C. O. Bigelow Pharmacy in NYC

 Above: Lulu's tribute to the famous apothecary...

I've always loved this pharmacy and thought that it was a great contrast from the ubiquitous and impersonal Duane Reades that litter this town.

I particularly love this art deco sign, probably placed there in the 1930's or 1940's.

Hope that this place continues to be there for another 173 years!
Shame that this was closed the day I passed by... Will try to get some interior shots too!

Here's some background:

What we know as C.O. Bigelow was originally founded in 1838 by Dr. Galen Hunter as the Village Apothecary Shop, and, according to Mr. Ginsberg, it was a “big gathering place,” as apothecaries were at that time. The original location was next door where LifeThyme now stands. In 1880, the business was purchased by Clarence Otis Bigelow who changed the name and, in 1902, Mr. Bigelow had the building built which bears his name. The store has resided there ever since.

Coolest Blade Runner Polaroids

"Blade Runner" is simply one of my favorite movies...

I was a child when it came out (not to date myself here ;-), and simply loved everything.

I was already a Harrison Ford fanatic, and loved the kind of what I would call "antique future" - the future imagined by people in the past...

The story is awesome, the cast perfect, everything is great.


And now, just stumbled upon a great website called How to be a Retronaut, and these amazing Polaroids came out:

Sean Young was so gorgeous, and I would die for her hairdo and costumes. But let's stop EVERYTHING: look how YOUNG Harrison was!!! Gorgeous, despite of his goofy expression!

Also INCREDIBLE: an youthful Rutger Hauer, another major crush of mine. This was the first movie I saw with him, and he made a great impact on me. His performance was intense and amazing. He's a very underrated actor...
Really fell in love with him in "Ladyhawke" (a good subject for a future post!)

Gorgeous Sean Young. She was such a promising actress... Did not really happen... Heard that she is kind of unusual (to put it politely)...

Good memories about this film. One of my favorites...

McSorley's Old Ale House

 The “tavern of individuality” was opened in 1854 by John McSorley, an Irish immigrant. Located at 15 East 7th Street, it echoed back to the Irish pubs McSorley had known back home. Known then as The Old House at Home, it served ale. Only ale. And it served that ale only to men.

In the 19th Century respectable ale houses, saloons and porter houses were not open to women. Those drinking establishments that had a dining room, like Pete’s Tavern on East 18th Street, provided a separate street door so the reputation of ladies would not be sullied by passing through the bar. Women who did take a drink at a saloon had no reputation to sully.

I am GLAD those times have changed!

A view from the 1940's. Not a whole lot has changed!

And now some shots from my latest visit. You gotta love this place!

“The walls are covered with objects of interest, all having historical significance, from the point of view of the proprietor and his friends.”

Lulu having a light MrSorley's ale

 Sawdust on the floor, still a nice touch! Very old school!

My words exactly!

"In the centre of the room stands the belly stove, which has an isinglass door and is exactly like the stoves in Elevated stations.”

I do take many things for granted, but can you believe that they only allowed women in there in the 1970's???!!!!

Jesus... just a mere forty years ago, and I have to be thankful for that!

If you want to know more about the history of this institution, click on this wonderful blog called "Daytonian in Manhattan" here.

Cannot wait to go there again!

Celebrity Sightings! Tyra Banks around my corner!!!

It was a sunny and hot Wednesday morning...
Since I am NOT a morning person, I do take a long time to process things ;-).
Saw a commotion in the corner of my street... A group of people staring at some weird "beings" doing some funny business in front of 7-Eleven...


Wondered what was going on and before you could say America's Next Top Model, there she was...

Miss Tyra Banks "smizing" in front of an ordinary 7-Eleven store in Manhattan! What are those outfits??? Tacky much?

Can it be a Slurpee ad or just one of those crazy Top Model's challenges?

 Tyra and the Slurpee - FIERCE!!

What is THAT outfit? And that eye patch thing? TACKY!

Yes, Tyra, just throw those sugary Slurpees on the sidewalk! Just do that!!! That is fierce... And by the way, those things splashed on my feet, making them deliciously sticky!

Fun work day morning, I would say ! And I usually never say that because work mornings are not fun!

Cannot wait for the next celebrity sighting!!!
Now I am equipped!!!

Mary Nisbet - The Mistress of the Elgin Marbles

What I am reading right now:

Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin (April 18, 1778, Dirleton - July 9, 1855) was the first wife of British diplomat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin during his term as Ambassador Extraodinare to the Ottoman Empire and one of the most influential and wealthiest heiresses of the late 18th and early 19th century.

I am loving the book

Looking forward to know how they managed to get the Parthenon Marbles to England.

We went to the British Museum some years ago and took some shots of the wonderful marbles:

 

Lulu at the British Museum

Crazy how they managed to get those marbles to England...

My hubby and the marbles

Such gorgeousness - no wonder the Greeks are trying to get those things back!

One of my favorite buildings... The Flatiron

Stumbled upon this wonderful blog: Ephemeral New York... Incredible how many people are interested in the same things that I am interested in such as: urban "archeology", architecture from the past, disappearing signs of olden days...

Fantastic photos from one of my favorite building: The Flatiron, and even before it was there!


Look at this 1884 shot (click to enlarge):

And it being built in 1902:

One more from the construction: 

And a cool shot from when it was already completed:

 

I see it almost everyday during my commute (I am so fortunate that I can walk to and from work every day!)

This building never ceases to amaze me... Love it....

Here's a shot I took:

And a tribute to this awesome NY landmark:

The coolest beard/mustache ever!

I was searching about Amanda Foreman's new massive book:

A World on Fire: Britain’s Crucial Role in the American Civil War

And found this article at Newsweek.

All fun and all, but one thing I HAD to post on my blog was this photo of someone called Col. Percy Wyndham.

 Is this a COOL beard/mustache combo or WHAT?
 Bet it took quite some time to get ready in the morning, I am just sayin'...

Otherwise, not a bad looking guy...

Hats from the 1880's

Sometimes I wish these times could come back so I could wear those every single day!

NEW YORK IS OURS!!!

Scenes of NY

I love walking around NY and taking some cool pictures... Love these old photo effects...

This is yours truly with and old Chevelle.... Looks like a Seventies shot, no?

Walking in NYC, favorite buildings

Now that I do have a decent cell phone camera, my walks around NY will be even more amazing: now I can document buildings that I do love without worrying about forgetting my digital camera at home...

This has been a great favorite of mine in the Bowery:

The Bouwerie Lane Theater

location	330 Bowery at Bond St.
date	1874
style	Second Empire Baroque

The Bouwerie Lane Theatre has been a theatre since 1974. Designed by Henry Engelbert, this cast iron building is a rare example of the French Second Empire style, and is an historic landmark. The building was home to the German Exchange Bank, then later housed the Bond Street Savings Bank. The space was converted into a theater in 1963. The old vault still exists in the basement and the box office window was one of the original teller windows.

Favorite collection - Chanel Pre-Fall 2011 and Byzantium

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Always loved history and one of my favorite periods is gotta be the time of the Byzantine Empire... Their taste in architecture, dress, jewelry, everything is fantastic...

Then Mr. Lagerfeld came up with the brilliant idea to have Byzantium as an inspiration for his Pre-Fall 2011 collection... A dream that Theodora would approve!

The Byzantine-themed Chanel show and collection them was inspired by the Byzantine empress, Theodora: "Theodora was a circus artist who became empress, like Chanel, who was a little singer and became a fashion empress." Enjoy the promos for the collection as well as some of my favorites from the runway show.

Any similarities????

It is a Theodora kind of day, huh???

I would DIE for that headdress...

These Chanel looks are THAT amazing.  Like Rachel Zoe would say: "I DIE".

And probably, these outfits would cost a king's ransom as well.

Here's the video: