I absolutely love the raw beauty of these richly colored images of age-old New York City storefronts from James and Karla Murray‘s book Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York. (I used to live right around the corner from this bicycle shop on E 17th!) Sadly, at least a third of the stores in the book have closed since its publication, making the photographs evoke even more feelings of nostalgia in New Yorkers, visitors and ex-pats alike.
My boyfriend gave me this book and I love it! But I always do feel a twinge of sadness when I think about how many of those stores have been closed down and replaced by a Starbucks.
What a cool but bittersweet project! One of my favorite of my photos is one I shot of Vesuvio. It used to be on Prince Street and I was shocked last fall that it was gone 🙁
Mc Sorleys is my absolute favorite bar in NY!
I understand the interest and nostalgia of such photos as I grew up with such stores in the Midwest and saw their demise when urban renewal was pushed in the 60’s, now there are just a lot of empty parking lots. Most of the stores were “Mom and Pop” stores, and there were such grocery stores every block surrounded by old homes, many families lived in the back of the store and they had a bell that would ring when the front door was opened. I do think there are some such stores but most have been replaced with franchises, such as Casey’s convenient stores and Walmart Neighborhood Stores. I wonder if there are such stores in Jewish or ethic neighborhoods in the big cities?