Archive for the ‘Photowalk’ Category
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.
later developments
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just a quick one for Maritime Sunday this week, of the Marjorie B. McAllister tug steaming out of the Kill Van Kull. Iconic backgrounds notwithstanding, this is a pretty cool little boat, and deserving of a hearty “Hi.”
Project Firebox 60
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Perennial shadow is what it has dwelt in, surrounded on three sides by mammoth Astorian apartment blocks on 34th avenue at 45th street, for more than a half century. Regardless of the darkness, it stands eternal vigil, connecting a vulnerable corner to the grid via a tenuous sarabande of copper wire. Shine on, noble firebox, shine on.
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?
perfect service
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A recent malfunction in one of the many Con Ed street pits here in blessed Astoria drew the somewhat swift response of service crews. It was only three days before they arrived at the spot where vaporous exhalations from the street had spewed, and they quickly set up for their task. Before long, a series of intense blue white flashes and a sound best described as “popping” sent them back into their service vehicle. They were summoning additional help.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A truck arrived, which had some sort of suction hose on it. The truck was very noisy, reminding one of the sound which might be made by a congress of baboons all vacuuming at the same time. The Con Ed employee was not actually a speedster whose movements were reminiscent of the Flash character of DC Comics fame, instead these are timed exposures which allowed the shutter to stay open for some 15 seconds. I know its difficult to accept that these guys actually move this much in 15 seconds, given the reputation of Union Labor in quasi municipal employ, but there you go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One prefers instead to believe that the Flash, and other meta human beings, would find easy employment in the municipal services which keep New York City’s fuse from burning away. In my estimate, the City at any given moment in only half an hour from total collapse. We live amongst a series of highly volatile dominoes kept from detonation only by the constant maintenance and tinkering of an army of labor. Somewhere in the Bronx just now, a Union guy casually tightened a screw whose failure would have otherwise unleashed the beast of Armageddon, while in Staten Island- a frayed strand of wire threatens the entire municipality with unthinkably dire and entirely existential implications.
The Newtown Pentacle 