tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215548992024-03-17T09:55:59.504-07:00Lost CityA running Jeremiad on the vestiges of Old New York as they are steamrolled under or threatened by the currently ruthless real estate market and the City Fathers' disregard for Gotham's historical and cultural fabric.
Est. January 2006.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.comBlogger3952125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-46724284594351370832014-10-09T07:17:00.001-07:002014-10-09T07:17:38.168-07:00Oyster Bar Neon Sign Found on Delancey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLB6TflMaKy3rnjipobe8och8r5LonrwuCD4c63WzV4FjFzYCPHj3An9r5HBzCT1VKPct0Dp1lYwA4t7eIuEDIExjx292-Po1Audgl84yGzXcxdR27_rwtCWHE_HjRiQBKc60/s1600/OysterBar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLB6TflMaKy3rnjipobe8och8r5LonrwuCD4c63WzV4FjFzYCPHj3An9r5HBzCT1VKPct0Dp1lYwA4t7eIuEDIExjx292-Po1Audgl84yGzXcxdR27_rwtCWHE_HjRiQBKc60/s1600/OysterBar.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was walking down Delancey some weeks ago when my eye was caught be this corner restaurant. "I know that sign," I thought to myself. I went in an inquired at Grey Lady, the restaurant in question, and sure enough: it was the classic, double-sided neon sign that hung for more than fifty years over the Famous Oyster Bar at 54th Street and Seventh Avenue, until it went out of business in January 2014. The owners had <a href="http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2014/03/famous-oyster-bar-sign-saved.html">bought it </a>and salvaged it. I think it actually looks better on the desolate corner of Delancey and Allen.<br />
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As some of you have doubtless noticed, I haven't posted much lately. I have been busy working on a couple books and a variety of other activities. So, for the time being, I'm going to let Lost City rest as a sort of permanent document of what New York was, and what New York has lost in the past decade. I will occasionally post when the spirit moves me. I've put too much into the site to let it die completely. In the meantime, thanks to everyone and anyone who visits this blog and loves New York.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-26115357424021103072014-10-07T09:12:00.003-07:002014-10-07T09:12:49.108-07:00New Photo of Cariero's Restaurant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfzowT6ptQ9wWZewDxL1bD-pP7arbjnx2B7HeOOKtk0CVLMS39ZJS5nRfQ35DX3GGDx-MQuRGaCwPDY-tt5mC1tSdenFxILP3PTPqUmy2H-r0ga_Eqa0jg0zU1nEmqNTTZHIY/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfzowT6ptQ9wWZewDxL1bD-pP7arbjnx2B7HeOOKtk0CVLMS39ZJS5nRfQ35DX3GGDx-MQuRGaCwPDY-tt5mC1tSdenFxILP3PTPqUmy2H-r0ga_Eqa0jg0zU1nEmqNTTZHIY/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="450" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have been chronicling the history of Cafiero's Restaurant for five years or so now and accumulated quite a cache was previously unseen, private photographs of the once-legendary Brooklyn restaurant by now.<br />
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Here's a new arrival. I was told it was taken in the 1930s, when the restaurant was relatively fresh to President Street. (It would last until the 1970s when owner "Sharkey" Cafiero retired and closed it down for good, breaking the hearts of many.) However, it looks just like one I have on which the date "1949" is written. Whatever. It's still one of the best photos I've seen. For more, click <a href="http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/search?q=cafiero%27s">here</a>.<br />
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What I still lack is an actual artifact from the place: a napkin, ashtray, menu, advertisement, plate, anything. I know it wasn't the kind of place that printed menus, or advertised, or have dishware with its name on it. But I keep hoping.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-7734061278512307652014-09-03T11:19:00.001-07:002014-09-03T11:19:03.887-07:00Because They Can't Leave Anything Alone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVy25HbcoEQZXRWGuvcLCt-0zIoZ42rZ5WlxmAj7P4XwQl_Upogl27Jy4VAkXAiTDsr0u92bGXZb7wBmVQQP0-4eqHFXE-Vve0fVWc-fn32KL9yBSpdUKWC5_FhOl_4OFcmkwu/s1600/Burger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVy25HbcoEQZXRWGuvcLCt-0zIoZ42rZ5WlxmAj7P4XwQl_Upogl27Jy4VAkXAiTDsr0u92bGXZb7wBmVQQP0-4eqHFXE-Vve0fVWc-fn32KL9yBSpdUKWC5_FhOl_4OFcmkwu/s1600/Burger.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I was walking up Avenue A about a month ago when I notice a lot of scaffolded over the building that houses the Gracefully deli—apparently the future home of the New York Sports Club. I peered more closely behind the wood and metal and mesh and noticed that, in their refurbishment of the building, the vandals had taken down the distinctive, vertical, block sign that had for decades announced the address as the former home of <a href="http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2008/11/burger-klein.html">Burger Klein.</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisp-sZVbbyGDoL9zau4563K2oGOomimN34jLb7jM0_-l4n6NfBtsHEjtLlz2cDf17_Hkn5apGsiEu-6iH3ZYNWnDyM05HQ10e3bZuO6hTyEekDlQ3nrq9kSGXttbqFIXc1oZ5Y/s1600/Burger2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisp-sZVbbyGDoL9zau4563K2oGOomimN34jLb7jM0_-l4n6NfBtsHEjtLlz2cDf17_Hkn5apGsiEu-6iH3ZYNWnDyM05HQ10e3bZuO6hTyEekDlQ3nrq9kSGXttbqFIXc1oZ5Y/s1600/Burger2.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Burger-Klein was a large furniture store owned by Morris Klein and a person named Burger whose first name I can not discover. My guess is they founded their shop well before the Burger King fast food chain came to prominence. Otherwise, they might have paused before naming their business. <div>
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I loved that sign. It had been left there so long it was almost a local landmark, and a nice reminder of the Jewish past of the East Village (then called the Lower East Side). But, of course, they had to rip it down. Because it was old. And you rip down things that are old. Because they're of no use.<br /><br /></div>
Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-51239230265233282642014-08-28T08:58:00.001-07:002014-08-28T08:58:33.426-07:00Wooden Phone Booth Sighting: Kew Gardens Cinema<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XYR7Ff6csPbhAw9ZwapFOBH8ZtlosDlAFyIV0I4QtbF4iHROMV0qZ04IfL_iM5SW6M2DlC9yRyr3iY13Ju7CPPmJBgGTzcJUxwHLkFvplD9WJGB4CmvwdHEN9Xz__VwCndJG/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7XYR7Ff6csPbhAw9ZwapFOBH8ZtlosDlAFyIV0I4QtbF4iHROMV0qZ04IfL_iM5SW6M2DlC9yRyr3iY13Ju7CPPmJBgGTzcJUxwHLkFvplD9WJGB4CmvwdHEN9Xz__VwCndJG/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I don't think I've ever posted an item regarding Kew Gardens. Well, that changes today, as a kind reader sent me this photo of a wooden phone booth on view inside Kew Gardens Cinema.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-52329526787140960812014-07-27T07:51:00.000-07:002014-07-27T07:51:06.342-07:00Old Deli Sign Uncovered on Upper Broadway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqi9adalm-_6XFbrKg54-beTq8u-OnQGQOTQYus0tuC3n7_QSqXM5Eakx_DhrP3fJR7QxuoxxbRNYwEqby_fep7w3xbjxbMkJsBbB032hsSTFcEXJ77YPdcp2IMPUCvm-JhY6q/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqi9adalm-_6XFbrKg54-beTq8u-OnQGQOTQYus0tuC3n7_QSqXM5Eakx_DhrP3fJR7QxuoxxbRNYwEqby_fep7w3xbjxbMkJsBbB032hsSTFcEXJ77YPdcp2IMPUCvm-JhY6q/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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A reader sent to me this photo of a lovely old Delicatessen sign that was uncovered during construction on a storefront at Broadway and 103rd. Can't make out the first word—that is, the name of the place. Lovely font on the sign.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-62429157967701479502014-07-25T15:49:00.002-07:002014-07-25T15:49:31.142-07:00ANOTHER Giambelli's Memory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZViai3YShSoMn3g5JANGIoFSNF-wm2q3sIrkEI1lilVsq-HLSDKwabqgkZFNJy0031LKGQsONffPEfpAB41RcORpGOhFnXEo4BdCXq3-IdnNsRNkq0-9DQmH8OmeFEqTkSWde/s1600/P1000549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZViai3YShSoMn3g5JANGIoFSNF-wm2q3sIrkEI1lilVsq-HLSDKwabqgkZFNJy0031LKGQsONffPEfpAB41RcORpGOhFnXEo4BdCXq3-IdnNsRNkq0-9DQmH8OmeFEqTkSWde/s1600/P1000549.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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I have to say, Giambelli's must have been some place. I wrote about it's <a href="http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/search?q=giambelli%27s">closing</a>, after 50 years on E. 50th Street, five years ago. And the comments and memories keep flowing in. Makes me hurt inside that I never went there. </div>
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This one came the other day. It's from "Peniche" in New Zealand (!). Just read and marvel:<br />
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...We used to dine at Giambelli regularly in the mid 1970s. One evening we arrived to find the restaurant gutted for renovation. As we turned to leave a diminutive, but immaculate gentleman on the sidewalk introduced himself. 'I am Francesco Giambell...please!' and indicated a stretch Cadillac, sat beside the driver and took us to Mercurios. He asked my name, led us into the restaurant clapping his hands announcing 'Champagne for Senor Peniche and his party,' saw that we were well seated and returned to Giambelli for more customers. I have thereafter been called 'Peniche' by my friends although the name only vaguely resembles my own.</blockquote>
Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-89153427921339675052014-07-03T01:00:00.000-07:002014-07-03T01:00:12.013-07:00The History of the Valley Candle Company <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli3PAaNq_h8gM6vp5he_AOOmo17-Jl4f2c-63Wob48tytFynTE-_QsD4DUPdFq5ME-xyTvaZbkkfg7PXA0N_bcRXD0qRGbFzaTgIV-YkQH-3JHhpcjmuLckfbQgxybpjU9avZ/s1600/Valley+Candel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli3PAaNq_h8gM6vp5he_AOOmo17-Jl4f2c-63Wob48tytFynTE-_QsD4DUPdFq5ME-xyTvaZbkkfg7PXA0N_bcRXD0qRGbFzaTgIV-YkQH-3JHhpcjmuLckfbQgxybpjU9avZ/s1600/Valley+Candel.jpg" height="406" width="640" /></a></div>
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A couple years ago, I posted an <a href="http://lostnewyorkcity.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-blowing-up-of-valley-candle-company.html">item</a> about how the television series "Miami Vice," in 1985, was allowed to blow up up an old business on Columbia Street called the Valley Candle Company.<br />
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I didn't know much about the company when I wrote that post. Since then, however, I've been contacted by a descendent of the company's founder. That was Saverio DellaValle, pictured below. (Hence, the name of the business.) Saverio came to Brooklyn from Naples in 1905. He made religious candles and delivered them to the churches in NYC. An open-minded businessman, he also made candles for the religious Jewish holidays. There were family stories that, while he was making candles, Saverio ran a still running in the factory during Prohibition. There's an enterprising gent!<br />
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The family sold the business in the '70s.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr4_YbmJW_lkxM8gzXTcJWPfon_PFkITNptDz7kmP7d3lj1tNdOhLL9ZQUqnFw2yjNzqt9O0jX5gpVPTuVLxoT8tnuRZ8MIN00KuCzEtN1n7SKB8xRslVGtcHFazaWwsNRRGL/s1600/20140226181622_00034A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDr4_YbmJW_lkxM8gzXTcJWPfon_PFkITNptDz7kmP7d3lj1tNdOhLL9ZQUqnFw2yjNzqt9O0jX5gpVPTuVLxoT8tnuRZ8MIN00KuCzEtN1n7SKB8xRslVGtcHFazaWwsNRRGL/s1600/20140226181622_00034A.jpeg" height="640" width="427" /></a></div>
<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-88343125495743789302014-07-02T06:37:00.000-07:002014-07-02T06:37:19.197-07:00Lost City: San Francisco Edition: Random Sign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEing4Y3fIw2RcsGuH4dm5dtWlGXqsEVUFdndPlEyhrQlk7JttZYTvIPIQnNxS7H3-_uQXgQ7DwpYnSW3qHMybBdliL8grszdgbFzn7Snq-1k_eMGbKC-SXH2ePweGKrJqW2g_S-/s1600/IMG_1692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEing4Y3fIw2RcsGuH4dm5dtWlGXqsEVUFdndPlEyhrQlk7JttZYTvIPIQnNxS7H3-_uQXgQ7DwpYnSW3qHMybBdliL8grszdgbFzn7Snq-1k_eMGbKC-SXH2ePweGKrJqW2g_S-/s1600/IMG_1692.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Looks like I have some globe-trotting readers. A native of Edinburgh, who was recently traveling in San Francisco, snapped this shot from a taxi on mid-Market Street. "The building was having a complete renovation, and this was briefly exposed in the process," wrote the reader. "I’m assuming that it was formerly a pawn broker."Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-46090965911983574742014-06-30T14:38:00.000-07:002014-06-30T14:38:10.359-07:00Wooden Phone Booth Sighting: Harmonie Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0tUjjfksSPtXDdVa3OuI6SbSv9QFiiDKC0SPiisBVf5F5WYNVRtEuETQOAX98jwTLhRiGjlqW31EKRhAFpdfL5DJhu-614cW9joqoS7zVko0q7CfRJejSCs-czn6sqyr5aRl/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0tUjjfksSPtXDdVa3OuI6SbSv9QFiiDKC0SPiisBVf5F5WYNVRtEuETQOAX98jwTLhRiGjlqW31EKRhAFpdfL5DJhu-614cW9joqoS7zVko0q7CfRJejSCs-czn6sqyr5aRl/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="640" width="474" /></a></div>
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A reader who has been very good about spying old wooden phone booths in the City and sending me shots of them, has done so again!<br />
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This was taken inside the Harmonie Club at 4 E. 60th Street, a club I did not even know existed. The Harmonie Club was founded in 1852 and has been in its handsome McKim Mead and White designed building on 60th since 1904. "Jacket and Tie are Required. Shorts, sneakers or tennis shoes are not permitted at any time." My kind of place.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-51339656472118539372014-06-19T00:30:00.000-07:002014-06-19T00:30:01.762-07:00Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Kaye's Footwear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7ZpQPfXOJFUQtjfSen5rzeqacrR9u37pj929bRK8nyHherfrFVI9Om8v_kzJe75t619YMtC1uFDUYJOV5j8jixq1Bn_KvOExx95SJmwUvNj2f6gDDR0iDsFdgtvsQO9v4ZPS/s1600/Kayes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7ZpQPfXOJFUQtjfSen5rzeqacrR9u37pj929bRK8nyHherfrFVI9Om8v_kzJe75t619YMtC1uFDUYJOV5j8jixq1Bn_KvOExx95SJmwUvNj2f6gDDR0iDsFdgtvsQO9v4ZPS/s1600/Kayes.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Old Kaye's Footwear, which once sold Florsheim Shoes in San Francisco's Chinatown, doesn't exist anymore, but the handsome sign lives on.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-38504759115168965632014-06-17T01:30:00.000-07:002014-06-20T01:12:02.715-07:00Lost City: New Orleans Edition: A Good Sign: McKenzie's <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsuxRz3Cs6u4zgO_VodSJ1EwXGGZU2EiPZEXHed_DbEMcCbs7u45vCSXWyvYwwS9q8Jsspb8IOyid4pMTdEm4gsvCwIye6IDPww5bkwJ_bAShmcrBCQcRKTWuxL2dVhd1zKTr/s1600/McKenzie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsuxRz3Cs6u4zgO_VodSJ1EwXGGZU2EiPZEXHed_DbEMcCbs7u45vCSXWyvYwwS9q8Jsspb8IOyid4pMTdEm4gsvCwIye6IDPww5bkwJ_bAShmcrBCQcRKTWuxL2dVhd1zKTr/s1600/McKenzie.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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An old bit of signage in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans. It is currently the home of the Creole Creamery, an ice cream joint. McKenzie's, founded in the 1920s, was a bakery, and a bit of a legend in NOLA.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-28027032292199612882014-06-16T01:00:00.000-07:002014-06-16T01:00:09.889-07:00The Building With the Curved Cornice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqiGjjo7LjqHzPfKdNVT6pX7RB6coVYiBTlycu5D7xIo7LfVj4osyE0reGq0Ya88_geMUczv7ly6bHzzhO1AvD_DNn1lfJhzCqErzI37x4MqLij2Wn0wBWrm6oCbbrb4xxDlsa/s1600/Fulton+building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqiGjjo7LjqHzPfKdNVT6pX7RB6coVYiBTlycu5D7xIo7LfVj4osyE0reGq0Ya88_geMUczv7ly6bHzzhO1AvD_DNn1lfJhzCqErzI37x4MqLij2Wn0wBWrm6oCbbrb4xxDlsa/s1600/Fulton+building.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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I've long been intrigued by this small trick building on Fulton Mall, largely because of its unusual, curbed cornice, which appears to be original. I've not been able to find out anything about its past life. Anyone out there known anything?<br />
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-17940177444721928002014-06-13T00:30:00.000-07:002014-06-13T19:58:31.049-07:00Lost City: New Orleans Edition; A Perfect Storefront: United Hardware<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hole in the wall, bunker-like hardware store in New Orleans. Hard to believe it's in business. But it obviously is.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-49233450472159988542014-06-11T01:00:00.000-07:002014-06-11T01:00:04.098-07:00Lost City: New Orleans Edition: A Good Sign: Dixie Bottle Beer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This local juke joint in the Faubourg Marigny section of New Orleans shut down some time ago. But you still have to admire the frontage, with it's huge colorful, hand-painted sign advertising Dixie Bottle Beer and 35-cent highballs. At those prices, it must have been painted in the 1950s. In it's original form, Dixie existed from 1907 to 1989.<br />
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-87344937550735893062014-06-10T01:30:00.000-07:002014-06-10T01:30:00.182-07:00A Perfect Storefront: Franklin Street Laundromat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is just a laundromat on Franklin Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, that I like the look of. Guess what it's called? Franklin Street Laundromat. Old painted sign. Old brick building. Old stick-on letter advertising "Prompt Service," "Drop Off Service" and "Self Service." Every kind of service!<br />
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-89050668582244590512014-06-09T00:30:00.000-07:002014-06-09T00:30:00.936-07:00The Grandure of the 33rd Street Subway Stop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Most subway stations make you feel depressed and oppressed. They are dirty, crowded, filled with fetid air and not particularly attractive. A few raise your spirits.<br />
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I've always liked the 33rd Street Station on the 6 line, and am always surprised by its perhaps unintentional grandiosity whenever I climb down into it. It's a very low-sitting station and you have to descend a great flight of stairs to get to it. Nothing unusual there. Many subway stations lie far below the sidewalk. The difference here is that at 33rd Street you don't end up in a low-ceilinged, claustrophobic box, but in a spacious airy chamber with a great sense of flow and line.<br />
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The station was built in 1904 as part of the IRT, and is one of the oldest stations in the subway system. It has a lot of decorative and unusual ironwork, including a long, curving, cast-iron fence that separates the "lobby" from the platform, and some handsome pressed tin on the ceiling. That there's an iron fence instead of just a cement wall lends to the relative openness of the space.</div>
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Unnecessarily handsome-looking lamps suspended by poles at least six-feet long hang over the platform. The mosaics of an eagle holding the number 33 are original and date from the opening of the station. They were created by the firm of Heins & LaFarge/John H. Parry Company. The whole station was recently renovated. </div>
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-7980133074831802992014-06-06T02:00:00.000-07:002014-06-06T02:00:05.968-07:00The "L" Club For Women<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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An old, small building stuck amid newer, larger buildings always captures my attention. It's screams, "Another Era," "Holdover," "Survivor," "Relic" and like notions.<br />
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This four-story bit at 229 Lexington Avenue in Murray Hill did the trick with its recessed fourth floor and three stories of windows, indicated it once houses several different businesses. Those modest in proportions, it does stand out as an interesting piece of utilitarian architecture. And it seems to have survived intact.<br />
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This was until recently the home of Da Ciro Ristorante. It was there an impressive 20 years before closing on March 23 of this year. There were apparently many fans of its homey Italian fare, particularly the pizza, and service. It was run by Ciro Verdi, who was a pizza maker at Fred's in Barney's. The Times reviewed it well in 1995, calling it an "unpretentious little spot."<br />
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De Ciro may have been the building's classiest tenant. In 1926, this was the site of a laundry. The second floor was offices. In 1937, the situation was the same. However, in 1938, something interesting happened. It was converted into a social club for women "who have no home ties and limited social life." Here they could read, sew and such. It was named "The 'L' Club for Women." <i>Ahem</i>. Though the founders said the "L" stood for the minimum age of the member (L being the Roman numeral for 50), one can imagine that the name telegraphed something else to observers.<br />
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Either way, the club didn't last lost. By 1946, this was a store. In 1970, is was strike headquarters for the Women's Strike for Equality. In 1971, the second floor held the Murray Hill Democratic Club.<br />
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-71913147330244007602014-06-05T20:09:00.000-07:002014-06-05T20:09:03.202-07:00Ancient Hardware Store Makes Way for Condo Tower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've said it before, I'll say it again. Hardware stores are some the sturdiest businesses in New York. In nearly every neighborhood in New York, you'll find at least one longstanding, family-owned hardware store. They give a guy hope.<br />
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Vercesi Hardware on E. 23rd Street was one of the oldest in town—and increasingly incongruous on a major thoroughfare that had virtually nothing old about it. Sadly, it finally gave up the ghost last November. Now, it look like the building, and two others next to it, will be <a href="http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/06/03/gramercy-condo-building-on-old-hardware-site-to-rise-20-stories/">torn down</a> and replaces with a 20-story condo tower.<br />
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Vercesi Hardware actually wasn't a hardware store for all of its 100-year existence. It began in 1912 as a sheet music store. (Tin Pan Alley was nearby.) Then, it was a radio and television store during the 1930s. It only began to sell hardware and housewares beginning in 1960. There's adaptability for you.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-61245092194163474882014-06-05T00:30:00.000-07:002014-06-05T19:24:39.751-07:00An Old/New Hot Dog Joint<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's a bit of downtown Brooklyn that feels likes its remained unchanged since the 1950s. Actually, the business as we see it today, run by Tariq Khan and Anwar “Sha” Shazad, has been here at Fulton Street and Elm Place since 1982. 32 years—nothing to sneeze at.<br />
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The reason it looks so old is the owners recently gave the place a makeover that restore some of the signage to the state it was in the 1950s. Hence, the red and white striped awning and huge sign saying "Frankfurters." According to the owners, they have records going back a century of an eatery of some sort existing here. It's a welcome site, as it. Long narrow lunch counters such as this, in which the all-glass exteriors were completely open to street traffic, used to be common sights in New York, especially around Times Square. You go in, grab a dog, pay $1, and you're on your way. Convenience, New York style.<br />
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Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-12946206353734405372014-06-04T05:53:00.002-07:002014-06-04T05:53:45.781-07:00Death of a Liquor Store<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Noticed this gutted liquor store on an oddly shaped plot on Sixth Avenue between Walker and White, in Tribeca. This used to be the Brite Buy Liquor Store. It was a two-story building that stretch from this corner you see to the Tribeca Tavern next door. It wasn't anything to look at. Just a down-scale liquor story. But one of the last vestiges of a non-rarified Tribeca. The owners are turning the site into a restaurant. I guess they'll take the liquor sign down last. Those big neon signs are tough mothers to rip down.Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-73511067553951269682014-06-04T01:30:00.000-07:002014-06-04T01:30:01.037-07:00Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Little City Market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Little City Market is a butcher in the North Beach section of San Francisco. It's been in the Spinali family for three generations. The neon signs inside are just as good as the ones outside.<br />
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-74178717389730699972014-06-03T00:30:00.000-07:002014-06-03T00:30:05.027-07:00Gage & Tollner Building Falling Into Ruin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Gage & Tollner building was once a thing a beauty—the only thing of beauty, in fact, on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn for decades. Now, it is an eyesore.<br />
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The interior of the 19th-century restaurant is famously landmarked. That, of course, hasn't stopped the current occupant of the building—a low rent jewelry hawker—from covering over all the elegant woodwork and gas lamps with garish purple and pink display fixtures and posters. But the exterior of the historical building <i>also</i> enjoys city protection. This has given the landlord and the renter any pause in letting the structure fall apart. <br />
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The windows of the old revolving door are broken and have not been repaired. The plaster on the twin pillars on either side of the entrance has begun to fall apart. The hallway and stairway leading to the second floor are filthy. The carpet obviously hasn't been cleaned in years. There are ink stamps on the walls. On top of all that, the facade in general is dirty. And the damned Arby's sign—the last tenant—is still up there!<br />
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We are living in a time where Fulton Street is getting gentrified, with a Shake Shack and other fancy stores lately opening, and a Nordstrom's on the way. The landlord and renters have run afoul with the City many times in the past few years. Where is the Landmarks Commission to make sure that the one building that kept up appearances through all those lonely years doesn't fall apart?<br />
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-25751086862110654082014-06-02T00:30:00.000-07:002014-06-02T00:30:01.787-07:00The Saga of Flora Mir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This building on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Caton Avenue made me stop in my tracks. The facade seemed needlessly ornate and rococo. It reminded me of the old, long, one-story buildings you see here and there in the city that used to be the homes of Child's restaurants. For a moment I thought that this address itself might have been a Child's at one point.<br />
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A little research proved that theory wrong. Just as it is today, this structure was originally chopped up into various assorted businesses. In 1944, there was a poultry and egg shop here, a florist and a place offering electrolysis. And a few offices on the second floor. But the main operation, occupying the corner space, was a store called Flora Mir.<br />
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Flora Mir sold homemade candy. It was established in 1928 in New york by two cousins, Florence and Miriam Berman. (Hence the fancy-sounding name.) It appears to have been a chain of some sort, with many stores, and had "executive offices and kitchens" in Bushwick. In 1953, Flora Mir had eight stores in Manhattan, Long Island, Staten Island and New Jersey. You could also buy Flora Mir candies at other stores. (See below for an examples of the nice tins the candies came in.) I get the idea that they were sort of the Russell Stover of their day, the kind of box of chocolates you could buy in a card shop or variety store. In the 1950s, comedian Henny Youngman was a paid spokesman for the company.<br />
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The corporation seems to have gone down in rather spectacular fashion in the late 1960s. Flora Mir went public, with shares traded, and acquired four other candy companies across the nation. However, those acquisitions apparently didn't go well. By year's end, Flora Mir was entangled in various nasty-sounding legal tangles, and went bankrupt.<br />
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Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-62860570370934024312014-05-27T13:41:00.000-07:002014-05-27T13:41:21.657-07:00Lost City: San Francisco Edition: Molinari Delicatessen <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Molinari is a lovely old Italian delicatessen in the North Beach section of San Francisco. It's not much different from the sort of old Italian delis you'll find in Brooklyn or some parts of lower Manhattan. You'll find much the same assortment of Italian imports. The facade and window displays are pulled off with more art, however.<br />
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It was founded in 1896 as P.G. Molinari. P.G. was an Italian immigrant who landed as a teenager in San Francisco in 1884. There he learned the trade of dried sausage making as a salume factory. The original store was at 433 Broadway, but the earthquake took care of that. The second store opened in 1913 at 373 Columbus Street and stayed there. The facilities where all the sausage are made are elsewhere in San Francisco at a big facility, but the storefront remains.<br />
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They're know for their sandwiches. One nice touch: when you order a sandwich, you have to go and pick out the loaf of bread for the sandwich yourself and hand it over to the deli man.<br />
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Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21554899.post-22094503985233806002014-05-23T01:00:00.000-07:002014-05-23T01:00:06.453-07:00The Fighting Fish of Flatbush<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's a little ladies wear shop on Flatbush Avenue with an awful name and an awful garish awning. Not a place of great interest on the surface of it. Yet, the devil is in the details. Look up on the second floor of the small building and you find a curious stone ornament. The maritime-themed sculpture depicts two fierce-looking fish on either side of a seashell, their tails entwined around the sort of Triton that Neptune typically carried. I know from similar sculptures both here and in Europe, that those fish, despite their angry attitudes, are meant to dolphins.<br />
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So what fishy history lies in the past of 876 Flatbush Avenue?<br />
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A certificate of occupancy from the 1920s says this building had a store in the ground floor and a tea room on the second floor—where the fish insignia is. However, most City records treat this address as part of a large block that contained a variety of stores and restaurants, so it's hard to say what the specific history of the location is. I also cannot tell if this is an old building or a relatively new structure. Old photos from the 1940s show a small building with distinctive double-peaked facade—like a Swiss chalet or something—at this location. The building there today has a flat roof. It could be that he peaks were lopped off at some point, being considered to difficult to care for. Or maybe the entire older building was razed and this one put in its place.<br />
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And so, for now, the fish emblem remains a mystery. It could be, for all I know, an anonymous architectural flourish with no relation to the store within. Perhaps every other shop on Flatbush Avenue had a fighting fish. I don't know. It's these sort of things that keep one curious.<br />
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<br />Brooks of Sheffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18297071358029060908noreply@blogger.com1