Scrubbed Clean of at Least One Layer of History

The iconic Coney Island boardwalk concession Paul's Daughter, formerly known as Gregory and Paul's, and in the same family hands since 1962, was forced to close last fall when the boardwalk's new landlord, the Italy-based Zamperla USA, rejected their business plans. You can read the heartbreaking story here.

Here's the building today, scrubbed free of all its once-wonderful character, save the familiar figures on the roof holding aloft a burger and a brew. (You can see the business in its glory days in the picture far below.)

Now that the Paul's Daughter signage is gone, though, you can see that the building has a mercantile history that went beyond 1962. Among the words in the remaining, overlapping painted signage are "Ball" (maybe "Ballroom"), Prizes," "Variety," "Discount" and "Gallery," as well as some other words I can't make out. Layers of history.