The Old Penn Station - 50 years ago

Sharing this photo of the iconic and gone old Pennsylvania Station. Fifty years ago today it was demolished. Grand Central almost met the same fate, but thankfully it was saved from the wrecking ball. I continue to paint New York and its architecture as it is constantly changing - and disappearing. My hope is that these beautiful, iconic and still useful buildings will find new life. I was too young and not yet a painter when this building was torn down, so I've never painted it. Thanks to folks like the New York City Landmarks Commission, some of New York's treasures will not disappear.

For an article and some wonderful photos of the old Pennsylvania Station, click here.

A little New York in fabric

Thought you might enjoy seeing another creative venture. In addition to painting the New York urban landscape for many years I've now taken up quilting too. Just had to make some NYC-themed pillows and wall hangings, being the home-grown New Yorker that I am. Having a great time finding fabrics and then thinking about what I can do with them. I've just started an Etsy shop to show/sell my fabric artworks and hope you will stop by and take a peek.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/sjfstudio

A Queensboro View

Queensboro Slice
Oil on panel
6x6 inches

This small oil painting study is a view from the elevated train platform of the #7 Queensboro Plaza stop. A nice vantage point for some sweeping vistas of industrial New York.

This might turn into a larger painting, it has all the right ingredients.

Loew's Valencia Theater and More!

This past week-end started off Friday evening. I met a friend to see the play, "The Winslow Boy," and having some time beforehand, we went to sit in Bryant Park to watch the crowd of square dancers, bopping to the fiddlers and the caller's directions. A beautiful fall evening in midtown.

Saturday found me heading out to Jamaica, Queens, to tour the former Valencia movie theater, now a tabernacle church. It has been lovingly restored by the congregants and the interiors are something else. I met up with 3 childhood friends and we shared memories and laughter. Sister Forbes led a rousing program, talking about the history of the Valencia and detailing the work that went into its restoration. I am always so happy when an older building is brought back to life and not abandoned, especially one such as over-the-top as this 1929 terra cotta movie palace.

Our reunion didn't stop there though, as we headed off to have lunch at the original Ben's Deli on Queen's Blvd. in Rego Park. Corned beef, pastrami and turkey sandwiches, Dr. Brown's sodas and a potato knish. The trip down memory lane continued on as we headed over to Forest Park in Woodhaven, to check out the landmarked carousel that has happily found a new owner and was up and running after several years. It's a beauty, and there are not many of them around anymore. Forest Park is a very "woodsy" area, and a nature preserve is there, just steps from heavily trafficked Woodhaven Blvd. It was a quiet and contemplative spot in the middle of the city's hubbub.

Not finished yet, we headed over to the Richmond Hill Library to check out the WPA murals. Sadly, the library was closed on Saturday. Due to budget cuts? Or due to the fact that kids do their research these days online in front of their computers at home, making the brick and mortar libraries not the places they once were. Jahn's Ice Cream Parlour across the street, another favorite childhood destination, has been closed for several years, so we headed over to Eddie's Sweet Shoppe on Metropolitan Avenue. The store has been around for close to 100 years, and walking inside is walking into the past, as little has changed.



It was back to Queens on Sunday as I attended the funeral service of my friend's Dad. Not many left from his generation. I gathered with other friends from childhood and we shared yet more memories. Then it was off to lunch at Lenny's Clam Bar on Crossbay Blvd. This was the road leading to the Rockaways, and I traveled it every week-end in the summer as a kid as I headed out to the beach.

Subwayed it back to Manhattan after a very full week-end. Having taken a bunch of photos on Saturday, I am hoping share a painting or two in the future from this week-ends events. Is it any wonder why I love my hometown?

The Changing of Little Italy

The annual Feast of San Gennaro in what is left of Little Italy has begun it's 2013 season. Will it survive the gentrification of the neighborhood in years to come? An interesting blog post in Jeremiah's Vanishing New York written a few years ago explores the topic. A look at the history of this tradition and its future - or not. Here is a link.

"Mulberry Street Reflections"
Oil on canvas
12 x 9 inches
Sold

"The Feast of San Gennaro"
Oil on canvas
30 x 36 inches

Two of my paintings of the Festival and the neighborhood. My painting, "The Feast of San Gennaro" was used as the cover image for a sociology textbook, "Society Myths and Realities, An Introduction to Sociology" by Alex Thio, published in 2007 and then again when the book was reprinted. In the crowd scene depicted in the painting, there are many people portrayed, different ages and from different ethnic backgrounds. This is what New York is and has always been. But, year by year the face of the city is changing and neighborhoods are losing much of their diversity - that which made New York such a vibrant place like no other.

Something different today

"Antique Car"
Oil on canvas
20 x 16 inches

Something different today. I found this 1982 painting while going through my studio shelves and pulled it out to take a closer look. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. It depicts some of the details of an antique car that had been lovingly restored and was on display at an antique car show upstate. I focused in on the light fixture, horn and dashboard elements. They don't build 'em the way they used to!

I've put this painting in an eBay auction. If you would like to place a bid, click this link.

The Citicorp Center stairway

"Citicorp"
Oil on canvas
18 x 24 inches

Today's eBay painting offering depicts the stairway of the Citicorp Center leading up from the subway. This midtown building, located on 53rd between Lexington and Third Avenues is one of New York's tallest skyscrapers. I watched this building as it went up and noticed that people loved to sit on these stairs during their lunch hour, soaking up some sun and visiting with co-workers and friends.

In the 1980's I went on to paint the new Citicorp building as it was constructed in Long Island City, facing it's sister building to the west.

If you would like to bid on this painting, here is the link.