Sunday turned into a disarmingly unseasonably sunny & warm November day, so I seized the opportunity to log another entry into my Then & Now series. Of the neighborhoods I've hit so far, Soho west of Broadway was far & away the toughest one to execute. For a start, I should have known better than to wander into Soho on a weekend. The streets were choked with tourists and shoppers. Secondly, the neighborhood has undergone such a jarring facelift that I was barely able to locate some of the same spots I'd previously captured those years ago. More so than in certain other neighborhoods, I find the transformation of Soho from a once-thriving arts community into a vacuous outdoor mall somewhat heartbreaking. As I noted in these earlier posts, I've always harbored a romanticized fascination and emotional attachment with Soho, so to see it reduced to little more than a gaudy shopping district for supercilious affluents is something I found rather pointedly depressing.
Curiously, as I wandered around taking these pictures (and leaving prints of the original locations behind as I've done before), I found folks around me more confrontational than I'd encountered in other `hoods. With the exception of a gent named Max I met in front of newly opened Phaidon Books books on Wooster street (I'll always applaud the opening of a book shop), most of the individuals I encountered were surprisingly cagey and even a little rude. But, maybe I just look like a terrorist or something. After one or two such run-ins, I tuned them out and slipped on my headphones, immersing myself in the edgy pulse of Fear of Music by the Talking Heads, an album recorded when these narrow, cobblestoned street still retained the whiff of creative possibility.
Anyway, here are the shots I managed to replicate. There will assuredly be more to come. Enjoy.
Looking South on West Broadway, 1996:
Looking South on West Broadway, 2009:
Vesuvio Bakery on Prince Street, 1996:
Former site of Vesuvio Bakery on Prince Street, 2009:
Rocks In Your Head record store on Prince Street, 2000
Former site of Rocks In Your Head record store (now a real estate agency) on Prince Street, 2009:
Naked Lunch at 17 Thompson Street, 1998:
Naked Lunch at 17 Thompson Street, 2009:
The Moondance Diner on 6th Avenue, just south of Grand Street, 1998:
Former site of The Moondance Diner on 6th Avenue, just south of Grand Street, 2009:
Wooster Street between Grand & Canal Streets, 1999:
Wooster Street between Grand & Canal Streets, 2009:
Eastern facade of Lucky Strike, 59 Grand Street, 2000:
Eastern facade of Lucky Strike, 59 Grand Street, 2009:
"Nathalie" outside of Lucky Strike, 1998:
"Nathalie"'s old roost outside of Lucky Strike, 2009:
Looking North on Mercer Street from Howard Street, 1995:
Looking North on Mercer Street from Howard Street, 2009:
Mercer Street between Broome & Grand 1997:
Mercer Street between Broome & Grand 2009:
Mercer Street between Spring & Broome 1997:
Mercer Street between Spring & Broome 2009:
Spring Street 2001:
Spring Street 2009:
Wooster Street 1997:
Wooster Street 2009:
Wooster Street 2005:
Wooster Street 2009:
Wooster Street 1998:
Wooster Street 2009:
Crosby Street 1998:
Crosby Street 2009:
Crosby Street 2005:
Crosby Street 2009:
Northwest corner of Crosby & Howard Streets 1997:
Northwest corner of Crosby & Howard Streets 2009:
Howard Street between Broadway & Mercer Street, 1997:
Howard Street between Broadway & Mercer Street, 2009:
Once again, that's all for now. But there will be more...
Recent Comments