Oyster Bar Neon Sign Found on Delancey

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 bought it and salvaged it. I think it actually looks better on the desolate corner of Delancey and Allen.

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.

Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Kaye's Footwear

Old Kaye's Footwear, which once sold Florsheim Shoes in San Francisco's Chinatown, doesn't exist anymore, but the handsome sign lives on.

Lost City: New Orleans Edition: A Good Sign: McKenzie's

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.

Lost City: New Orleans Edition: A Good Sign: Dixie Bottle Beer

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.

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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Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Little City Market

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.

Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Stella Pastry

Stella Pastry and Cafe is located in the once-heavily Italian neighborhood of North Beach. It was founded in 1942. They brag they are the birthplace of the dessert Sacripantina: "a multilayered cake made with a vanilla sponge cake, zabaione (a delicate custard made with egg yolks, sweet butter, marsala and sherry wine) cream, and rum. We have a patent on the name and the unique dome shape and over the years it has become a San Francisco tradition."

Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Gaspere's

Now, on the website for Gaspere's, a pizzeria in the Richmond section of San Francisco, it says this family restaurant opened in 1985. Does that facade and that sign look like it was put up in 1985? Not to me. Both of the signs light up at night.

Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Khan Toke Thai House

Nice old-school, yellow, inner-lit sign at the Khan Toke Thai House in the Richmond section of San Francisco.

Lost City: San Francisco Edition: A Good Sign: Marquard's Little Cigar Store

"A Good Sign" hardly seems to do justice to the former Marquard's on O'Farrell and Powell Streets in downtown San Francisco. How about "A Really Good Sign," or "A Great Freaking Sign!"?

Marquard's Little Cigar Store certainly didn't have a little sign. The sprawling signage—more of a marquee/awning/canopy than a sign, really—embraces the entire corner. Sadly, the sign is all that remains of Marquard's; there a rinky-dink hat shop in that corner space now. The building was erected in 1907. The cigar shop and newsstand (note the neon New York Times sign) went out of business in 2005, but the City happily declared the sign a landmark worth preserving.

A Good Sign: Rizzo's Fine Pizza

Old New York Pizzeria's often have good signage, but typically not of the neon sort. Rizzo's Fine Pizza in Astoria is a happy exception. That's got to be one of the peachier neon signs I've ever seen on a slice joint. And how many pizzeria's chose to describe their cuisine as "fine"?

Rizzo's was founded in 1959 by the brothers Joseph and Salvatore Rizzo, along with their brother-in-law Hugo Lupi. Squares are the order of the day here. Rizzo's specializes in thin-crust Sicilian, an unusual pizza genre.

Lost City: New Brunswick Edition: A Good Sign: Walk Rite Shoes & Shoe Repair

Cute little store on George Street in New Brunswick, NJ. There's another Walk Rite in Newark. A mini-chain? The diner next to this shop isn't a bad joint, either. 

Lost City: Chicago Edition: A Good Sign: Grace's Furniture

This fabulous sign—much too fabulous for a furniture store—is just off Logan Square in Chicago, on Milwaukee Avenue. Carpeting, Appliances, Easy Credit. Grace really spelled it out for you.

The sign's not as old as it looks. Grace's Furniture was founded in 1974 by Julio and Digna Martinez. It was named after their daughter. It went out of business in 2010.

Here's the other side of the sign: 

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A Good Sign: Hong Kong Tailor Jack

On Waverly Place in Greenwich Village. Jack's been there since 1987, which is odd, since the store and the sign look far older.

Famous Oyster Bar Sign Saved

Soon after I wrote about midtown's circa-1959 Famous Oyster Bar for a "Who Goes There?" column in 2013, the joint gave up the ghost. The restaurant closed in January 2014, pushed out by a greedy landlord.

The good news is the classic neon sign—always the best thing about the place—has been saved. Bowery Boogie reports that Grey Lady co-owner Ryan Chadwick purchased the twin signs, and will soon attach them to the facade of his establishment at Allen and Delancey Streets.

Lost City: Indiana Edition: A Good Sign: The Linebacker Inn

The Linebacker Inn, a South Bend bar within throwing distance of the Notre Dame football stadium, wins "A Good Sign" kudos three times over, for the above beauty...

...and this more humble, Coca-Cola-sponsored relic on the side...

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A Good Sign: Cinema Village

Cinema Village, on E. 12th Street in the Village, is one of the last great, small, movie theatres left in the city. It typically shows foreign and indy films, and retains a distinctly movies-as-art-conscious aesthetic. The movie house was built in 1963. I don't know how it's hung on all these years. It's wonderful neon sign—currently only half lit up—dates from its founding. I find the aquamarine hue very soothing.

Lost City: Milwaukee Edition: The Signs of Downer Avenue

Downer Avenue, a bit to the north of downtown Milwaukee, goes on for some length, but only about two blocks of it are devoted to commerce. But what a two blocks they are.

Despite the presence of a Starbuck's, much of the street is dedicated to businesses that have been there a good spell. And old businesses means old signs. Above is the marquee to the Downer Theatre, which has been in business for a century and is the oldest operating movie theatre in Milwaukee. It's the anchor of the area.

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A Good Sign: Mayday Hardware

It's a riot of wonderful signage over at Mayday Hardware in Prospect Heights. Vertical signs, horizontal signs, hanging signs. It could have been designed by Alexander Calder.

Mayday (great name) has been around since 1964. It's owned by Jerry Walsh, who started working there in 1966. Accounts of this place on the web are bonkers. Some love Jerry, and some say the service is incredibly rude, and the prices jacked up. ("Jerry is the best!" "I'll never go there again!") The  responses are so varied, it's like the store is bi-polar. Jerry apparently smokes cigars in the store, which irks some.

Lost City: Milwaukee Edition: A Good Sign: Leon's Custard

Leon's has been serving superlative custard in south Milwaukee since 1942. The roadside sign, dating from the '50s, is a work of art. The stand itself, seen below, ain't so bad either. Local legend has it that Leon's was the inspiration for Arnold's, the drive-in featured in "Happy Days."