Remnants of the Old W-burg Shopping Districts
I love seeing these signs gracing lamp poles in the North Williamsburg area because, to my understanding, they were put up long before the area went through its current day gentrification. Sort of like if you put in shopping district signs, maybe a shopping district will follow?
But North Williamsburg is not the only neighborhood with a shopping area. South Williamsburg apparently does too, as evidenced by this (way better) sign I noticed for the first time today at Broadway and Havemeyer:
And in fact, if you go east to Hooper St and Broadway, you’ll find that the “Broadway West” neighborhood has a shopping district too, and frankly, the best sign around (even though mentally, I think of it as being East Williamsburg).
The latter two neighborhoods have a little ways to go before they reach the success of North Williamsburg, but the way things are going, it’ll happen in my lifetime. I hope these signs stick around.
-SCOUT
There’s also the signs that say ‘Bargain District’ all around the lower east side, Rivington, Stanton, Ludlow, that area. They make me laugh
Oh, I love these signs. There are some matching ‘Shop Broadway East’ signs if you continue further, ummm, east. I especially enjoy the ‘Broadway East’ signs because they depict a clean and rather abstract shopping district, complete with little blue clouds floating serenely overhead. I always wonder where that’s supposed to be because it’s certainly not Broadway.
I have to say i stumbled upon your blog while looking for information on locations scout and i have to say i’m enjoying it. but i have to tell you, that what you refer to as “east” williamsberg is actually bushwick and it’s just a gimmick realtoprs use to get hipster to move into a still sketch ‘hood’
New to your blog and loving it.
To snv – for eight years I have lived in the neighborhood of the Broadway East signs and perhaps not all of of them but some do appear in Williamsburg. That is, 11211 (Williamsburg) not 11206/11221 (Bushwick).
Scout – have you ever noticed the lovely globes lights on Broadway beneath the JMZ near the Marcy and Hewes stops? Super ’70’s. Like some leftover piece of a Carol Burnett or Sonny and Cher set.