The porch roof of 59 Tinker St., one of Woodstock’s most storied buildings and a touchstone of its musical past, came down this week after rot and water damage forced reconstruction to preserve the historic building. Anyone driving past this week may have joined in Woodstock’s collective gasp as they saw that the roof over the building’s front porch—actually a covered patio—had been torn down. Debris, tarps and construction workers were strewn about and, it seemed, Woodstock had lost one of its limbs.
But the demolition is temporary, and the aim is preservation. An identical porch roof and new supports are being installed ahead of the holiday season, part of a broader effort to stabilize the 225-year-old structure that once housed Cafe Espresso and the Tinker Street Cafe.
Long before construction crews cordoned off the front of 59 Tinker St. this week, the two-story building had already secured its place in Woodstock lore. Built in 1800 as a barn, it became home to Cafe Espresso, where Bob Dylan once lived upstairs and wrote parts of “Subterreanean Homesick Blues” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.”
During the building’s incarnation as the Tinker Street Cafe, members of R.E.M. and Phish would decompress there after recording sessions at the old Bearsville Studios. The venue hosted Joey Ramone, The Lemonheads, Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, and The Dave Matthews Band.
But just as some of our favorite rockers are aging—Dylan is 84; Neil Young just this week turned 80—so is the building at 59 Tinker St. One of the current tenants, HappyLife Productions, a mainstay of Woodstock’s music and visual-arts scene, is now helping give the structure some overdue care.
The repairs are designed to strengthen the building’s generations-long grip on local history, rather than tear it down. That’s according to the owner of HappyLife Productions, Mike DuBois, an artist whose clients have included the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band and Santana. DuBois explained rot had taken hold of the roof and its supports, and persistent leaks made replacement unavoidable. The roof was jacked up in the spring and temporary beams were installed before full removal became necessary.
DuBois is coordinating the repairs with building owner Lizzie Vann, who owns several properties in town including Bearsville Center, home to the Bearsville Theater. An identical roof is now being rebuilt, with work expected to be completed before the holiday shopping season begins.
DuBois, who has lived in Woodstock since 1986, said removing the original supports and installing new footings is intended to prevent future safety issues. This way, his HappyLife customers and employees, both of whom are enthralled with the store’s inventory of musically-inspired artwork, photography and clothing, as well as Woodstock-inspired gifts, can come and go as usual.
The same can be said for the staff of The Overlook, whose newsroom occupies Dylan’s old space upstairs, and tenant Queen of Rogues, an art space for creativity, theater, music, film and dance. And on the ground floor, Peace, Love & Cupcakes remains a popular stop for residents and visitors.
DuBois said the building is getting a structural facelift. But he said this work goes far beyond hammers, nails and shelter for a front porch on a destination that once housed the now-Kingston based Center for Photography at Woodstock.
“This building is very important to Woodstock in a lot of ways,” he said. “And we’re going to make sure it’s sound for many years to come. We’re the current stewards of the history that’s unfolded within these walls. And we see the building and this store not only as a place of commerce, but a very important piece of the Woodstock legacy. We’ll continue to do everything in our power to make sure that legacy is preserved for future generations.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the former bar at 59 Tinker St. It is the Tinker St. Cafe, not the Tinker Street Tavern.
John W. Barry is a reporter at The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.