon, 1945 and Amy, 1954). Diane and Allan Arbus separated in 1958, and they were divorced in 1969.

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