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CHAPTER 33 ~~ The Lower East Side in the '40s
Orchard ~ Grand ~ Delancey Streets
Due to the inclement weather pattern we have been having in New York we decided that it would, once again, be best to spend the day at the Woodbridge Mall in New Jersey where we can stretch our legs, walk around and than have something to eat at one of the surrounding restaurants in that area...While at the Mall I noticed a new fast food type of structure being built in the lower end of the mall that made reference to "Orchard & Grand" with photo's of olde time Franks, pickles and knishes along with additional pictures of people in olde time dress wear...This fascinated me and started to bring back memories of the past and of those olde times in Lower Manhattan when I was about 14 years old...
So while living in Astoria, Queens was just too great to bare in the late '40s it was time to venture further outside of my new living quarters to better understand what the distant lands also contained to help capture my exploring imagination...
With my new made Greek friend called Adam (Curly) Gounaris RIP who was a master on the handball courts and also a great showman on the sports bars (trapeze) we would take the Elevated Trains to Manhattan to look up such places as Sol Moscot Eyeglasses and also Louie Levy Suits in the Lower East Side of Manhattan...
I can recall when going to Sol Moscot Eyewear down around Orchard Street, and looking at all the various designer wear frames that were in style and on display but they were never the way I wanted them to be when completed..Don't misunderstand me as their corrective glass lens did correct ones vision as required, but the frames would change in their design pattern once the glass was inserted into the frames (probably because the glass shape was not cut down to fit the frame properly), but the price was always right for a 14 year old youngster like myself...I am almost certain that the Sol Moscot of todays times are much more in tune to the new technology available to them to keep the design the way they should be...
There were many and different shops to brows back in those days including on the carts that would line Orchard Street ~ Grand Street ~ and of course Delancey Street too.!!!...My wife just reminded me that we bought the material for our Sunnyside, Queens apartment window drapes when we first were married later in the '60s, but that's another story as we have not yet completed our adventure in the '40s...
This link will take us back to the way the Lower East Side appeared back in those '40s olde days... http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2015/05/the-grand-tale-of-orchard-street-and-life-on-the-lower-east-side.html
Nick...June 4, 2015
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nickmon4321 on Jun 6, 2015 said:
-----Original Message----- From: its Mary Ellen To: nick Sent: Fri, Jun 5, 2015 7:12 am Subject: Re: Olde New York
Thanks for sharing, some of those things I remember. My mom would take me downtown to shop sometimes. I had an aunt that lived in one of the old buildings with fire escapes and narrow dark halls. I loved my aunt but always felt kind of sad to see where they lived, how small their apartment was, and also realizing that they were much poorer than we were. As I was born in Astoria, and lived in nice housing even though we were far from rich. I am thankful to my parents who did the best they could with what little they had, and how they sacrificed. My dad's been gone for over thirty years and mom at least twenty seven, and how I still miss them, they were good people. Sorry for getting so wordy, but your e-mail brought back many memories. Again thanks, Mary Ellen
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