signs

FORGOTTEN NEW YORK LONG SLEEVE T SHIRTS and more!

FORGOTTEN NEW YORK
HarperCollins, ORDER from Amazon: paperback or hardcover

December 2009: The end of another Forgotten year, in which your webmaster celebrated the tenth anniversary Forgottening, climbed into the doghouse at work, got heart surgery, suffered through a lengthy up and down recovery and still managed to post at least three times each week, except the three weeks just after the operation. It has been a frustrating year overall, in that I have not been able to go on the lengthy 5 or 6 hour walks that I could do before the hospital stay; stamina will only come back gradually. There have been periods in which I felt stronger, only to falter again; during a 5-week period in November and December, I felt truly ill and needed frequent afternoon naps, as well as 7 hours sleep overnight. Now that most strength as well as my regular insomnia (5 hours overnight sleep) has returned, I must be on the recovery track at last. I am hoping for a bigger year in 2010, more ForgottenTours and at least a couple of out of town trips.

For the last couple weeks of 2009 I will be posting lightly; this is one of the weeks in which Forgotten NY correspondent Gary Fonville's contributions come in handy, as he sent in a batch of signs and ads that have been all but obscured or painted over.

LEFT: FNY has found many Fletcher's Castoria ads throughout the city. Due to the high quality of paints that were used, many are still visible even after many decades of exposure. However, this one on the east side of Third Avenue near 37th Street in Manhattan is very easy to miss. Undoubtedly it was meant for passengers on the Third Avenue elevated line to see from the trains. RIGHT: This company needs no explanation about its identity. Can be found on the SE corner of Ocean Avenue and Parkside Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Pedestrians walking on the east side of 8th Avenue near West 16th Street in Manhattan could easily miss this vintage 7 UP sign. Due to a roll down gate blocking the view from the east side of the street, it can be best seen standing on the west side of 8th Avenue.

A Burger King restaurant sits on the former site of Fairyland Kiddie Park at Utica Avenue & Fillmore Avenue in Flatlands, Brooklyn. The sign cannot be seen from the street but can only be seen when driving to the drive-thru window near the back of the hamburger emporium.