Another from the pile of images I alluded to yesterday.
I don't have too much to say about this image, being that I've already spoken in detail about that iteration of Freebeing Records (just three storefronts to the left/south of Gem Spa on the corner below) a couple of times. Regrettably, I do not recall where I first spied this image, nor do I know who snapped it, let alone the year it was taken. If I had to guess -- based on the cars and storefronts depicted -- I'd say it dates back the late 70's. I'm not certain when Freebeing opened.
These days, of course, Freebeing is long gone. B&H Dairy is still with us, but not at that same location on this strip, I don't think. Hunan Taste is long gone, replaced by a burger joint of some variety. Gem Spa, amazingly, is still there. Not only is it a great place to still get a credible egg cream (good band name, that -- The Credible Egg Creamz!), but rock geeks of a certain stripe will doubtlessly recognize it as the location of a fabled photo of the New York Dolls. You can also still see the row of phone booths the `Dolls posed at (and I wrote about) just to the west of Gem Spa.
Of course, the southern end of this particular strip (not pictured) basically exploded a couple of years back. There's still a wide lot where three buildings stood.
I can't remember the last time this corner seemed so comparatively free of crowds, but that could said of the entirety of Manhattan, these days.
Click on it to enlarge.
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