Disappearing Storefronts

Barbers, bodegas, appetizer shops, locksmiths, and fabric suppliers all represent the entrepreneurial spirit of New York. The stores that have been passed down to ancestor after ancestor provide us more specifically with a visual history, a timeless piece of life. Some of their signs are now missing letters or the neon has burned out, but they are too beloved to ever go changing. When Russ & Daughters (Lower East Side appetizer shop) had their neon sign repaired, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing as a flurry of customer’s feared they had gone out of business.
“Mom & Pop” stores become family. I know I have certainly grown up with a few. I’ve had one place cater a going away party, another press a key for my first car, and another knows my absolute dependence on half and half for my coffee. Corporations tend to large masses of customers. You can go in one and be ignored and some people like that. I don’t. If I go into my corner bodega someone will always say hello to me and want to talk some more.
James and Karla Murray graced a recent Tenement Talk I worked on explaining their mission to visually preserve the Mom & Pop while producing “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York.” Using film exclusively, the Murray’s prints are gorgeous; the film full of grain and naturally highlighting the worn patina of old metal signs and rusty hardware. Some of the stores featured have closed and their signs removed and sold as scrap. While it may be exciting to get a much-needed café there are those who will ache for the absence of a lost candy store. These photos at the very least preserve the memory of a closed storefront’s existence.
If you missed our Tenement Talk, below you will find a link to a website with information about James and Karla Murray’s exhibition of the Brooklyn photographs titled “Counter/Culture: The Disappearing Face of Brooklyn’s Storefronts” running through March 29.

For images and information on visiting the exhibition at the Brooklyn Historical Society, please visit the following website: http://www.jamesandkarlamurray.com/JamesandKarlaMurrayCounterCulture.html