Lost City: New Orleans Edition; A Perfect Storefront: United Hardware

Hole in the wall, bunker-like hardware store in New Orleans. Hard to believe it's in business. But it obviously is.

A Perfect Storefront: Franklin Street Laundromat

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!

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A Perfect Storefront: All Brooklyn Locksmith

How many services can you mention in the signage of an eight-foot-wide storefront? Not as many as All Brooklyn Locksmith does!

Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Perfect Storefront: Paradise Coffee & Donuts

There's nothing so special about this downtown San Francisco shop. There's certainly nothing historic. I just like it's general simplicity, along with the Coca-Cola sponsored signage, the old-style frontage with the indented entrance, the long narrow windows on the door, the thatch of ceramic tiling in front of the door and the rows of transom-like windows at the top. For added value, there's that line of neon-bright "fruit juice" jugs in the window. The liquid inside is sugary poison, but the bottles sure are pretty.

It's on a rough stretch of street—near a lot of big hotels, but also in the middle of area favored by prostitutes, druggies and the homeless. So, given that, you can take the place's name as either ironic or hopeful.

A Perfect Storefront: Astoria Music

Among the ugly chains stores on 30th Avenue in Astoria is this charming shoebox of an enterprise, Astoria Music, where you can buy musical instruments, get instruments repaired and take music lessons. All in that tiny place. I love the display window, with its hanging guitars and drum sets.

How old is Astoria Music? Would you believe, 1922? And always in the same location. It was founded by the Greek Badgetakis family, all of whom were musicians. In the 1960’s a grandson, John Badget, took over, and in 1982 George Phillips, also a musician and also Greek, bought the business.

During the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, the shop was also recording studio and record shop. If we are to believe the store's website, famous musicians who recorded or bought merchandise here included: "Tony Bennett, Jimmy Rushing, Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Junior Mance, Milt Jackson, Lenny Tristano, Bix Beiderbecke, Dizzy Gillespie, Ben Webster, Buck Clayton, Cannonball Adderly, Woody Herman, Clarence Williams, Eva Taylor, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, Mercer Ellington, Lena Horne, Ethel Merman, Illinois Jacquet, Charlie Mingus, Russell Jacquet, James P Johnson, Lester Young, Milt Hinton, Count Basie, Jimmy Heath, Nat Adderly, Benny Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Phil Schaap, Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry, Percy Heath, John Coltrane."

Hard to believe. But I hope it's true.

Perfect Storefront: Broadway Shoe Repair

This tiny place is either called Broadway Shoe Repair or Ban's Shoe Repair. (The signs vary.) It is at 272 Broadway, under the shadow of the Marcy Avenue elevated JMZ subway track. It's one of the last really old looking shops on that strip, which has become crowded with crummy chain stores. Note that, despite the narrow frontage, the shop managed to have an indented entrance and glass display cases on either side. Based on Yelp reviews I've read, the little shop boasts great service and low prices. Seems to be a vestige of an old-fashioned merchant work ethic.

A Perfect Storefront: Golden Pizza

Haven't done one of these in a while. But this pizzeria, encountered by accident during a trip to The Bronx, seemed to fit the bill, what with the corner space, the hand-painted signage on both sides of the storefront, and the upper signs with the illustration of the pizza man flipping dough.

Golden Pizza is in Mott Haven. It's at the corner of Brook Avenue and 138th Street. From the looks of the place, it was founded in the early 1970s, and no later. But who can tell? Places like this, there's very little recorded history about. But it has the feel of that kind of local pizzeria that neighborhood people have been depending on for decades. For the record, it's owned by two folks named Harjinger and Manginda Singh.

A Perfect Storefront, Ruined

Klenosky Paint on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was the first shop I showcased in the running column "A Perfect Storefront," a feature I occasionally use to spotlight what I called at the time "Gothamite street art, coming in the form of conscious, sub-conscious or unconscious mercantile design."

"What makes a perfect storefront?" I continued in that first column, which ran January 2010. "Well, a lot of things. Originality, for one. That doesn't mean the store owner has to be self-consciously bizarre or artful, just that they show a little character and individuality. One should be able to tell that the store is owned by a person or a family, not a corporation or chain... Great storefronts are almost always accidents of time, putting themselves together in haphazard style with the flipping calendar." There's further philosophizing here, should you wish to read it.

Apparently, Klenosky didn't see the beauty of their own storefront. I walked by the other day and found the "new and improved" facade you see above. To which I can only say, "Thanks, Benjamin Moore corporate overlords!" I guess the hanging sign wasn't enough for them. Moore had to have it all. The Moore engine won't be satisfied until their taken over the signage on every independently owned family paint and hardware shop in NYC.

Below, you can see the humble charm that once was. 

A Perfect Storefront: 3 Star Deli & Grocery

I haven't done one of these features in a while, but I couldn't pass up the chance to showcase this little York Avenue gem of a storefront. It's the old-school signage that primarily makes it, of course. (That sort of sign that lists exciting attractions found inside like "Newspapers, Hot Coffee..," etc., never gets old.) The seven-digit phone number, hanging sign and happy riot of color (blue facade, red awning, yellow sign) all contribute to the charm. The cryptic "Peaceful Deli" written on the awning adds a bit of mystery. And the name's not to be discounted. 3 Star Deli & Grocery. I guess that's according to a three-star rating system, right?

Here are some previous "Perfect Storefront" features. Looking back, I've posted more than I thought.

A Perfect Storefront: Elias Shoe Repair & Shine

It's a bit a of given in my universe that shoe repair shops often make for perfect storefronts—because they are compact; because they pack a lot of visual stimuli in their windows and doors; and because they rarely change over the decades (there is little business incentive to refurbish such a humble business.) Elias Shoe Repair is on W. 72nd Street on the Upper West Side.

A Perfect Storefront: Vacuum World

Vacuum stores are as rare as hen's teeth these days. So Vacuum World just tries harder!

You could spend half a day reading all the signage on the facade of this Riverdale shop. I love how they have the logos of every major vacuum maker on the main sign. (I have a Miele myself.) And vacuum-specific neon! Want to know how old the place is? Get ready. 74 years. Founded in 1938, which before the appliances became common sights in every household.

The current owner, for 47 years, is Len Morse, "a long-time, accomplished martial artist with 6 training videos to his credit. This hobby has given him the disipline to manage a successful store that continually exceeds customer expectations through unparalleled service." Wild. 

A Perfect Storefront: New Warsaw Bakery

I don't think I have to go into too much detail as to why the New Warsaw Bakery in Greenpoint is a perfect storefront. Tile signage! Looks like a painting! Salmon-colored!!

Believe it or now, the bakery is less than two decades old. You can buy a loaf directly from them if you ask nicely.

A Perfect Storefront: Stella Maris Fishing Station

Stella Maris Fishing Station is on Emmons Boulevard in Sheepshead Bay, with its back to the sea, and it's storefront is so perfect-looking that it's like a bait shop from central casting. (Nice Coca-Cola signs, but when do you think was the last time anyone went inside for a Coke?) The shop was founded in 1947. The website tells us this:

Here are some fishing rods we carry :

ugly stik, rouge, st Croix, star rods, plasma rods by star , shimano, tica, tsumani, seeker.

Here are some fishing reels we carry:

shimano, newell, penn, okuma, abu garica, avet, pro gear, delrin sidewinders 

We stock all fresh bait in season:

fresh bunker, fresh skimmers ( in shell or opened), mussels

We stock all live bait in season:

live eels, sand-worms, blood-worms, earth-worms, trout-worms, meal-worms, fiddler crabs, green crabs, white crabs, hermit crabs

A Perfect Storefront: Leopoldi Hardware

I haven't done one of these "A Perfect Storefront" features in a long while. But as I passed Park Slope's Leopoldi True Value Hardware on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, I thought it certainly justified an entry.

What is it about old New York hardware purveyors that makes them want to take up every inch of facade space of the building they occupy? I see it again and again, most notably with the sprawling Bruno Hardware in downtown Brooklyn. It's a very 19th-century urge. I count six signs of various styles here. I guess the fact that Leopoldi didn't go beyond the second floor should be counted as a sign of restraint. Still, despite the riot of colors and fonts, the overall feeling is very harmonious, very lived-in. The cloth awning helps soften the effect.

The place has been serving Park Slope since 1966. Currently, there are three generations of Leopoldis working in the store.

A Perfect Storefront: Crete Tire Service

Surely, there's no other storefront in the City quite like this corner tire service joint on 31st Street in Astoria. It's quite an old business, I believe, from the looks of the inside. The genius here, of course, is the wild parade of signs and advertisements, in both English and Greek, with a little graffiti tagging and an orange traffic cone thrown in for good measure.

A Perfect Storefront: Park Slope Grocery and Convenient

This storefront comes right at you as you pass it on Fourth Avenue with a rush of letters, colors and lights. The goodies to be found inside are as equally extolled on the western and southern sides of the shop as they are at the corner. I do love a place that hawks the cardinal corner-store attractions of yesteryear: Candies, Sodas, Ice Cream, Cigarettes, Newpaper, Magazines, Cold Beer. All the easily had things you need to make you happy.

Details of the old facade are still visible around the door. But the most wonderful things about the storefront are hidden on the sides of the main sign.

On one side you have a giant image of the iconic New York "We Are Pleased to Serve You" cup. On the other, a one of a kind, homemade image of a giant Pepsi can, surrounded by lots of little, adoring cans.

Oh, and you can't discount the fact that Park Slope Grocery has made an adjective part of their name. They are a "Convenient" Store. Is that sort of like an Appetizing Store?

A Perfect Storefront: Wash Dry

There's a certain poetry in the ramshackle appearance of the Eighth Avenue and 13th Street laundromat in Park Slope. The fake folksy brickface joined to the swingingly modern red diamonds spelling out "Wash" and "Dry" on both sides. And everything's been left to thrillingly go to pot. The facade is caked in dirt and water-stained. The ribbed metal awnings have been faded by the sun. The metal gates on the windows are rusted. The plants are dead. Even the plastic seats outside are barely there, barely recognizable as chairs. And yet, business inside goes briskly on, chugging away. It's a disaster. Yet, it's wonderful-looking.

A Perfect Storefront: Ray's Pizza

This is the actual original Ray's, on Sixth Avenue and 11th Street. I think it's the abundance of large windows that really makes this corner storefront. The life inside the the store—pizzas being made behind a checked counter, pizza beaten eaten in a spacious dining area—is clearly visible even from across the block. It adds to the life and vibrancy of the street. And at night, the with light pouring out of the windows, the shop seems to fairly glow and bubble with positive activity. The fine, if simple, signage, handsomely lit from above, as opposed to within, only adds to the address' old-fashioned cheeriness. I don't usually eat at Ray's, but I always smile when I pass by the store.

A Perfect Storefront: Jr. & Son

This Williamsburg storefront very aptly expresses the nature of this business: an old neighborhood bar that doesn't want to attract too much unneeded attention. Tan brick, brown awning, brown door, small windows. Not even a phone number on the awning, or something telling hours of operation. The only touch of whimsy are the martini glass silhouettes on the awning. That is, unless you count the name, in which a man named Jr. has a Son, which is sort of like saying Jr. & Jr.

A Perfect Storefront: Waverly Restaurant

Little wrong with the urban aesthetics on this Greenwich Village storefront. A corner location; attractive, multi-colored (and completely lit) neon coming at you from the north, and west and on the diagonal; "Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner." giving you the city-never-sleeps message; a white-painted facade so the overall effect doesn't get too heavy. Plus, a subway entrance right alongside for that percent metropolitan touch. Hollywood couldn't do it any better.

Other Perfect Storefronts