By Rob Garber for the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group
Welcome to another installment in the Rag’s Historical Photo Challenge. The image above was taken somewhere on the Upper West Side, sometime in the past. Can you figure out where, when, and what it shows? Look closely; this week’s challenge photo, like the others in the series, includes clues that will help you identify the scene, if you’re a dedicated UWS history sleuth. And even if you don’t recognize the picture—not to worry! Come back in two weeks and I’ll decode it, show you the clues that help identify it, and—best of all—tell you a story the image unlocks, because this column isn’t just a test of your neighborhood knowledge; it’s also a rolling celebration of the people, buildings and events that wove the tapestry of the Upper West Side.
Ready? If you think you know where and when the photo was taken and what it shows, post your answer as a comment on this column.
Solution to Historical Photo Challenge #32
Subject: Classic UWS commercial corner
Location: Southeast corner of Amsterdam and West 72nd Street
Date: December 13, 1964. Car buffs, is that a 1958ish Plymouth Fury with the big fins, and a white 1962 Fury at the curb? Yes, phil—the billboard ad is for the Fastback Mustang, introduced for model year 1965 but a big marketing campaign starting Fall 1964 around the tag line “Best Year Yet to Go Ford,” which you can just barely make out if you squint.
Image Source: New York City Transit Museum
Clues: Every building in this picture is still standing more than 60 years later, which made your identification challenge a breeze. That’s uncommon anywhere on the UWS, particularly with low, non-apartment buildings. At the same time, every business is different, which is no surprise. Yes, Sleepy’s is now Mattress Firm—I had to go back to 2009 to find an image where the sidewalk tree wasn’t blocking the Art Deco Citibank building.
This image was so easy to identify that I’ve got another challenge for you: How many UWS businesses can you name that are in the same location today as they were in 1964? Laytner’s! Oh wait. How about Apthorp Pharmacy! It moved? When? OK, The Symposium Restaurant on West 113th! No, it opened in 1969—it only seems like it’s been there forever.
The rest of the story: If there’s a story here, it’s the mashup of architecture and commerce. There’s something quintessentially New York about this busy scene. Cheek by jowl, we’ve got Art Deco next to a building where, as Tom Miller wrote, “Romanesque Revival coexisted with a touch of Flemish Revival, topped with a slate-covered mansard roof.” And the corner building is in what style—maybe Taxpayer Grotesque? OK, it’s Art Moderne somewhere under all that signage. You couldn’t call this combination of buildings harmonious, but imagine how we’re going to feel if they get replaced by a single building, no matter how tasteful.
The Horn & Hardart building was purpose-built to be an Automat—its Art Deco style is reminiscent of another Horn & Hardart survivor at Broadway and 103rd. It was an Automat from 1931 until 1967 and is remarkably intact today as a Citibank. The Romanesque building next door at 174 West 72nd has had its lower floors brutalized as a restaurant façade for so long that it looks natural. At the time of the 1964 photo, it was Donohue’s, an Irish bar. And the exuberant impact of a mattress store over Gray’s Papaya greeting you upon climbing out of the subway station—would we want it any other way?
…and that’s the story behind the image in the last challenge. Now scroll back to the top of the column and take on your next one, Sherlockians! If you’ve missed any pictures in this series, you can find the complete set on my author page. All photos in the Upper West Side Historical Photo Challenges used with permission.
About the author: Rob Garber has lived on the Upper West Side since the late 20th century and is a member of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group. To learn more, visit their website at upperwestsidehistory.org.
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? Amiable Child Monument, Riverside Park, Riverside Drive north of 122nd Street
Barney Greengrass same location.
Gee what else?
Zabar’s. (1934)
Murray’s (1946)
Apparently smoking the fish preserves the business as well.
Ah, but the Sleepy’s was once the long-gone, long-missed Weber’s — a discount store where you could find really fabulous things!
Grave of the Aimiable Child (St. Clair Pollock) – I suspect the white frame building in the upper right hand corner may be the long-gone Claremont Inn.