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Post by amyghost on Jul 5, 2018 22:34:19 GMT
I die a little when I look at old photos of it. Might have been the apex of the idea of the Sinful Big City, but it had grit and character. You won't find much of either around the island now, except in a few isolated pockets that the developers haven't felt was worth their while to 'pretty up'...yet. girl, i live in queens, work in the Bronx and have to use manhattan to get from one place to another. i know. there are still some historical places that just scream: 23 DOLLARS WORTH OF BAUBLES! [yeah, that's the price of manhattan island!] Good old Queens, my immortal birthplace. I was just looking up some photos of Flushing Meadows online the other day, after catching some pics of folks splashing around in the Unisphere during the heat wave. Misted up seeing the Queens Museum of Art, my parents used to take me there as a kid and I developed a lifelong love of the arts as a result. Lucky you! |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 5, 2018 23:22:37 GMT
I see that the Vienna wheel made famous in The Third Man still exists. Times Square has been tidied up.  Good old grungy Times Square. I was going to mention that one; actually much of Manhattan no longer really exists, what with all the Gentrification/Disneyfication that's occurred over the past couple of decades. The NYC of my youth, and the popular image of the city that was stamped on the public consciousness from all those Seventies films and telly ranging from The French Connection to Barney Miller, and about ten gazillion other productions along the gamut is pretty much as gone as the woolly mammoth. Maybe for the better, although I for one am not completely convinced of that... You may call it"grit", but I call it "shit"! No, I'm glad that Times Square has been cleaned up. I'm glad to see the end of the porn theaters, prostitution, drug-dealing, and the high crime rate that defined that area--and most of the city as well. Although I'm not an admirer of Rudy Giuliani (especially nowadays!), I gotta give him credit for improving Times Square. BTW, in an early scene in THE BAND WAGON, Fred Astaire complains that Times Square has devolved from a rialto neighborhood to a place of penny arcades. Imagine if he could have seen the Times Square of the '70's and '80's! |
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Post by deembastille on Jul 5, 2018 23:37:03 GMT
Good old grungy Times Square. I was going to mention that one; actually much of Manhattan no longer really exists, what with all the Gentrification/Disneyfication that's occurred over the past couple of decades. The NYC of my youth, and the popular image of the city that was stamped on the public consciousness from all those Seventies films and telly ranging from The French Connection to Barney Miller, and about ten gazillion other productions along the gamut is pretty much as gone as the woolly mammoth. Maybe for the better, although I for one am not completely convinced of that... You may call it"grit", but I call it "shit"! No, I'm glad that Times Square has been cleaned up. I'm glad to see the end of the porn theaters, prostitution, drug-dealing, and the high crime rate that defined that area--and most of the city as well. Although I'm not an admirer of Rudy Giuliani (especially nowadays!), I gotta give him credit for improving Times Square. BTW, in an early scene in THE BAND WAGON, Fred Astaire complains that Times Square has devolved from a rialto neighborhood to a place of penny arcades. Imagine if he could have seen the Times Square of the '70's and '80's! but it kept the people away from it. that was a good area to use as 'DO NOT GO OUT AT NIGHT ALONE!' senarios. now we have to take pictures and pay ELMO and LUIGI for the privilege! |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 5, 2018 23:55:20 GMT
You may call it"grit", but I call it "shit"! No, I'm glad that Times Square has been cleaned up. I'm glad to see the end of the porn theaters, prostitution, drug-dealing, and the high crime rate that defined that area--and most of the city as well. Although I'm not an admirer of Rudy Giuliani (especially nowadays!), I gotta give him credit for improving Times Square. BTW, in an early scene in THE BAND WAGON, Fred Astaire complains that Times Square has devolved from a rialto neighborhood to a place of penny arcades. Imagine if he could have seen the Times Square of the '70's and '80's! but it kept the people away from it. that was a good area to use as 'DO NOT GO OUT AT NIGHT ALONE!' senarios. now we have to take pictures and pay ELMO and LUIGI for the privilege! Don't worry, there are still parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn that fit your slogan. |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 6, 2018 0:02:50 GMT
I remember visiting the Russian Tea Room before it was purchased and done over by the new owners.
Their Chicken Kiev over rice was fantastic!
I haven't been there since its renovation.
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Post by deembastille on Jul 6, 2018 0:12:02 GMT
but it kept the people away from it. that was a good area to use as 'DO NOT GO OUT AT NIGHT ALONE!' senarios. now we have to take pictures and pay ELMO and LUIGI for the privilege! Don't worry, there are still parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn that fit your slogan. and what slogan would that be???? |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 6, 2018 0:15:22 GMT
DO NOT GO OUT ALONE, silly!
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Post by marshamae on Jul 6, 2018 1:07:09 GMT
The Russian Tea room is sort of the Disney version but it Is still there and the champagne tea is still great.
Amy ghost glad to see you and so so agree about Time Square, I saw it in the 50’s, the 60’s The 70’s and in the 21st century. It’s was fun in the 50’s with the billboard blowing smoke rings. But the 60’s and 70’s were filthy smelly scary scummy. I wish it wasn’t quite so plastic, I wish The Hard Rock Cafe wasn’t in the Paramount where Frank Sinatara debuted with Benny Goodman . But as an aging tourist who comes to New York to see as many plays, concerts and ballets as I can get in , today’s time square makes performance venues much more accessible.
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Post by jervistetch on Jul 6, 2018 1:20:38 GMT
Playland at the Beach in San Francisco was an amusement park where the finale of THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI took place. It's gone now, replaced by not very attractive condos.   |
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Post by bravomailer on Jul 6, 2018 2:20:07 GMT
As featured in One, Two, Three, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Bridge of Spies, and others:  |
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Post by bravomailer on Jul 6, 2018 2:29:43 GMT
Bravomailer, for some reason, your photos do not appear. Not sure why that would be. I see them. Not sure of anyone else's experience. |
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Post by london777 on Jul 6, 2018 2:46:07 GMT
Bravomailer, for some reason, your photos do not appear. Not sure why that would be. I see them. Not sure of anyone else's experience. No problem for me. |
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Post by BATouttaheck on Jul 6, 2018 3:02:03 GMT
Bravomailer, for some reason, your photos do not appear. Not sure why that would be. I see them. Not sure of anyone else's experience. Only a person who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may see the images posted by bravomailer when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright or in July as the case may be . Images coming in fine and dandy. |
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Post by marianne48 on Jul 6, 2018 10:40:04 GMT
All youse New Yorkers: Are there any Chock Full of Nuts restaurants left in the city? I know a lot of them disappeared, but I thought there'd been an effort to bring them back in the last few years.
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Post by jeffersoncody on Jul 6, 2018 11:15:47 GMT
On both coasts, there were famous establishments, sometimes used in movies, that have gone under. In LA, there were Ciro's The Brown Derby, and the Coconut Grove, among others. In NYC, there's Luchow's and DelMonico's, not to mention Ebbetts Field and The Polo Grounds. In fact, it was the demolition of the old Penn Station that led to the establishment of the Landmarks Preservation Committee, that saved Grand Central Terminal (and many other buildings) from suffering the same fate. I don't know how many of my fellow posters are old enough to remember these places. Does anyone else know any other establishments that are no longer with us. And do you miss them? Miramax Films. |
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Post by amyghost on Jul 6, 2018 11:34:07 GMT
Playland at the Beach in San Francisco was an amusement park where the finale of THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI took place. It's gone now, replaced by not very attractive condos. Marsha, it's so good to hear from you! Yes, in terms of accessibility the upgrades probably haven't been all bad. But I think you nailed it with the term 'plastic'. Even at its lowest ebb, pre-Disney/Corporate America Times Square was a real place with a real, human vibe--even when that vibe was sometimes pretty nerve-rattling. Nowadays it's not much more than a trip to the mall, and that's sad. Of course, the same fate has befallen a lot of urban outdoor spaces: Georgetown in DC which once had that same sort of creative energy (and some unique shopping, let the consumerist in me add) has been for years now just a string of one chain shop after another; again, another mall. But I guess that's the trend. What'll be something to see--though most of us probably won't be around for it--is when those trends shift, and these places fall into disrepair and decay once more, as they inevitably will. By the way, great pics! |
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Post by amyghost on Jul 6, 2018 11:38:08 GMT
The Russian Tea room is sort of the Disney version but it Is still there and the champagne tea is still great. Amy ghost glad to see you and so so agree about Time Square, I saw it in the 50’s, the 60’s The 70’s and in the 21st century. It’s was fun in the 50’s with the billboard blowing smoke rings. But the 60’s and 70’s were filthy smelly scary scummy. I wish it wasn’t quite so plastic, I wish The Hard Rock Cafe wasn’t in the Paramount where Frank Sinatara debuted with Benny Goodman . But as an aging tourist who comes to New York to see as many plays, concerts and ballets as I can get in , today’s time square makes performance venues much more accessible. Marsha, lol, I see my cyber dyslexia is still active, and I replied to Jervis's post rather than yours (don't be hurt Jervis, I still think those are some great photos), but what I said still goes. Have not been to The Russian Tea Room since the mid-eighties. Curious, but didn't have the heart after the re-do. I ought to check it out though, if the champagne tea is still on the menu! As long as none of the characters from the Disney Anastasia are roaming the room, that is. |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 6, 2018 11:56:50 GMT
Just goes to show:
You never know what's you've got until you lose it.
I remember Cher singing a song on that theme on her and Sonny's variety show on TV in the '70's.
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Post by bravomailer on Jul 6, 2018 13:43:56 GMT
Times Square in the fifties  |
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Post by snsurone on Jul 6, 2018 13:49:02 GMT
This one came through, bravo.
And it's beautiful!
Especially the building on the far left.
with the mansard roof.
I don't know what building it is, but I bet it has been demolished and replaced by one of those fugly glass edifices.
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