Buildings, Businesses, and People in Digital Murals
By Claudie Benjamin If you google Stoddard Theater on Broadway at 2431 Broadway, the New York Public Library’s digital collection will yield a small black and white photo (inset) of the Upper West Side theater taken in 1933 by Wurts Bros., a professional...
Historic Memory
By Claudie Benjamin No question cars can be dangerous machines. Most NYC drivers drive cautiously following the rules outlined in the driver’s test manual. Not so for riders of CitiBike, personal bikers, delivery bikers, motor scooters and tots on...
Christmas Trees 24/7
By Claudie Benjamin Tree drove from Florida in his van and met up with Yaya in North Carolina. They continued on to NYC to pick up their gig selling Christmas trees and wreaths on the Upper West Side. The two vendors, employees of Evergreen, a large Brooklyn-based...
Caring for the Artist, the Performer, the Creator Within
By Claudie Benjamin Gaga. Jagger. Whitney. Bono. As the Lawrence Vocal Studio celebrates its upcoming 75th anniversary, the Lawrence family continues to show why they are among the premier teachers of voice in the world. Their studio tradition has influenced some of...
Pharmacy’s Boutique Vibe
By Claudie Benjamin Even among the oldest Upper West Siders, memories are receding quickly of once omnipresent dark paneled and shelved pharmacies displaying decorative apothecary jars filled with blue, green, or amber liquid and a not-just-for-display mortar and...
Finding Treasure
By Claudie Benjamin In the mid-1970s, Louisa and John Craddock were a young adventurous couple being priced out of their apartment with a view of Central Park. Then they heard about what seemed like a great deal. Now in 2022, almost 50 years later, Louisa is...
Cheese & All That Jazz
By Claudie Benjamin Cheese and writing about jazz, (and less often on cultural phenomena–including cinema, sports and other types of music) pretty much sums up Martin Johnson’s intriguing mix of professional passions. Manager of 67 Gourmet, he is...
A Crowning Success
By Claudie Benjamin Among the many devastating outcomes of Covid, there were surprising but understandable positives. Changed behaviors brought renewed connections between a number of local business owners and their customers. Due to proactive public health...
