Lorcan Otway, owner of Theatre 80 and the William Barnacle Tavern in the East Village, founded a mafia museum rooted in the building's speakeasy past. His father, a struggling actor, purchased the location from alleged gangster Walter Scheib and discovered a safe containing $2 million. After informing Scheib, the money was claimed, and Scheib later disappeared, rumored to have been murdered. The site preserves remnants of its mob history, including the safes and escape tunnels, offering a glimpse into Prohibition-era organized crime.
Theatre 80 on St. Mark's Place, an iconic East Village venue, operated as an Off-Broadway theater starting in the 1960s. It hosted notable productions like You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and later transitioned to a cinema focused on film preservation. The building, a former Prohibition-era speakeasy, also housed the Museum of the American Gangster. Financial troubles led to its closure and eviction in April 2023, with the property sold at auction for $8.8 million in May. It was a beloved cultural and historical landmark.
