By Caitlin Hawke

Owned for four decades by Mr. Kay, aka master tonsorialist Kyriacos Demetriou, the Broadway Barber Shop lasted for a century. This is why I put the incorporation date in the subtitle of the post.  When the shop finally closed, it was memorialized as the end of an era.  No one predicted the shaggy rage we're now in.

The perfectly preserved slice of Americana stood at 2713 Broadway between W. 103rd and 104th Streets until it was gifted to the Museum of the City of New York.

I know. You are kicking  yourself that this one, too, slipped through our fingers.  Why do we keep doing this?

At least it is preserved in the museum and in print. ​The shop made it into the New York Times in the the hirsute days of the Beatles, as this piece from 1964 charmingly describes.  And there was also the poignant obit here of Mr. Kay himself, telling tales out of school about Columbia president Dwight D. Eisenhower whose tips, alas, were inversely proportional to the area of bare pate.

It is also featured in the showstopping painting above. I am featuring it in this Throwback post for several reasons.  First, quite plainly, I cathect it. I am unsure whether the artist mashed up several storefronts with Mr. Kay's shop as the centerpiece or if those stores in it actually all stood side by side. Either way, the huge painting stopped me in my tracks.

​I am also featuring it because it hangs in the home of a wonderful neighbor who I was lucky enough to work with through Bloomingdale Aging in Place.  A charming, brave woman, she's been in my thoughts a lot recently.  

We both fell in love with this painted slice of old Broadway. And by way of this post, I am sending her warm thoughts and my thanks for having shared with me this beauty on that day when we first met.  You made me a great cup of coffee, true to your word.

More on 2713 Broadway to come soon.
​

By Caitlin Hawke

Bloomingdalers, get ready.  For the next four months, ConEd is in the house.  Or at least on West End Avenue.  A copy of the notice showing the affected area is below.

When that all-night generator and early-morning jackhammer get going, remember this gentle reminder that you'll need your earplugs.

And that leads me to wonder why the French word for earplugs is so much prettier.  Boules Quies.  (Pronounced bool KEY-ess).  I can hear the quiet from here….

By Caitlin Hawke
​
Reading the mouthwatering piece by Dayle Vander Sande in the last Block Association newsletter, I was tantalized to learn about Las Palomas, a modest storefront I've passed by many times with the thought that I need to check it out.  If you haven't yet read Dayle's review, you'll find that it features a gem of a business that enriches our neighborhood. Even Florence Fabricant got into the act and reviewed it for the New York Times back in 2010.

You might go there to graze, but Las Palomas is a grocery store with makings for tortillas, tamales and so much more.  Queso fresco? Check.  In fact, Las Palomas has got four varieties. Chorizo? Also four kinds. Chiles? ¡Sí Señor, just say which kind you are after.

Putting the bodacious back in the bodega.

One bite and you are transported to a sunny beachside resort with mariachi music floating in. Breakfast shouldn't be boring, and this inexpensive bargain certainly is not. Each order is made from scratch, so be patient, as it takes a few minutes to make these as delicious as they are."

Two Mexican sanctuaries in our city to be celebrated.  If you haven't tried them, I say to you and me both: Más vale tarde que nunca.

By Caitlin Hawke

The beloved BNHG is at it again with another full season of talks.  On Monday, January 23rd at 6:30 p.m. come out and hear neighbor Jim Mackin talk about the often-missed sculptures around our streets.  Audrey Munson, who posed for the memorial in Straus Park depicted below, is someone I've called an endlessly fascinating Beaux Arts muse.  Because she was!  She was the subject of two prior blog posts here and here -- the latter is where I posted a whole gallery of sculptures for which she posed, worth checking out to see the breadth of artists who were inspired by her.  She's literally all over town.

I feel certain Jim will cover vignettes about Audrey's long, amazing and yet sad life.

Come on out on the 23rd. Details below!

By Caitlin Hawke

An earlier blog post from exactly a year ago showed a photo incredibly similar to this one! In fact, originally it was the same photo, and this is a detail of it. I am including the wide angle shot at bottom so you don't have to toggle back and forth.  In the top photo, we can see a lot more street-level detail from fashion to transportation to interesting store signage.  It's the corner where Suba Pharmacy stands today.

I've found quite a few shots taken in 1910 right around this intersection.  Someone was out shooting that day, that's for sure.

The shots are both looking northward toward W. 105th and beyond with W. 104th Street in the foreground.

By Caitlin Hawke

I am no writer, but I know what darlings are. And I know that real writers have to lay waste to a lot of them.

I haven't written enough. So there aren't many darlings lying around. According to my father, my grandfather used to riff on what Blaise Pascal said:  I made this long because I didn't have the leisure to make it short.

In brief, it takes time to make it short. And good.  But I don't have that much time.

And besides, sometimes it feels good to keep your darlings and write long. Or to round them all up into the same place and see what they are like side by side.  Something akin to the way my father has, over the years, printed out large formats of his favorite photos. He places them in a box that sits on a coffee table, gently ignored by sons, daughters, and grandchildren. And yet every once in a while when we have time, we leaf through these darlings of his. Sometimes he puts them into thematic albums. This shot of the Metro Diner appears in his "fronts & sides" album.

The album is sort of like a mixtape.  Carefully chosen. Then juxtaposed.  Then shared. To give someone else pleasure.

Think of it not as a few darlings on the cutting room floor, but more as a few darlings upcycled.


To navigate to the post, click on the image or the link.

Dear Subscribers,

If you are reading the blog in your email inbox, you may encounter oddities.  For example, our "Years in Pictures" gallery did not display in the email that got broadcast to subscribers.  To see the gallery of old buildings featured in our Throwback Thursday posts in 2016, visit the post directly here: http://www.w102-103blockassn.org/blog/the-years-in-pictures-2016-edition.

When you receive posts to your inbox, there is always a hyperlink to the actual blog post and that link is highlighted in blue text at the top. If you click on that, it should take you to the actual post online.  Viewing posts at the website is usually better since photos, videos, and galleries load properly.

Apologies if you are experiencing difficulties.  Those of you following via RSS feed should be ok.

When in doubt, just visit www.w102-103blockassn.org/blog to see the latest.

Thanks for reading.

Caitlin Hawke

​I hope 2017 is off to a good start and that it will be good to all. Fingers crossed!  And now, The Years in Pictures, 2016 Edition.

Remember, if you enjoy this blog, tell a friend in the neighborhood to stop by!  Subscribe below and get posts directly to your in box.

By Caitlin Hawke

Happy New Year, Bloomingdalers!

To ring us in, a beautiful montage of daybreak around the world courtesy of the NYT's feature "The Daily 360." By dragging the frame of the video you can rotate the view of the camera.

Shockingly, the Times left out a clip of the Bloomingdale sunrise.  If you have an eastward facing window or are a morning person, send your shots or short video clips of Daybreak in Bloomingdale to me, and I will post them: [email protected].

Lots more blog coming soon. Please stay tuned.

P.S. If you are reading this post in a subscription feed straight to your email, you may not be able to view the video embedded below.  To see it, click through to the blog and scroll down to the 1/1/17 post. Here's the URL: www.w102-103blockassn.org/blog.