"Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York" - Redux!

"Then-n-Now!"

For years, in bookstores, I've always found myself skimming through the amazing photo book, "Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York," by photographers James and Karla Murray. A decade after publishing the book, the Murrays have gone back to re-photograph the same storefronts to highlight how much they've changed (or, stayed the same) over 10 years. (Original photos are from the early 2000s.) Interestingly, I've always planned on doing the same thing (re-photograph the 'best of' NYC Corners) in five or ten years. Here's are some of James' and Karla's more "corner-friendly" samples...

10th St & 2nd Ave, East Village, 2nd Ave Deli

1st St & 2nd Ave, East Village (Mars Bar)

 





























Carmine & Bleecker, Greenwich Village



125th St & Morningside Ave, Harlem

N 5th & Bedford [SW Corner] (February, 2013)

Bicycles, graffiti, and Chabad of North Brooklyn in Williamsburg.         CLICK TO ENLARGE

109th & 3rd Ave [NE Corner] (March 2014)

An abandoned building in East Harlem, its windows cemented shut with cinder blocks. This stretch of "Spanish Harlem" isn't as bleak as it looks in this photo, though. Especially when New JFK Fried Chicken & Pizza offers "Breakfast-Burgers-Pizza-Seafood-Ice Cream-Soda."     CLICK TO ENLARGE

Flushing Ave & St. Nicholas Ave [Bushwick, Brooklyn] (March 2014)

The graffiti / street art scene in Bushwick, Brooklyn is strong to very strong.      CLICK TO ENLARGE

34th & 5th Ave (Then and Now) [1940 and 2014]

"Then-n-Now!"

In 1940, the corner building, directly across from the Empire State Building, housed Fine Bros (which Google doesn't seem to know anything about) and Dr. Scholl's Foot Comfort Shop. It also featured some nice 'eyebrow'-like architectural features on the roof line. In the foreground, the "LON" ledge represents the northeast corner of the Empire State Building. A 1940s man appears to be urinating on that ledge. Today, it is home to Heartland Brewery. And, apparently the Fifth Avenue traffic direction has changed from north (1940) to south (2014).  CLICK TO ENLARGE
[Thanks to David Zar @zarpropertyny for sending this 1940 photo]

Here's a bonus photo of the very beginning of the Empire State Building construction in 1930 (from WiredNewYork)

Broome St & Mott St (February 2013)

Old folks make their way through the snow in Chinatown, near Oro Bakery and Bar.  CLICK TO ENLARGE

8th & Avenue D [NW Corner] (February 2014)

Adames Deli Grocery bodega in the East Village, Alphabet City. In the background: A Con Edison smokestack and the Stuyvesant Town residential development.     CLICK TO ENLARGE

Pearl St & Fletcher St [September 2012]

Serving the downtown Manhattan / Financial District area for more than 50 years, Pearl Diner was closed for nearly 6 months after Hurricane / Superstorm Sandy. (This photo was taken a month before the storm). It reopened in March of 2013. Classic Diner. Classic Neon Sign.  CLICK TO ENLARGE

St. Marks & Ave A [SW Corner] (June 2012)

EVGrieve says:  "The Sushi Lounge closed at the end of October ... and eventually relocated a block and a half to the west on St. Mark's Place. Alex Stupak, the chef at Empellón Cocina and Empellón Taqueria, plans to open his third restaurant here."         CLICK TO ENLARGE

29th & Broadway [NW Corner] (August 5, 2012)

NYC's NoMad neighborhood (NOrth of MADision Square Park).        Click to Enlarge

4th St & Lafayette [SE Corner] (1984)

Who remembers the Tower Records in Greenwich Village? It was a fixture on East 4th Street and Lafayette from 1984 through 2006. Today, the space is occupied by MLB Fan Cave, I think. MTV's Kurt Loder said, "Keith Richards used to live upstairs, directly above Tower Records, so he was always outside there late at night walking his dog. And you'd walk up and talk to him, and you wouldn't be able to understand a word he was saying." [I wish I could remember where I found this great photo.]        CLICK TO ENLARGE

27th & Park Ave [SE Corner] (October 2013)

A giant shopping cart with a motor drives down Park Avenue in front of Sarabeth's in the Flatiron neighborhood. The crazy cart is a promotional tool for "Guy's Grocery Games," a Food Network show hosted buy Guy Fieri of "Diners Drive-ins and Dives" fame. Thanks to the lovely and talented @mamamoffa for the photo.

Delancey & Orchard [NW Corner] (August 2013)

Girls walk by Cohen's Fashion Optical on the Lower East Side. The sign for S Beckenstein on Orchard Street can be seen in the background. This fabric emporium was launched here in 1910 by a Polish immigrant pushcart peddler. The business has since moved to 32 West 20th Street in Chelsea / Flatiron.              CLICK TO ENLARGE

Spring & Elizabeth [SW Corner] (November 18, 2012)

barmarche in Nolita. NY Mag says, "The quirky little bistro picks up the quickening pulse of this neighborhood just east of Soho," and "[they] dispense perfect shrimp in a super-creamy killer risotto," and "the house burger is a juicy triumph."              CLICK TO ENLARGE

Graffiti Truck [Flatiron] (September 2013)

An Angry Birds-themed graffiti truck parked in front of Cosi sandwich shop in the Flatiron neighborhood.                                     CLICK TO ENLARGE