92nd & 3rd Ave [NW Corner] (July 14, 2012)

This building on 93nd Street and 3rd Avenue, on the Upper East Side, was most recently occupied by Brother Jimmy's Bait Shack, an offshoot of the Brother Jimmy's chain of BBQ restaurants/sports bars.  NY Mag said of the Bait Shack, "The whole place has the feel of a sloppy family reunion gone South."            CLICK TO ENLARGE

S 5th & Kent Ave [NE Corner] (February 2, 2013]

Williamsburg Street Art. This mural was created in 2010 on the building that formerly housed the Rock Star Bar (aka Ship's Mast, aka Mermaid Bar).            CLICK TO ENLARGE

29th & 3rd Ave (Then and Now) [1915 and 2013]

"Then-n-Now!"

The "Rose Hill Historic House" at 203 east 29th Street is one of the few remaining wooden houses in Manhattan. This hidden gem in Kips Bay ("KipsMurCy") is rumored to have been built as early as 1730. The unusual lot size (50 feet wide by 24 feet deep) suggests that the house was relocated here, from another location nearby. By 1915, it apparently served as a "Junk Shop," with "Empire Sign Co." next door. Today, it is a private residence.            CLICK TO ENLARGE

W 4th St & Cornelia St [SW Corner] (February 9, 2013)

Greenwich Village in Winter. Karavas Place epitomizes "the typically tacky but cheerful eighties-era Greek diner," says NYMag. The restaurant also features a "smelly, dark, and cheap" bar and  a lounge. And the good times go on until at east 3:30 a.m.                CLICK TO ENLARGE

22nd & 3rd Ave [SE Corner] (January 10, 2013)

Throughout much of the year, Rolf's German Restaurant in Gramercy is jam-packed with Christmas tchochkes. Other times, the restaurant is filled with trees to create an outside-is-inside theme. According to NY Mag, there are positives ("remarkable array of German pilsners and hefeweissen") and negatives ("the food is a mediocre throwback to another era.")    CLICK TO ENLARGE

11th & Greenwich St. [NE Corner] (August 5, 2012)

Photographer Annie Leibovitz's Boston Ivy-covered, West Village home is across the street from The Spotted Pig. The 10,000-square-foot property features 13 fireplaces and a private courtyard. Leibovitz put the house on the market in 2012 for $33 million.         CLICK TO ENLARGE

Clarkson St & Washington St [SE Corner] (August 5, 2012)

"Are you ready for some football?" On a large parking garage on the border of the West Village and Soho, a nylon billboard promotes the upcoming 2012 NFL football season. And, according to UrbanDaddy, the nearby Westway is "a gritty, grimy throwback that’s equal parts dive bar, gentleman’s club, and shelter for wayward models."                 CLICK TO ENLARGE

Grant Ave & Union St [San Francisco] (December 15, 2012)

Weekend Wildcard:  San Francisco Edition
This red building in the North Beach / Telegraph Hill neighborhood is an example the San Francisco "Bay-window Italianate" style of architecture (I think). Next door, the S & S Grocery store is a "great little neighborhood place" with "a frisky white cat that loves his picture taken."        CLICK TO ENLARGE

Flatiron [Graffiti-Covered Truck] (December 2012)

A cool graffiti-covered box truck, in KipsMurCy (Kips Bay / Murray Hill / Gramercy) (& Flatiron)
CLICK TO ENLARGE

W 3rd St & 6th Ave [NE Corner] (February 9, 2013)

A woman looks both ways before crossing, at West 4 St Station in Greenwich Village, near Washington Square. When the weather turns, the Minetta Playground (West 4th Street Courts), on this corner, becomes the scene of iconic street basketball games, every day, from dawn until dusk.
CLICK TO ENLARGE

49th & 10th Ave [NE Corner] (November 23, 2012)

The western-most outskirts of Hell's Kitchen always feels like a forgotten neighborhood to me. I do like the brushed brick building that houses Adriatic Discount Wines & Liquors.      CLICK TO ENLARGE

6th & 2nd Ave [SW Corner] (February 9, 2013)

A man shovels snow from the sidewalk in front of graffiti-covered storefronts in the East Village. [Check out this post about Block Drug Store]                       CLICK TO ENLARGE

Kearny St & Columbus Ave (December 15, 2012)

Weekend Wildcard:  San Francisco Edition

Cafe Zoetrope  is a bistro and wine shop on the ground floor of San Francisco's Columbus Tower, also known as the Sentinel Building. The Transamerica Pyramid, SF's tallest and most iconic skyscraper, looms in the background.     CLICK TO ENLARGE

N 1st & Kent Ave [SW Corner] (February 2, 2013)

Robots Will Kill. This vibrant mural -- at at N 1st Street and Kent Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn -- is tagged "veng chrisrwk robotswillkill."            CLICK TO ENLARGE

Bleecker & Mulberry [SE Corner] (1983 & 2013)

"Then-n-Now!"
The southeast corner of Bleecker and Mulberry has not changed much during the past 30 years. Though, that building has grown a few floors taller. That's an ad for Salem Spirit cigarettes at the 1983 subway entrance. And look at those classic clunkers (see blown up photo below).
[1983 photo courtesy of NYU Archives]         CLICK TO ENLARGE

49th & Broadway [NE Corner] (November 16, 2012)

Ruby Foo's in Times Square. This cavernous Pan-Asian restaurant combines Chinese, Thai, and Japanese cuisine. While the words "tourists," "kids," and "cheesy" are oft repeated in online reviews for Ruby Foo's, many agree that the food is very good.                 CLICK TO ENLARGE

Arab St & North Bridge Road [Singapore] (January 2013)

Weekend Wildcard:  Singapore Edition
Singapore Zam Zam is one of Singapore’s best-known Muslim restaurants. Zam Zam has been serving authentic Indian-Muslim dishes since 1908! The restaurant specializes in Murtabak (a pancake stuffed with eggs, onion, and meat) and Biryani (Basmati rice made with spices, chicken, mutton, fish, eggs, or vegetables).       CLICK TO ENLARGE

Perry St & 7th Ave (November 3, 2012)

A tourist waits to cross 7th Avenue South in Greenwich Village, as the nearly-completed One World Trade Center (aka "Freedom Tower") looms in the background.          CLICK TO ENLARGE