Thursday, July 7, 2011

Hojo's Lost Newsstand

We've lost one of my favorite newsstands.


2010

This one stood in Times Square for many years in front of the Howard Johnson's. When they tore down 1551 Broadway and put up the hideous, digital mess that is American Eagle Outfitters, it was only a matter of time before the little green stand was bulldozed and replaced with a Cemusa box.


today

The stand didn't fit with the new Times Square. Every time I saw it, I remembered Howard Johnson's and the way things used to be. The battered little stand had a humanity about it. It stood out from the brushed-steel and glass crowd in its green skin, its yellow and red sign, its sides loaded with magazines.





What replaced it is not just any Cemusa box, but a digital box, the sides equipped with television screens flashing ads for Dunkin Donuts and Coca-Cola, showing the weather report. It's another dead thing.

Now the New Times Square and American Eagle's tower of televisions have the newsstand they deserve.





See Also:
Another Newsstand
Union Square Newsstand
Jerry's Newsstand
& Lots more about Bloomberg's destruction of the old newsstands

4 comments:

EV Grieve said...

Ugh. Lifeless Square.

JAZ said...

Another one bites the dust. There are some cool little newsstands with character still kicking around, but I fear all of their days are numbered. My fave is the one on Park between Church & Broadway, across from the former OTB - I'm sure once that lot is developed, it will be replaced with one of those lifeless boxes as well.

Can one of these with an organic garden planted on the roof be right around the corner? Maybe Mixmaster Mike B and his backup group, The Suburban Conversion, can plan it over artisinal cupcakes and soy latte.

Anonymous said...

About this Cemusa thing, it couldn't be that some pol is getting a little kick back, could it? I mean I'm not saying but you get my thinking, if you understand what I'm saying.

Anonymous said...

a little kick back? HEH. More like Bloomberg is choking on the money, Cemusa is jamming down his throat.