Vintage roadside

[Fading Fast]

Main Street Station - Richmond, VA

View attachment 16420

That is awesome. Just fantastic architecture. Great to see that it is still there and seems well preserved.

 

[1mach1]

That is awesome. Just fantastic architecture. Great to see that it is still there and seems well preserved.

FF, it is actually still a working train station for downtown Richmond (Main Street Station). It's a very cool building, built in 1901.

 

[1mach1]

Sauer's sign, Richmond, VA. Still operates as designed. See video!

[video=youtube;E7v-Cgbmh2c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7v-Cgbmh2c[/video]

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Rendering plants (such as Birmingham) on their own create a strong and usually unpleasant odor that seems to permeate the neighborhoods surrounding them. My last place of employment was north of, and usually downwind of, a Farmer John processing plant and two rendering plants; on a hot summer day the air could get really rank. But it's amazing, the things you can get used to. We'd have customers comment on it because they got nauseated almost to the point of vomiting from the smell, and we'd look at each other, shrug, and tell them, "It's actually not so bad today." lol

One of the housemates works as a delivery driver and his route includes the Downtown L.A./ East L.A. area and one of his stops is a rendering plant in Vernon that makes dog food. Often he'll see piles of meat sitting in front of one of the buildings when he goes there.

 

[Fading Fast]

FF, it is actually still a working train station for downtown Richmond (Main Street Station). It's a very cool building, built in 1901.

That's awesome. When I first started working in NYC, I commuted from New Brunswick NJ and the train station was old and cool (and dilapidated). I just checked it out and was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1903 and is still a functioning station today. This is a link to an image:

http://idx-images.cisdata.net/acnt/images/349/AR406349/file_manager//TrainStation_2002.jpg

Not as cool as the Richmond one, but still pretty neat and since I haven't seen it since the mid-1980s, I'm glad to see it is still there.

 

[EmergencyIan]

This gem of a bakery is celebrating its 112 birthday tomorrow (I thought it was today, so I made the trek up from my apartment to congratulate them, but it turns out it is tomorrow). As a regular, I just wanted to say hi on their 112 (so back up tomorrow - what a shame, I'll have to buy more baked goods).

It is located on 87th and 1st Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This used to be called "Germantown" for the obvious reason that it was heavily populated with German immigrants in the first half of the 20th Century. Now, this and a few other stores are all that remain of the German heritage in the neighborhood. But what a gem. The woodwork inside is incredible. And the bakery kitchen is fully visible with 100 year old marble pastry tables and mixing machines that to my eye look 75+ years old. While they have some modern baked goods, a lot of their item come from the founder's recipes which came over from Germany.

And the staff matches the store - solid, classic, old-values, great people. The baker is easy to chat with and passionate about keeping the tradition alive. The counter help is friendly and efficient and quirky (in a good way). And they will give you a sample without you having to ask (I never would) because that is how they've always done it. My favorites are their chocolate chip cookie (from a relatively modern 1950s recipe), apple strudel (no surprise there) and a killer eclair (I have no idea how that made it to a German bakery, but I'll put it up against any French bakery's eclair). And most items are not cloying - the flavors come from great recipes, quality ingredients and skilled baking - not just putting a bunch of sugar in.

If the photos didn't come up, please click on the links (and even if they did, click anyway as the links are different and better pictures) - because you want to see this place. New York City does two things to old places - it knocks them down or it "discovers" them and ruins them with attention that, most of the time, forces them upscale and fancy. But tucked away here and there are the legitimate old time stores, bars, restaurants that haven't been "discovered" and that are in normal people neighborhoods so that they can survive without charging an arm and a leg (as long as the owners two to five generations back made the wise decision to buy the building, if not, the rents even in these neighborhoods pushes these stores out of business).

If you ever get to NYC, it's worth checking this place out.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.778...!3m3!1smIoOe3KR-xuHAOY7_r1GFA!2e0!3e2!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.778...!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sEju6DmaNaWdeJJKRz3UnRA!2e0!3e2

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View attachment 12102

Forgive my tardiness, but I just saw this post.

That bakery is beautiful, Mark!

I'm going to have to stop by. It looks like a great place in every way.

Along the same lines, but a different type of eatery, is Forlini's on Baxter Street in Manhattan. It's 71 years old. I'm not certain, but they must own the building since the prices are so reasonable. It's a throwback Italian restaurant. The food is fresh "homemade" and plentiful. The atmosphere is laid back. It's owned and operated by the grandsons of the original owner.

It's been swallowed up by Chinatown, I guess. It does great business, of course. But, you would not know that it existed unless you happened to stumble upon it while walking through Chinatown or unless someone took you there or recommended it to you.

Great food and great friendly service. I recommend it.

- Ian

 

[EmergencyIan]

^ Here is a picture of Glaser's Bake Shop on Manhattan's east side, that Fading Fast introduced us to, on opening day in 1902!

- Ian

 

[Zombie_61]

One of the housemates works as a delivery driver and his route includes the Downtown L.A./ East L.A. area and one of his stops is a rendering plant in Vernon that makes dog food. Often he'll see piles of meat sitting in front of one of the buildings when he goes there.

Yep, that's one of the rendering plants I was talking about. Small world. Back in the mid- to late-60s I would often accompany my dad to his place of employment when I didn't have to go to school, and quite often I would ride along with one of the company's delivery drivers. Occasionally he would travel through Vernon, and it smelled exactly like that back then as well; I suppose those rendering plants have been in operation there for quite some time.

 

[Fading Fast]

Ian,

What a fantastic picture of Glaser's - and it shows that the links I found that looked original were actually a very old remolding. That makes sense as people back then weren't doing everything on credit, so they probably bought the improved cases and woodwork after they were successful and generated enough capital for them to reinvest in the business.

Forlini's looks fantastic - and is now on our ever-growing list of restaurants to try. Looks like a gem.

Glaser's - like the old school bakery that it is - is closed for summer vacation (!) until 8/19 (and it began it's vacation in early July). I work from home, but have a 9:30am meeting on 8/19, so I won't be there for the post-vacation opening until about 11am; otherwise, I'd be there when they open at 8am as I need to have (as referenced in my above post) their eclair, chocolate chip cookie and strudel. I've been going through Glaser withdrawal since they started their vacation.

If you go, please let me now what you think and I will do the same with Forlini's.

Mark

 

[EmergencyIan]

Ian,

What a fantastic picture of Glaser's - and it shows that the links I found that looked original were actually a very old remolding. That makes sense as people back then weren't doing everything on credit, so they probably bought the improved cases and woodwork after they were successful and generated enough capital for them to reinvest in the business.

Forlini's looks fantastic - and is now on our ever-growing list of restaurants to try. Looks like a gem.

Glaser's - like the old school bakery that it is - is closed for summer vacation (!) until 8/19 (and it began it's vacation in early July). I work from home, but have a 9:30am meeting on 8/19, so I won't be there for the post-vacation opening until about 11am; otherwise, I'd be there when they open at 8am as I need to have (as referenced in my above post) their eclair, chocolate chip cookie and strudel. I've been going through Glaser withdrawal since they started their vacation.

If you go, please let me now what you think and I will do the same with Forlini's.

Mark

Mark,

I'll be going to Glaser's, for sure. Maybe not until Fall, but I'll be there. When I go, I'll give you a full report. I mentioned it to my wife and she's very interested, as well...lol

Yes, Forlini's is great. It's not a "fancy" place such as Il Gattopardo, for example. Though, I would say that the food is just as good. And, the place has a very "warm" feel to it. And, you'll never feel rushed or be hurried out of there (like in many Manhattan restaurants). You could probably stay for hours after you have finished dinner.

- Ian

 

[BobHufford]

My wife's grandparent's had a station on Route 66 in Springfield, MO. Grandpa used to sell gas to Pretty Boy Floyd.

They sold the station and the property morphed into the Rest Haven Court. It is still in operation.

The station was moved behind the motel.

Bob

 

[dh66]

Very cool BobHufford!!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Huntington Beach, California
One of the original Arby's locations
September 25, 2014

 

[1mach1]

The old Richmond Dairy, now converted into loft apartments.

 

[dh66]

Very expensive loft apartments I'd bet.
Super cool building though, at least they didn't tear it down.

 

[Fading Fast]

It is an awesome building. Normally, when they convert building like that to loft apartments or condos in NYC, they strip out most of the interior character - it breaks my heart.

It seems that the modern loft or condo buyer - as people I know in the real estate business have told me - want modern this, that and everything and only like the vintage exterior or vibe. Hence, while the architect might incorporate an exposed brick wall for "character," the apartment interiors will all look alike and will look like all other high-end new construction apartments.

I once looked at a condo in a converted Abbey and was heartbroken that they had stripped out all of the original Abbey details, and made the condos look sleek and modern - I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Any chance they kept some / most of the interior details of the building and incorporated them into the apartments' design?

 

[1mach1]

From what I understand, the dairy was gutted completely, and is all new inside. At least they didn't mess with the exterior.

 

[Fading Fast]

From what I understand, the dairy was gutted completely, and is all new inside. At least they didn't mess with the exterior.

It is so sad that they do that - I wish more people cared about the interior historical architecture.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Some more scans...









Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Some signage...









Rob