Posts Tagged ‘Northern Blvd.’
inexorably crawling
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
- photo by Mitch Waxman
One is fascinated by the automotive corridor through western Queens that is known as Northern Blvd. It is literally an “automotive corridor” as in the sense of it being a busy vehicular roadway, but it is also an industrial corridor which speaks of a forgotten moment in NY history when automobiles were manufactured in the five boroughs. This is largely a start of the twentieth century sort of thing, of course, but it was a pretty big deal back in the 1920′s.
That’s before the American auto industry consolidated itself around the City of Detroit, of course.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
Standard Motor Products is still located at the corner of Steinway/39th street and Northern, of course, but they don’t make anything here anymore- it’s just offices. At that, SMP only uses a small section of their former factory, which famously carries a modern day rooftop farm at its crown. This “history of the automobile industry in Queens” thing is a topic which has been gathering steam and certain interest for your humble narrator of late, but my research has only just begun and intelligent presentation of fact is still far off in the future.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
There is still a significant amount of auto related commerce going on around these parts, but it’s all about sales these days, not manufacture. An incalculable number of used… sorry… industry parlance is “pre owned”… cars are available along that stretch of Northern Blvd. which sits happily between Queens Plaza and the Grand Central Parkway. Something I’m working on, one of many background tasks and research projects performed and underway here at Newtown Pentacle HQ.
vainly requested
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
- photo by Mitch Waxman
My bet is that this is mid 1960′s, quite possibly a 1965, Buick LeSabre Custom Convertible which I spotted on Northern Blvd. a few months ago, here in Queens. For more on the storied history of the redoubtable LeSabre automobile line- check wikipedia.
The car was painted black, which magnified how bad ass it looked.
Gangster, in fact.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the businesses which one can expect to find along a busy thoroughfare called Northern Blvd., here in Queens, are used car dealers. Aside from high volume sellers like Major Auto World, there exist a loquacious group of classic car dealers and mechanics. There is also a large operation near Astoria Blvd. that offers older and more esoteric vehicles, whose inventory is a wonder for both area wag and young enthusiast alike.
By “classic,” we are generally referring to pre 1972 era vehicles. Essentially, cars were built heavy and fast back then, and burned through gasoline in a manner that did not anticipate the rise of OPEC.
from wikipedia
Americans are divided on the exact era in which a “classic car” can be identified.
Many Americans divide automobiles by separate eras:
horseless carriages (19th century experimental automobiles such as the Daimler Motor Carriage), antique cars (brass era cars such as the Ford Model T), and classic cars (typically 1930s cars such as the Cord 812 through the end of the muscle car period in the 1970s – a majority use the 1972 model year as the cutoff).
The late seventies are disputed as being “classics”, as the oil crisis of 1973 brought several now-infamous cars such as the Ford Pinto and AMC Gremlin.
The 1980s are often viewed as the early modern period due to the rise of Japanese automakers such as Toyota and Nissan.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
One should like to mention that there seems to be an inconsistency in the grill of this LeSabre with at least one other photo I’ve viewed, the sort revealed by google images, but am unsure as to its meaning- which one is “cherry” with the OEM grill?
Lords and ladies, if any of you are “car people,” please elucidate and educate using the “comments.”
I can tell you, however, that this was not the factory paint. Yeesh.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
When I was a young but already humble narrator, and became cognizant of those glories which were automobiles, these veritable land yachts had already begun to disappear due to the rising cost of gasoline and the concordant efforts of the Federal Government to encourage and command fuel efficiency standards for manufacturers. Modern cars are a wonder to behold and are far easier to drive safely while consuming a fraction of what this thirsty LeSabre would.
Still… just look at that…
Gangster.
somehow impelled
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
- photo by Mitch Waxman
Perambulating down Northern Boulevard here in Queens, one finds many gas stations and quite a few car washes. The Hess Station on the corner of Steinway offers both. A small, seemingly robotic car washing chamber exists here. Luckily, it possesses windows, which allow for some pretty intense lighting, at the right time of day. Car washes are another one of the things which your humble narrator waxes on about.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
“Back in the day,” as it were, it wasn’t customary to ride through the wash. You would leave your vehicle, and “the Brooklyn way” was to follow along with your car, viewing it through plexiglass windows as it made its way through the detention, wash, and optional Carnuba wax. At the end of the process, in a wood paneled room, would be a cashier. Loss leaders on sale at this station included key chains, porn magazines, “gas, grass, or ass- nobody rides for free” bumper stickers, and all sorts of fingerless gloves.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
Whereas I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords… the long counter of air freshener products screen printed with Farrah Fawcett pin ups is missing from this automata, as is a complicated display with key chains extolling the logo of several auto brands. It does make for pretty pictures, of course, but still… Where does someone go these days for mirrored aviator sunglasses that fold, or a bumper sticker adjuring the Ayatollah Khomeni to go to hell?
reflecting ribbon
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
- photo by Mitch Waxman
These shots emanate from a time in the past, an era when a young George W. Bush taught us all how to laugh. The colorful display, unfortunately, no longer graces the tableau found at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Steinway Street. A car wash still inhabits the spot, but the variegated signage has since been removed and replaced by the banal.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
The prevailing light and atmosphere of 2012′s last couple of weeks is epitomized, I think, by the shot above. A sincere desire to drink in chromatic splendor demanded that the first shot in today’s post be displayed, in order to break up the fungoid monotony of December.
perfume conquering
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
- photo by Mitch Waxman
Having finally regained the ability to move about, your humble narrator is loosed once more upon an unsuspecting borough, slaking his jaws and coveting quivering delights. A short trip (via subway) to Greenpoint yesterday evening to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the estimable Newtown Creek Alliance, and today- glory of glories- a walk down Northern Boulevard. My destination was in midtown Manhattan, but I dared not risk walking the entire way as normal habit would demand, so I caught a different train after scuttling from Astoria to Queens Plaza.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
Along the way, I spied this inflatable representation of a snow homunculus, which grabbed my attention for some reason. It adorned the shanty market of some french Canadian Christmas tree merchant, in front of the former Pathmark supermarket which has recently closed at the corner of 43rd street. Curiosity arises in me about these people, who camp out in their lots and run gasoline generators for light and heat on the sidewalks. Not enough to actually try and talk to them, but I’m curious nevertheless.
- photo by Mitch Waxman
Growing up Jewish, the only part of Christmas that was kosher in my house were snowmen. My grandmother would adjure on the entire subject of the goyem and their Christmas mishegas and confabulate “yoyzel on de cross” with “Sanda Klause”, a tradition which my mother would gladly carry on. Secular, my parents once went so far as to buy a little plastic tree a few years after my Grandmother passed away. My father spray painted it blue and white, and mom decorated it with dreidels and white tinsel, and they stuck a star of David on top. They insisted we call it a Hannukah Bush.
Personally, I always stuck to the snow homonculii, as nobody objects to them.
