I love stumbling on New York’s ghost signs – essentially, signs or advertisements for businesses long since deceased. I wrote about the great stationery store sign hanging on Broadway just north of Canal Street a year ago (I promise, that arrow doesn’t lead to greeting cards anymore): Anyway, I was driving by the intersection yesterday,…
I was walking past this art deco apartment building on East 67th Street yesterday… …when I noticed a series of really neat animal designs surrounding this side entrance. Above the door, a bulldog: Perched in the corners are an unhappy-looking dog and a menacing-looking rabbit: And above the entrance is this fanciful relief: It seemed…
If you’ve ever been annoyed at the fact that most of Fifth Avenue’s mansions probably don’t want you knocking at their front door, do yourself a favor and check out one most don’t realize is open to the public: the Ukrainian Institute at the corner of 79th Street and Fifth Ave, built in 1899 as…
I have to admit, when I saw the incredible two-story mansard roof of 881 Broadway (at 19th Street) illuminated from a nearby rooftop recently… …the first thing that came to mind was the Addams Family mansion: 881 Broadway / 115 Fifth Ave has always been one of my favorite buildings in Manhattan for its rooftop…
Not sure how long this graffiti has been up on White street east of Broadway, but it always makes my day a little better when I happen to walk by it. Happy Mothers Day! -SCOUT
Some time ago, I had the opportunity to scout the defunct Grumman airplane factory in Bethpage, Long Island. Once the leading manufacturer of everything from F-14’s to the Apollo Lunar Module, Grumman was bought by a larger company in the 1990’s and moved out of Bethpage. The enormous complex is now being converted into residential…
You’ve probably passed 225 Lafayette Street at the corner of Spring Street in Soho a zillion times in your travels and not thought much of it. Built in 1909, it was converted to condos in 1988; a typical unit now goes for over $1.5 million. The ground floor space, formerly the East River Savings Bank,…
This past Christmas, my aunt gave me a really neat gift she found in storage. Apparently, my grandmother took a trip to New York sometime in what must have been the 1950’s or early 60’s, and purchased one of those souvenir tablecloths with a cartoon tourist map of New York. The artwork is great, but…
Note: Most of this has since been torn down. When I heard the rumors that Satan’s real estate division, Thor Equities, was allegedly planning to tear down some of the last remaining historic buildings in Coney Island in fear they might acquire landmark status (including the old Coney Island Bank below), I actually felt a…
There’s a strange little building at the corner of Lafayette and Howard Street, and for years, I’ve wondered what the story is with it: The small portion on the left is a tiny one-level office, with the facade extending to cover the wall of a parking garage, whose entrance is through that roll-gate on the…