By Elmer Ploetz
Editor

By now word has spread throughout Buffalo’s various communities (music, arts, Allentown, etc.) about the fire that destroyed the “Old Pink” early this morning.

There’s a lot to say about the place, but I’m not really the one to say it. Instead, we’d like to share some of the thoughts from people who have known the place best (most via Facebook).

If you have additions you’d like to make to this story, just email them to use at thebuffalohive@gmail.com.

Here goes (comments are unedited, other than adding paragraph breaks to make them read easier on a phone):

Joe George (neighbor, photographer and chronicler of the city):

The Pink Flamingo. This morning Allentown and the City of Buffalo lost a little bit of itself which can never be replaced or replicated. To some it was simply an iconic dive bar, but to others (including the person typing these words) it was a gathering place for friends; a community. I’ve been a denizen of this place since 1981 when I was a mere 20 year old punk. There will be a lot of lost misfits for some time, and I include myself into this category. I’ll write more about this after I (we) have time to process. It may be just a building, but the neighborhood lost a part of itself today. Here’s a photo (see above) I made on an unusually quiet evening pre-pandemic when there were still checkered floor tiles.

Rich Wall (former DJ at the Old Pink):

It was a gathering place that celebrated music, and our common humanity. Unlikely friendships were formed for a lifetime. I spun music there on the eve of every Buffalo Super Bowl appearance for the happiest nights ever, and returned for my Sunday shift where everyone came back stunned at the events of the early evening. In those days 88-94, the gathering started at 11 pm and went straight to a reluctant 4. When smoking was legal, I remember how my clothes and my skin were just permeated. The best part of DJing was when someone would ask you what you just played instead of asking you to play something. The moment of discovery when I brought friends/bands/actors in from out of town in for a night that had to be experienced as it was hard to describe. “James at 16” (Heavy Medley) was 12 minutes long.
Song selections were based on feel and finding the common threads to get from one to the next. This led to the most interesting mix of the Stones to A Tribe Called Quest to Johnny Cash to The Pixies to Lyle Lovett to Psychic TV to ABBA to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins to what always seemed like Sex Machine at 3am(where the entire bar became a dance floor) or so to Elvis or Sinatra for last call. We were all on a music rollercoaster till the end.
And now here we are at the end… at a place that cannot be replaced.
Thinking of and thankful to Molly and the Brinkworth Family at this time. Thanks to Terry Sullivan for trusting me with some sub shifts. Thanks to Mark Supples for giving me a regular night at the time and for creating the atmosphere and the local institution that we have all received an education from. Thanks to EVR for carrying the torch for all of this time.

Update: There is a GoFundMe set up to help the people put out of work by the fire You can find it HERE.

Michael Mulley, owner of Queen City Gallery and another chronicler of the arts and culture of Buffalo, took this photo:

David Gutierrez (musician and former DJ at the Old Pink):

It’s like your favorite hiding spot, your secret porn and drug stash, your best bottle of scotch that you’ve been saving for decades, your grandma’s recipes book, your temple, your coolest t shirt, your record collection, your group therapy office, your favorite jeans, your memory box, your high school journals, your “cool” VHS box, your mix tape collection, your comfortable couch, your sex toy chest, your beginning of the night meeting spot, the end of the night meeting spot, your confessional booth, the only place you dance at, the place you actually hook up at, your place to disappear, the place that can satisfy that itch, your Ace in the hole, the hole in the wall where literally EVERYONE could just blend in together, the spot you bring your out of town friends to, the portal to that other world that you always expected to be there… Just GONE. All of it at once.

Michael Lee Jackson (musician and photographer):

During the Buffalo sessions when recording Gillan’s Inn with Nick Blagona and Ian GIllan, we often retired to a bar called the Old Pink to unwind, and unwind we did. In fact we used a picture of Ian in front of the Old Pink for the album cover. It seemed like the thing to do. Nick died a few years ago, and this morning there was a two alarm fire at the Old Pink, probably a total loss from the looks of the pics.

Bob Mussell took this photo from behind the bar, capturing a moment on one of many ridiculous nights we had there.

Ron Hawkins (musician):

Godspeed Old Pink. Buffalo will never be the same. I wish I could remember the nights I spent at this hallowed hall but that’s what it was like – wander in after a show, meet friends, someone would hear we were hanging out and jump in a cab from cross town and come share a drink. Eric would be pounding out the best tunes in the history of Western civilization, I would smile at my comrades as we peed into a metal trough. I got “carded” (at 35 or so – hard town Buffalo), someone would say “how about one last round” and it would always be a bad idea that seemed like the best idea anyone had ever had. Then we would stumble out into the night, a drunken diaspora of rock n’ roll refugees searching for streets and hotels that would spread their arms and nurse us back to some semblance of health so we could get up and do it all over again. Churches come in all shapes and sizes and this one will be sorely missed. xo

Allan Uthman (Writer and musician):

“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” RIP to the Old Pink. A lot of memories, most of them blurry, but good.

Meanwhile, it’s official already. The building will be demolished.

You can read the sad details, along with some of the history of the Old Pink, HERE, from WGRZ/Channel 2 News.

Here is the Channel 2 video: