67th & Columbus Ave [SW Corner] (August 11, 2012)

152-154 Columbus Avenue... Yet another beautiful red building on Manhattan's Upper West Side (see here and here). During the holiday season, this Starbucks corner becomes a Christmas tree lot (see 2nd image below, from johncatral's Flickr page). In fact, we think the building looks like Christmas year round... Red and Green!                               CLICK TO ENLARGE

65th & 1st Ave [SE Corner] (June 18, 2012)

Goldberger's Pharmacy on Manhattan's Upper East Side was established in 1898. It is not New York City's oldest pharmacy;  C.O. Bigelow in Greenwich Village was founded in 1838, and Kiehl’s in the East Village which was founded in 1851. Thank you,  Bill Carswell, for the awesome photo!
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46th & Broadway [NW Corner] (1986 & 2012)

"Then-n-Now!"

I found this amazing picture of 1980s Times Square on Matt Weber's photo blog. The old checkered taxi stands in contrast with today's mini-SUV model. American Eagle has replaced the iconic Howard Johnson's on the near corner. But the hot dog vendors are still on the job. Across the street, TGI Fridays billboards have replaced JVC and Mita Copiers ads. But the McDonalds is still standing strong. And the Palace Theater remains (La Cage aux Folles was playing in 1986; Annie The Musical is playing in 2012). Enjoy!             CLICK TO ENLARGE (MUCH BETTER THAT WAY)

Horatio & West 4th [NE Corner] (August 5, 2012)

New York City has seen a resurgence in old-school men's barber shops. F.S.C. Barber, part of the Freemans Sporting Club group, "harkens back to the days when the highest level of care and customer service was de rigueur." According to the NY Times, this West Village grooming establishment features "old barber chairs, hexagonal floor tiles, antique lighting fixtures" and is a "hipster mob scenes on Saturdays."              CLICK TO ENLARGE

108th & 3rd Ave [NW Corner] (April 21, 2012)

The Dunkin' Donuts on 3rd Avenue, close to 108th Street in Spanish Harlem, features "Ds" for doorknobs, much like the Dunkin' Donuts on 29th Street and 3rd Avenue, and many others. Also, notice the graffiti on the side of the building (photo from Across 106th street). This "SpaHa" neighborhood is bursting with street art.            CLICK TO ENLARGE

N 12th & Wythe Ave [NW Corner] (June 3, 2012)

Some cool graffiti street art in Williamsburg, near the Wythe Hotel and Brooklyn Bowl.

Canal & Forsyth [NE Corner] (May 25, 2012)

Lost City says: "By some miracle, the age-old Crawford Fine Gold Jewelry has quietly held down the busy corner of Canal and Forsyth for years, surviving the neighborhood's transformations from immigrant mecca to neglected slum to hipster haven." Hopefully, they don't replace it with a 7-11.

6th & Ave B [NW Corner] (August 4, 2012)

We love the variety of elevations represented in this photo of Sunny and Annie's Gourmet Deli in Manhattan's East Village. The deli is a neighborhood favorite, known for its creative and exotic sandwiches, including a Pho sandwich and the "East Side Ink," named after the tattoo parlor across the street (roast beef, melted jack cheese, red onion, lettuce, tomato.)       CLICK TO ENLARGE

Bleecker & MacDougal [NE Corner] (July 29, 2012)

185 Bleecker Street in the heart of Greenwich Village... a) is home to Ciao Italian restaurant, which doesn't appear to be a Yelp favorite; b) was the scene of a 2010 Drug-related shooting (in one of the building's apartments) involving the son of a prominent NYU vice president; and c) tolerated a random opera singer practicing his scales on the sidewalk, also in 2010.       CLICK TO ENLARGE

52nd & 5th Ave [SE Corner] (1905 & 2012)

"Then-n-Now!"

The Morton F. Plant House. This marble and granite Italian Renaissance mansion at 653 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan was completed in 1905 for Morton F. Plant, the son of a railroad tycoon. After only 12 years, Plant sold the mansion to Cartier Jewelers for a double-stranded Oriental pearl necklace valued at $1 million, to give to his wife Maisie Plant. Cartier converted the mansion into its U.S. flagship store, and, since 1917, has been known as the Cartier Building.  In 1970, it was designated a landmark. (1905 photo courtesy of NYPL)
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29th & 1st Ave [NE Corner] (July 15, 2012)

Built in 1931, this beautiful ivy-covored building is the original Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, located on 1st Avenue (between 29th and 30th streets) in Manhattan's Kips Bay neighborhood. According to wikipedia, "Since 1998, the building has been used as a homeless intake center and a men's homeless shelter. Plans to redevelop it as a hotel and conference center connected to NYU Langone Medical Center fell through in April 2010."                     CLICK TO ENLARGE

Valencia & Duboce Ave [SW Corner] (August 18, 2012)

"Weekend Wildcard:  San Francisco Edition"
On May 6th, a 4-alarm fire destroyed this building at 200 Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission district, leaving dozens homeless. Folks in the neighborhood are hoping that Fred's Liquor & Delicatessen will re-open ASAP; in addition to corner-store staples, like booze and cigarettes, Fred's offers fair-trade Palestinian olive oil.                     CLICK TO ENLARGE

58th & 8th Ave [SW Corner] (August 11, 2012)

A beautiful woman, a homeless man, a chihuahua find themselves at a Columbus Circle crossroads, between Dunkin' Donuts, Subway, and Duane Reade. The etching reads "Swanke Hayden Connell Architects 1989."                       CLICK TO ENLARGE 

13th & 3rd Ave [SW Corner] (August 12, 2012)

I don't know why the Brontosaurus roams alongside this East Village building. Not a lot of info out there, but, according to several internet forums, a lot of people think it would be really cool to rent the apartment above the dinosaur's tail. (Current price is roughly $2500 for a 700 sq ft 1-bedroom.) And you can furnish with goods from Gothic Cabinet Craft. More pics HERE.            CLICK TO ENLARGE

46th & 7th Ave [SE Corner] (August 11, 2012)

Love it or hate it, Times Square is always interesting. In fact, just a few hours after this photo was taken, the NYPD shot a knife-wielding man dead, just a few blocks south. Twelve (12) shots were fired by two officers. The crazed man was known as the "Times Square Ninja." Aside from that, there is so much to see. The Bertelsmann Building is one of the few buildings in Times Square to contain class A office space, which is partially defined as "the most prestigious buildings with rents above average for the area.”     CLICK TO ENLARGE

14th & Broadway [NW Corner] (July 29, 2012)

"Weekend Wildcard:  Dramatic Taco Truck Edition" 

Paty's Taco Truck, operated by Patricia Monroy and her son Alberto Loera, features a dramatic Aztec mural on its side. The taco truck, regularly parked on the South West corner of Union Square Park since 2009, serves "Autenticos Antojitos Mexicanos." Try the Tlacoyos (lah-koy-yoz).
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83rd & 3rd Ave [NW Corner] (July 14, 2012)

SoulCycle is all the rage! It mixes cycling with an upper-body workout, meaning people actually do pushups (and other crazy stuff) on their stationary bikes, while they're pedaling! "Throw in some candlelight, a whiff of aromatherapy to cover the B.O., and charismatic instructors shouting encouragement over upbeat dance music, and you've got a cardio class with a devoted following." (LA Times) Here is Soulcycle's Upper East Side outpost.
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18th & 10th Ave [NE Corner] (August 5, 2012)

Taken from the High Line, this photo shows a West Chelsea block that mixes the old with the new. Nestled between the Della Valle Bernheimer-designed luxury condominium (459 East 18th Street) and a couple of colorful tenement buildings, La Lunchonette features "rabbit with prunes, muskily sweet venison studded with quince, cassoulet to get lost in, and golden-glazed tarte Tatins." New York Magazine also says it's very romantic.              CLICK TO ENLARGE

60th & 2nd Ave [SW Corner] (July 14, 2012)

The Roosevelt Island Tramway carries commuters from Manhattan's East Side, along the 59th Street Bridge (aka Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge) to Roosevelt Island, in the middle of the East River. Wikipedia Fun Facts: Each cabin has a capacity of up to 110 people and makes approximately 115 trips per day. The tram moves at about 17.9 mph and travels 3,100 feet in 3 minutes. At its peak it climbs to 250 feet (76 m) above the river. And the tram was the last holdout for the use of tokens in the New York City transit system, eventually accepting today's MetroCards.        CLICK TO ENLARGE

86th & Columbus Ave [SW Corner] (May 5, 2012)

This beautiful Upper West Side red building is next to this red building. A hilarious Yelper describes the 86th Corner Wine & Liquor store: "You're headed to an engagement party… what's classier than bringing a nice bottle of whiskey? I’ll tell you what: a vodka bottle IN THE SHAPE OF A TOMMY GUN… a marvel of booze-bottle engineering… nothing says, 'I'm so happy to share this special moment with you,' like shots out of the barrel of a gun… the lady at the register goes, 'Finally, someone's buying that thing.'"                        CLICK TO ENLARGE

Waverly Place & 6th Ave [NW Corner] (July 29, 2012)

Waverly Restaurant / Waverly Diner, the most famous Greek diner in Greenwich Village, recently underwent a gut renovation for the first time in 30 years. Most agree that it was cooler before the renovation. NY Magazine described as a "working-class steakhouse with dark-wood paneling, snug, vinyl-padded booths" where "actors’ eight-by-tens line the perimeter as a forgotten pantheon: patron saints of cheap food, fast service, and fading traditions." And NY Song Lines says, "when I first ate there in 1985, it already seemed like a time capsule."            CLICK TO ENLARGE  (IT'S MUCH BETTER!)

Canal & Centre St. [SE Corner] (August 4, 2012)

"We Buy Gold Diamond Watches. Pay Top Dollar." This Canal Street souvenir shop sits in a building called New Land Plaza, for which there have been 22 foursquare check-ins. CLICK TO ENLARGE

51st Ave & Jackson Ave [NE Corner] (July 7, 2012)

Queens
I like this photo of 1030 Jackson Ave., in Long Island City (LIC). The Citibank building in the distance is by far the tallest (only) skyscraper in the entire borough of Queens.           CLICK TO ENLARGE

25th & Park Ave [SE Corner] (July 29, 2012)

Despite the boring Citibank, this is a beautiful New York City corner, between the Gramercy and Flatiron neighborhoods. The three well-maintained brick low-rise buildings nestled between their mid-rise counterparts. The black fire escape. The classic Rosenwach water tank. The faded ad from yesteryear. Plus, Los Angeles-based Wahoo Taco and Chicago-based Potbelly Sandwich Shop recently opened on this block. Good times on 25th and Park Avenue South.   CLICK TO ENLARGE