It is likely that the decorative terrazzo flooring at each entrance is still intact and hiding under the current tile. Thank you for sharing all the information and the old photograph. The detail and subtle suggestive sales practices (i.e., the terrazzo designs pointing/directing people to walk through the front doors) are a fantastic time capsule of pedestrian-dominant shopping.
HA I was reading this and was like “I gotta tell the people at Noble Signs about this!” Hopefully they are on it.
The Sign Museum is great! I met the team through a mutual friend and got to take a tour of the collection after I told them about my girlfriend’s family history, with her Great Grandfather a sign painter in Jersey from the 1920s to the 1950s. Luckily, she had some photos we could share.
Awesome! I had the pleasure of visiting as well when I profiled their sign shop last week. The museum is a wonderful initiative that New York has long-deserved!
Scaffolding is being erected all around the storefronts on that corner over the last couple of days and the sign has already been detached from the building. If anyone wants to preserve this sign, they might need to act immediately.
Yesterday I called Mac Pohanka's office and suggested that he contact the 82nd Street Partnership, and the director can put him in touch with the property owner before it is thrown out. Perhaps he can save/salvage it.
Thanks for mentioning us Rolando! We are definitely interested if the business ever wants to put up their own signage but in place and in view is always best.
I’d like to get technical info from you at some point if you have any. Do you know if any of the glass, electrical systems or wiring are intact? The only one like this we have found intact so far had the transformers still buried in the drop ceiling of the business with pk housings passing directly through the facade. This looks like it may be the same. That said the other sign we found (Raders on Pitkin Ave) was a metal channel sign on 1/2” storefront glass tiles as opposed to porcelain.
Great article! Love the deep dive on the small chain. Keep it up!
I am also pleased to report that we were able to successfully take down and save the Alpha Donuts topsign on friday. We got the sign faces and trim in full as well as the original manufacturer labels.
Interestingly enough the current sign is painted on yellow acrylic but we found a remnant of the previous version inside the lightbox case. It is only a small piece but it shows us that the previous version of the Alpha Donuts sign was actual cut red acrylic applied to yellow acrylic . It must have grown brittle and cracked at some point. Do you have any idea when it was replaced ? The florescent ballasts did not look terribly old. But because of the protruding cloth awnings on the left and right sides of the store they were no longer able to slide the sign open to replace the lamps and only half the ballast slots were full. The left sign of the sign must have been unlit for quite some time.
Wow, Mac! Such excellent questions about Barney's, and ones, as somebody not in the business, I never considered. I suspect you may be right in that this sign was abandoned in place, and presumably, the guts behind it. I had not established direct contact with the shop, however -- I stopped by during busy Saturday breakfast -- so don't have more insight at the moment.
And wonderful news about Alpha! The current sign was there since at least 2007 and I checked 80s.nyc and ALMOST saw the old one ... the main one was covered in the picture because of the angle of the image but it did have a projecting sign as well that said HOT BAGELS, red letters on yellow background.
And thanks for the kind words on the newsletter! More to come!
It is likely that the decorative terrazzo flooring at each entrance is still intact and hiding under the current tile. Thank you for sharing all the information and the old photograph. The detail and subtle suggestive sales practices (i.e., the terrazzo designs pointing/directing people to walk through the front doors) are a fantastic time capsule of pedestrian-dominant shopping.
HA I was reading this and was like “I gotta tell the people at Noble Signs about this!” Hopefully they are on it.
The Sign Museum is great! I met the team through a mutual friend and got to take a tour of the collection after I told them about my girlfriend’s family history, with her Great Grandfather a sign painter in Jersey from the 1920s to the 1950s. Luckily, she had some photos we could share.
Awesome! I had the pleasure of visiting as well when I profiled their sign shop last week. The museum is a wonderful initiative that New York has long-deserved!
We will hopefully pick it up end of day today. Ill send you photos
Thank you!!
They just let us know that it is read for us to pickup!
Mac! Huge news! I'll DM you with a few questions because I want to get the word out but this is AMAZING!
Rolando, am I correct in assuming that Mac had contacted the 82nd Street Partnership and had them reach out to the owners and contractors?
Glad to hear it has survived. Will want to do a story about this for our local civic group'sn newsletter.
Yes! The sign is saved! I hope to have an update here very soon!
Scaffolding is being erected all around the storefronts on that corner over the last couple of days and the sign has already been detached from the building. If anyone wants to preserve this sign, they might need to act immediately.
Oh noooo!
Yesterday I called Mac Pohanka's office and suggested that he contact the 82nd Street Partnership, and the director can put him in touch with the property owner before it is thrown out. Perhaps he can save/salvage it.
Thank you Daniel!
Great research!
Thanks for mentioning us Rolando! We are definitely interested if the business ever wants to put up their own signage but in place and in view is always best.
I’d like to get technical info from you at some point if you have any. Do you know if any of the glass, electrical systems or wiring are intact? The only one like this we have found intact so far had the transformers still buried in the drop ceiling of the business with pk housings passing directly through the facade. This looks like it may be the same. That said the other sign we found (Raders on Pitkin Ave) was a metal channel sign on 1/2” storefront glass tiles as opposed to porcelain.
Great article! Love the deep dive on the small chain. Keep it up!
I am also pleased to report that we were able to successfully take down and save the Alpha Donuts topsign on friday. We got the sign faces and trim in full as well as the original manufacturer labels.
Interestingly enough the current sign is painted on yellow acrylic but we found a remnant of the previous version inside the lightbox case. It is only a small piece but it shows us that the previous version of the Alpha Donuts sign was actual cut red acrylic applied to yellow acrylic . It must have grown brittle and cracked at some point. Do you have any idea when it was replaced ? The florescent ballasts did not look terribly old. But because of the protruding cloth awnings on the left and right sides of the store they were no longer able to slide the sign open to replace the lamps and only half the ballast slots were full. The left sign of the sign must have been unlit for quite some time.
Wow, Mac! Such excellent questions about Barney's, and ones, as somebody not in the business, I never considered. I suspect you may be right in that this sign was abandoned in place, and presumably, the guts behind it. I had not established direct contact with the shop, however -- I stopped by during busy Saturday breakfast -- so don't have more insight at the moment.
And wonderful news about Alpha! The current sign was there since at least 2007 and I checked 80s.nyc and ALMOST saw the old one ... the main one was covered in the picture because of the angle of the image but it did have a projecting sign as well that said HOT BAGELS, red letters on yellow background.
And thanks for the kind words on the newsletter! More to come!
Thank you so much for sharing this photo. I can remember getting my new pat and leather shoes for Easter there in1959