Bushwick Remembered Photo Collective

jack: 10th May 2008 - 03:27 GMT

i had the same car back in 1964, that was a chevy impala, circa 1960, had the flags in the arrow over the rear fender, mine was all white with a red interior, cost me $1100, and white walls. the wrap around window in the front and rear was the fashion, the wings in the rear were cut sharp not like the rounded wings on the '59', i loved that car. no air, only am radio, played allan freed and cousin brucie all the time. i'll check my photo collection and see if there are any pic's of bushwick.

Peter: 10th May 2008 - 22:20 GMT

im with this, too! as others have mentioned in other Bushwick posts here, those of us that live here now would love to see photos! the text accounts are good- ive found myself noticing old places when i walk around (theater, pretzel place, old candy stores, etc)- but really wish i could see some shots from back in the day...

actually, im going to go walk down there right now and snap some photos of what it looks like today...

also: love the '60 impala :)

jack: cousin brucie was still on a couple of years ago. i used to listen to him on wcbs.

Peter: 10th May 2008 - 23:25 GMT

Ok, so I just got back, and here are the photos:

the northwest corner of central and bleeker...

a wider view of the same spot...

the southwest corner of central and bleeker...

im sure that upfromflames could tell us much more about this block, but according to what i saw there, it appears that the storefronts pictured in the oldskool photo above are no longer there, and probably fell in the summer of 1977, especially by the looks of all the newer bushwick houses on the plots now. i walked that entire block, east to west, north to south, and found no storefronts that resembled the original photos, so im betting theyre long gone.

any oldtimers that recognize this block should also fill us in.

incidentally, i caught this crash on that same corner (southwest corner) at upfromflames' walking tour of bushwick last summer. there was a wedding at the church on the other side of central avenue, so lots of nice cars were around. the black car-service lincoln on the left rear-ended the classic powder-blue cadillac on the right. the caddie driver jumped out and shouted, in the most painful inflection ive ever heard a man shout, "i just got this shit restored! i just picked it up YESTERDAY, motherfucker!" before groaning, recovering from the shock, and attempting to pick a fight with the cabbie.

upfromflames: 11th May 2008 - 14:17 GMT

Peter, I had thought that Dave's photo was from the block directly across from St. Barbara's, but it might be that empty lot. Thanks much for the hunting! Hope we see you and the rest of ya Bushwickers old and new at next week's walking tour

upfromflames: 11th May 2008 - 14:22 GMT

Actually, you might be right. Shall we assume that Dave's dad took this picture from their storefront?
This image looks a good bit earlier, captures St. Barbara's.

Peter: 11th May 2008 - 18:15 GMT

the car-crash photo above is the corner directly across from st. barbara's, so... ill double-check next time im by there, but none of those buildings appeared to be the ones in the photo... though they could have been replaced/refaced since. the point-of-view in that last b&w photo is definitely from where the hope gardens building is now...