You see plenty of old-style vertical neon signs hanging around the City. But the things they advertise number only a few. It's either "Bar" and "Liquor" or "Pharmacy."
Here's one I've never seen anywhere else in NYC: "Hobbies." And, on the edge of the sign, "Trains." How great is that? A neon sign telling the world that model trains are inside.
The sign is at 16-02 Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood, Queens. There's no hobbies store underneath the sign right now. It's a 99 cents shop. If you stroll a block or so to the south, however, you'll find NHS Hobbies at 68-16 Fresh Pond Road. The sign says its been in business since 1947. My guess is the store used to be located in the space under the "Hobbies" sign but was forced to move the its current smaller space some time ago. If you look on Google Maps, a hobbies store is indeed at the 16-02 addrss. Also, it appears the store used to be called Nagengast Hobbies, not NHS. (The name Nagengast, in small letters, still appears on the old sign.) The old space was at least twice as big as the new one.
Wonder why they changed the name from Nagengast to the much-less-appealing NHS? And why didn't they take the great Hobbies sign with them? If anyone has extra information about this business, please write.
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Because it used to be Nagengast Hardware and Hobbies. They only moved last year.
ReplyDeleteAnd sadly, the last commenter on my post was right.
Queens Crapper is key-rect. I used to frequent the old location in search of old, collectible model kits buried under the junk on the shelves.
ReplyDeleteI was 12 years old back in 1980. My brother and I used to go there on Saturdays and pick up a locomotive and play all day on the train layout. And yes it was Nagengast. I still remember the proprietors.
ReplyDeleteI went there as a boy 25 years ago i remember seeing the big rc gas he Loganville from the ceiling
ReplyDeleteThat sign is actually at 68-02 Fresh Pond Rd, not 16-02 (a non-existent address)
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