Rolando's Roadside Roundup: Oct. 2
A tour of classic TV character statues; a time-capsule NYC diner, Mrs. Maisel-approved; "M*A*S*H", The Store; remembering a lost fish fry joint; a pay phone that works; and more roadside headlines.
Hello, fellow Retrologists!
It’s a rainy weekend here in New York, which for me is as good a time as any to stay in and catch up on work, including some in-depth guides I’m preparing for my Substack.
One thing I’m excited about — that I’ll be rolling out later this week — is The Retrologist’s Guide to Pizza Hut Classics. This will be the most complete list yet of the Pizza Hut Classics known to be out there.
Plus, I’ll be publishing a profile of Long Island’s iconic Big Duck, an incredibly influential piece of programmatic architecture.
But let’s get on with today’s newsletter, which is packed with goodies, if I do say so myself. To quote Jackie Gleason, “And away we go!”
TV Land statues honor Ralph Kramden, Mary Richards, Samantha Stephens, Andy and Opie and other classic TV greats
Last night, I was walking a friend to catch her bus at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan when I remembered that Oct. 1 was the anniversary of the debut of the “Classic 39” episodes of “The Honeymooners.”
I’m probably one of the few people who considers the bus terminal a “favorite place,” but the reason I do is because just outside on Eighth Avenue, just north of West 40th Street, is a statue honoring the most famous character that Jackie Gleason created, bus driver Ralph Kramden of “The Honeymooners.”
The statue was placed here in June 2000 by TV Land, back when the show was part of the cable network’s nostalgia lineup. My friend last night got a kick out of the statue, and so will you if you are a fan of the show.
Back when I worked at WPIX-TV Channel 11, the station that has shown “The Honeymooners’ off and on (mostly on, because people holler when it’s off) since 1958, I digitized this clip from the day the statue was installed.
In fact, TV Land back in the day installed several classic TV statues, and I’ve also been to the one in downtown Minneapolis honoring Mary Tyler Moore, or more precisely, the character she brought to life, Mary Richards. She is forever in her iconic pose from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s” opening sequence, tossing her cap into the air.
I’ve also been to the “Bewitched” statue featuring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens. It’s in downtown Salem, Massachusetts. When I first visited in 2005, I asked a woman who seemed to be very nice where I might find it, and she immediately became irritated with me and stormed off. Not everyone in this town was a fan of this statue, which at that point had been installed just two weeks earlier. I hope she’s mellowed a bit in the years since. Here’s an interesting article on the “Bewitched”-Salem connection.
The fourth and final TV Land statue I’ve been to is the one honoring Andy and Opie Taylor from “The Andy Griffith Show.” I photographed it down in Pullen Park in Raleigh back in 2012.
I have a few more of these to shoot, including one depicting Bob Hartley, the Chicago psychiatrist portrayed by Bob Newhart in “The Bob Newhart Show.” What about Fonzie in Milwaukee? There’s a whole back story around that one, which was ALMOST built by TV Land until they dropped the statue program. That’s when things got really interesting.
Have you seen any of these TV Land statues?
Signs I miss: Bob and Ron’s Fish Fry
Today is National Fried Scallops Day, a reminder that there is a holiday for just about everything these days. But I’m always game to celebrate if it means sharing a cool sign.
To wit, I present Bob and Ron’s Fish Fry, a long-gone staple in Albany New York. I shot it in October 2015, and I'm sure glad I did as the shop closed the next month. At least the sign was rescued by a collector, Leon Johnson of Norwood, New Jersey, who purchased it at auction for $900.
The business had been around since 1948.
Fish Fry restaurants are definitely a Capital Region thing, and if the concept intrigues you, here’s an interactive guide courtesy of the Times Union.
Sweet Spot: La Bonbonniere
I can’t recommend La Bonbonniere enough, an old-school diner in Greenwich Village that is so period perfect, it’s been a shooting location for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
The top photo is how it looked on March 15, 2020, just as the lockdowns began, and the second one is how it appeared on Oct. 1, 2022, now with a dining shed erected to allow dining during the pandemic.
It’s been a very long two and a half years, and I’m glad they are still standing!
La Bonbonniere will be part of my Retrologist’s Guide to Greenwich Village, coming soon! Make sure you’re subscribed to this newsletter to get that and all the extras that will only live here!
This is not just a pay phone — it’s a working pay phone!
Here’s something you don’t see very much anymore. A working pay phone. This relic sits in the Rockefeller Center concourse, more or less beneath Radio City Music Hall. Say hello to it, and maybe slip a quarter into the slot, even if you don’t make a phone call.
Army and Navy holdouts in Times Square
I was in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood last night and realized I had never shot this quirky store: An old Army and Navy shop named after “M*A*S*H,” the TV show that just celebrated its 50th anniversary. I’ll have to work up a profile of this store soon. It’s one of the mom-and-pop holdouts in Times Square. Find “M*A*S*H” at 721 Eighth Ave.
Not far away, on West 42nd Street, is another, similar survivor in the neighborhood: Kaufman’s Army and Navy, which has one of my favorite storefronts in the city!
Wrote the New York Times in 2006:
Kaufman’s Army & Navy is a musty, chaotic spot for camouflage and boots; it is one of the few true military surplus stores still around.
Notes From the Road
Update on the destruction of the Firelite Shopping Center sign: The new building may incorporate design cues from the lost sign. What they should do is remake the sign, too. [WTNH]
Alas, dreams that Boston’s old Orange Line trains will be saved — and perhaps serve as a diner — won’t come true. [Boston Herald]
File this under “Things I Learned Today.” There used to be an “American-themed” restaurant chain in the United Kingdom named after silent-film actor Fatty Arbuckle. [LancsLive]
A chain named after Fatty Arbuckle is something you would have never seen in the United States. Learn more about one of the greatest celebrity scandals ever. [New Yorker]
For die-hard fans of the franchise, here are “Hocus Pocus” filming locations. [Yahoo]
Go in search of the ghost signs of Philadelphia. [Hidden City]
And meet the person doing the searching. [Philly Ghost Signs]
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