A Tragic Way To Go Out Of Business

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The Last Used Book Store in Downtown Worcester, Has a Devastating Fire

Although I somehow never made it to the Ben Franklin Bookstore in Worcester, MA, I have been in many shops like it and they are just all going out of business slowly but surely.

Worcester used to have many used book shops including a great one owned by Manasha Bilsey, Another Story Used Books, which he closed in 2003 because as he put it “the Internet has made used book stores not salable as a business model.”  Metropolitan areas have a hard time sustaining these types of businesses unless the proprietors of the store also own the building. This is often not the case, as buying the building is usually not a financially feasible option. Even owning the building is sometimes not enough to prevent the inevitable in what is becoming a vanishing occupation, proprietor -used book shop, open to the public. Continue reading →

I Just Paid $13,530 For Some Rags

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OR…Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Memorobilia Auction

Well, I didn’t pay that kind of money. But somebody did.

When movie star Debbie Reynolds abandoned her long-time dream of having a museum to showcase the history of Hollywood, the treasures which she had been accumulating for decades, went to the auction block. A good portion of the nearly 600 lots sold for significantly more than their high estimate.

Charlton Heston’s robe from Planet of the Apes (1968) went for $13,530 (all prices include buyers premium). Yes it is the costume Heston’s character Taylor wears during much of the film, but it really is a rag isn’t it? There were fantastic costumes that were available and I suppose if you wanted to own movie history and you had a budget to adhere to, this raggy robe was as good as anything. I’d like to see the new owner actually wear it. In public. Continue reading →

The 1929 World Almanac

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Some Vintage Advertisements of the Era and What Americans Paid in Taxes

The World Almanac was called The World Almanac because it was published by The New York World newspaper, not because it contained everything about the world. A version is still published every year even though the New York World has been gone for many years.

This edition was published in early 1929 when America was riding high. The stock market crash that caused the Great Depression in October was still months away.  The almanac covers the past events of 1928 and has data on thousands of items that are no longer covered in modern almanacs.

The first 70+ pages were advertisements. The rest, useful information.

Here are a few interesting things I found looking at my copy. (click on any photo to enlarge and click again for high resolution)

You need a coffin? The Springfield Metallic Casket Company of Springfield Ohio has many to choose from including “old reliable.” My favorite Continue reading →

One of the Strangest Deaths in New York’s History

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Girls Chase A Boy to Give Him Birthday Kisses… and He Dies

Woodlawn Cemetery Is The Final Resting Place of George Spencer Millet Who Had One Of The Strangest Deaths In New York’s History

Woodlawn cemetery 1909 Gravestone of George Spencer Millet died while evading girls kisses on his birthday at Metropolitan Life Building

There is a book called Woodlawn Remembers: Cemetery of American History by Edward F. Bergman (North County Books, 1988.)  The book is mostly comprised of beautiful full page color and black & white photographs of monuments, tombstones and mausoleums with one page of text describing each person profiled.  The cemetery is located in the northern part of the Bronx. Woodlawn is on my shortlist of recommendations of unusual places to go for New York visitors.

The book is fascinating to be sure. It covers many of the interesting and important historical figures at Woodlawn. But one story not mentioned, is the life and death of George Spencer Millet (misspelled as George Millitt by The New York Times in the story at the end of this article) who is interred at the cemetery.

Millet’s story is briefly recounted in Permanent New Yorkers A Biographical Guide To The Cemeteries of New York by Judi Culbertson and Tom Randall (Chelsea Green 1987.) This book contains photographs too, but has more detailed biographies than Woodlawn Remembers. Permanent New Yorkers also covers the entire New York area, not just focusing on the two most famous New York City cemeteries. Woodlawn and Greenwood. I highly recommend both of these out-of-print books.

It was February 15, 1909 and Millet was a good-looking boy. Because when the girls he worked with at The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company found out that it was his 15th birthday, they all insisted on giving him a kiss. Continue reading →

ESPN “Improves” Baseball With Incredible Technology

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A Strike Box, Called K-Zone, So Viewers Can Have their Main Focal Point Completely Obscured

I watched ESPN’s Monday Night Baseball for the first time this season for a few minutes. The Yankees were battling the Reds in interleague play.

For those baseball fans who don’t know where the strike zone is or question the umpire’s judgment, the brilliant minds at ESPN have put a rectangle superimposed over the home plate area to point out what was a ball or a strike. It was on the viewing screen for every pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning.

I quickly turned off the game before it ended and put on the radio. It was unwatchable. Continue reading →

Under First Avenue

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Beneath the Pavement

1st Avenue and 61st Street – August 11, 2010

Cobblestone streets.

Every so often New York scrapes away its layers and you can get a glimpse into the past. There was a time when many of New York City’s streets were paved with what are popularly called cobblestones, but in actuality is Belgian Block.

Last summer, the city repaved a twelve block section of First Avenue and huge swaths of Belgian Block were uncovered for a few days by the road milling machine. These vestiges of the past could be seen for the first time in decades.  Within a week, they were covered again.

For the short time they were exposed, late at night, if you listened very hard, I bet you could hear the horses hoofbeats.

Old New York in Photos #5 – 42nd Street c. 1909

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42nd Street Looking West From Park Avenue c. 1909

42nd Street 1910 Photo Detroit Publishing Co.

Trolleys, horse drawn wagons and no cars, dominate this view of 42nd street.  The building on the right is Grand Central Terminal before being completely renovated by the architectural firm of Warren & Wetmore. The tall building on the right past the trolley is the Hotel Manhattan (demolished c. 1962 and replaced by Sperry Hutchinson Building in 1964). In the far background in the center is The New York Times Tower Building which was opened in 1906. Continue reading →

The Original Yankee Stadium – Photographs and Memories

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A Reflection on The Late, Great Yankee Stadium With Vintage Photographs

I visited the new Yankee Stadium once in 2009 when it first opened. The feeling was a bit surreal. It was like being in Yankee Stadium, but it wasn’t. The main difference for me was the surrounding neighborhood and looking out past the right-center field bleachers and not seeing the apartment buildings and the Bronx County Court House.

The new Yankee Stadium is a glorified mall.

The old Yankee Stadium that existed from 1923 – 1973 was where the storied history of the Yankees took place. Even after the renovation of Yankee Stadium from 1974-1975 which included taking out the old wooden seats and the removal of the beams that could block your view from many of those seats, the stadium still retained some of the old charm, even though it lost a bit of its character. From 1976 -2008 the Yankees played in the same spot where Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Red Ruffing, Hank Bauer, Whitey Ford Joe DiMaggio and Bill Dickey saw action.

The Yankees of the last 35 years; Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer, Ron Guidry, Mel Stottlemyre, Paul O’Neill, Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter could look around and seep in the history of this altered palace of baseball, even if there were heavy cosmetic changes to the outside and inside of the stadium itself.

There was no more “Death Valley” Continue reading →

Judas Priest Founder K.K. Downing Retires

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The Band Will Make Its Final World Tour Without K.K. – What Really Happened?

In late April 2011 when Judas Priest announced that Ken “K.K.” Downing was “retiring” from the band just before kicking off their final world tour, it came as a huge shock to most heavy metal fans. The reasons given for the retirement in the official Judas Priest announcement are somewhat vague.  Downing clarified his position in two statements through his own web site.  Downing said in his first statement on April 21 2011:

“Dear friends,

It is with much regret that I will not be with you this summer. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your concerns about my health. Please rest assured that I am O.K.

There has been an ongoing breakdown in working relationship between myself, elements of the band, and the band’s management for some time.

Therefore I have decided to step down rather than to tour with negative sentiments as I feel that this would be a deception to you, our cherished fans.

However I would urge you to please support the Priest as I have no doubt that it will be a show not to be missed.”

Downing the lead guitarist, who developed the band with the lone remaining founder, bassist Ian Hill, must have Continue reading →