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The New York "bit players" we tend to ignore......
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

59th & Park Avenue, 1981.........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1142

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

34th & 2nd, 1971.............

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1171

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

* A lot of great old Noo Yawk"street nostalgia" here; note the old "RADIO-HiFi SERVICE store (phone MU-4 1695!)

Note, too, that cool "Brady Bunch" station wagon...... Very Happy
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 12:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few colorful "hack" images from 1962's "BON VOYAGE!"

These photos nostalgically recall not only the halcyon days of "rainbow" cabs in "Noo Yawk", but also, when the great transatlantic liners still called at the echoing old piers, the embarkation point for so many stylish, elegant crossings, back in the day........

https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_450816-Checker-Taxicab-A9-1959.html

https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_450820-Ford-Custom-73B-1949.html

(courtesy: imcdb.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2020 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Date this nostalgic scene to 1979*.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3182

*Your's Truly was then only working in Lower Manhattan for only several months! Shocked
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 6:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's one element behind one of the many "bit players" seen in many a bus photo over the years, especially those taken in and around the Times Square area. It is also to keep this pic alive, as it was once in a series of posts on the Signs Of The Times website, but no longer as those posts were deleted. This was a perforator made by Naxon Telesign of Chicago, of the type that controlled the zippers atop the Bond Clothes store on Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets from 1958 until the Times Square store shut down in 1977, and more significantly, the first controller of the Mk II Zipper around what was then called the Allied Chemical Tower starting in 1965.

There were 44 alphanumeric characters offered by Naxon Telesign; 'I' and 'O' were doubled as 1 and 0, respectively. (Seems Trans-Lux' controls, which were on most zippers after World War II, had less characters, namely ~40.) They were:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
$ ? . , " - ' : / █

They offered two different font variants, which will be shown in the next post.

If anyone knows the order of the characters on the keyboard, please let us know. The photo is too small to pinpoint where the letters, numbers, etc., were positioned.



naxon perf_0.jpg
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Naxon Telesign perforator
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

(The perforator wheel, which consisted of the various shapes of the letters and numerals and characters, was inside that round mechanism in back of the keyboard.)

All variants are shown in the 5 x 7 vein. The first is the one used in the 1950's, and mostly seen on the Bond zipper from 1958 to early 1967 and again from early 1971 to 1977. The second was created for the likes of the Allied Chemical Tower zipper (which was in an 11-row high array, and one column in a 5 x 7 mode was stretched to two columns) and was also seen on the Bond zipper from 1967 to late 1970 and again in alternation with the boxier font from the second half of 1976 to 1977.



telesign_5x7_var-width-01.jpg
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1st Telesign font, 1950's
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telesign_5x7_var-width-02.jpg
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2nd Telesign font, 1960's
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telesign_5x7_var-width-02.jpg


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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some cities also had vans with Telesign zippers on top branded as "News Cruisers." Most used the old font, but the one at top right had the newer variant ('DO IT NOW').


telesign_0.jpg
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And here's a picture of a bus (more specifically, A/C batwing 'Fishbowl' #8764 running on route M-7) travelling thru the area while the Bond zipper with Naxon Telesign's blocky, squarish font on display was travelling thru:

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?156211

(courtesy nycsubway.org)

That zipper originally consisted of a total of 6,944 bulbs (496 columns x 14 rows); by the time of that picture it was down to 5,950 bulbs (425 columns x 14 rows - 38 rows deactivated on the 44th Street side as shown here, 33 rows deactivated on 45th Street, all to make room for the blurb for the Mutual Broadcasting System with the font left over from when 3M owned what branded itself as the "World's Largest Network," starting around November 1965. (And like the Fishbowls, Mutual Radio itself is likewise no more.)

Incidentally, and based on ads I saw in 1957 issues of Signs of the Times magazine, looks like the zipper used A15 bulbs.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

GREATLY APPRECIATE these photos, info, and links.......indeed, truly FASCINATING (to say the least!)....thanks for taking the time to post! Wink

Speaking of the old "zipper" sign on the old Times building, you can see a VERY realistic rendition of it (in animated form) in the 1950's "Popeye" cartoon, "POPEYE FOR PRESIDENT".

The news flickering over the "zipper" gives the latest election results of the presidential race between Popeye and Bluto.

The music that is heard while the sign flashes its message truly is "in sync" with the sign itself; look closely, and you can even spot an IRT kiosk at street level!

As the PARAMOUNT/FAMOUS STUDIO cartoons were made in New York in the 40's and 50's, it is no wonder that "Noo Yawk" was represented (and spoofed!) quite often by this studio!

From my youngest days, I was always greatly intrigued by this now-gone, iconic sign, that should have been declared a landmark.......

"NYO"
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And another "bit player" in the Times Square area we once took for granted but has been all but replaced by the soulless LED displays - Douglas Leigh's EPOK in daytime, with the time display highlighting Bulova's Accutron (they were on the EPOK beginning in fall 1964, the clock accompanying it first put up around September 1965 - both Bulova and that clock lasted there through early 1976) - with #5328 running on #6 to South Ferry whizzing by:

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?155009

I think I mentioned that the EPOK array was 76 x 54, only with the last four rows deactivated in this period to make room for the clock - which display arrangement was long a favorite of mine (and had a sister clock outside the watch store on 34th Street and Seventh Avenue until about a decade ago). This type display was once ubiquitous across the country, but very few exist today (the ex-Watchtower complex in Brooklyn, the AXA Towers in Syracuse - the clock on the ex-MONY building on Broadway was ruined by the add-on of more mechanical-looking numerals on what in early literature was dubbed the "jump clock" at the base of the "weather star" atop that building).
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

Agreed; today's humongous LED displays (and I HATE those huge giant TV screen-type ads!) can, in no way, replace the gaudy, electrifying, exciting atmosphere of the TSQ area that we all took for granted.

Being only a 15-minute NHBL (#5) bus ride away from TSQ, back in the early 60's, my folks, two older brothers (who were still at home but, by then, working) and Your's Truly) would catch a # 5 and then, tale a walk up bustling 42nd St. (ALWAYS a lot of buses!!) and simply enjoy the noise, the hustle-and-bustle, and flashing lights (back then, in the pre-"peep show" era, there were many arcades, souvenier shops, and hot dog/hamburger stands.....NEDICKS was always my favorite, especially those in the subway!)

It was a BIG thrill just to stand in the middle of TSQ, and feel a part of the Greatest Show On Earth! Very Happy

By about 1970, things were going downhill, and more and more "adult" emporiums began taking over; far too many seedy characters were now making inroads into the "Crossroads Of The World".

Not surprisingly, after I grew up, I avoided the area like the plague, save, of course, for the subways.

Ironically, in a late-1940's sci-fi novel "THE BIG EYE", which opens in New York in 1960 on the eve of nuclear war with the Soviets (just prior to the discovery of a huge planet heading on a destructive path to Earth) there are several mentions of a huge television screen in TSQ, replacing the old CAMEL cigarette sign (I well remember that sign!) If only the author were alive today, and see what TSQ is like today!

Take me back to 1962, anyday......... Wink

"NYO"
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
It was a BIG thrill just to stand in the middle of TSQ, and feel a part of the Greatest Show On Earth! Very Happy

By about 1970, things were going downhill, and more and more "adult" emporiums began taking over; far too many seedy characters were now making inroads into the "Crossroads Of The World".

It could be argued that, in the 1970's when its reputation was at its lowest and its seediest, the "Crossroads of the World" was indeed at a . . . ahem, crossroads.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 10:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B. Fishbowl wrote:
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
It was a BIG thrill just to stand in the middle of TSQ, and feel a part of the Greatest Show On Earth! Very Happy

By about 1970, things were going downhill, and more and more "adult" emporiums began taking over; far too many seedy characters were now making inroads into the "Crossroads Of The World".

It could be argued that, in the 1970's when its reputation was at its lowest and its seediest, the "Crossroads of the World" was indeed at a . . . ahem, crossroads.


W.B.:

I used to avoid Times Square like the plague for years, when I worked in the city; of course, being underground in the subways, you were, at least, spared having to pass by the seedy peep shows and adult book stores....."The Square" had really sunk to an all-time low.

Then, somehow, it "gentrified", and the seedy element departed....only to be replaced by demented costumed "cartoon characters", pushy street vendors, assorted "performers", etc.

I have not been in that area (PABT) since early 2004, when Your's Truly retired after nearly 25 years of working downtown.

The Wall Street area I knew like the back of my hand is now more atkin to the DMZ, most of the stores I remember are gone, and heavy police presence near the NYSE further give one an uncomfortable feeling (not to mention all the barricades and barriers)

The BMT Broad Street station entrances adjacent to the NYSE are now permanently closed; many offices/banks have relocated or closed, and condo and gyms are now the norm in the area.

And, of course, there are no more railfan windows on the subways..... Sad

"NYO"
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
I used to avoid Times Square like the plague for years, when I worked in the city; of course, being underground in the subways, you were, at least, spared having to pass by the seedy peep shows and adult book stores....."The Square" had really sunk to an all-time low.

Then, somehow, it "gentrified", and the seedy element departed....only to be replaced by demented costumed "cartoon characters", pushy street vendors, assorted "performers", etc.

I have not been in that area (PABT) since early 2004, when Your's Truly retired after nearly 25 years of working downtown.

Its state in the 1970's made it all the more glaring - not to mention tone-deaf - when, in 1976-77, WOR-TV had as its slogan "Adult Entertainment At Its Best." They, of course, meant that their fare (save for Romper Room) was meant for an older audience than many of the "kiddie-oriented" programming on the other indie channels (WNEW-TV and WPIX). Unfortunately, though, given that they were located on Broadway above the Rialto Theatre at the time (what, at sign-on, they called "the WOR-TV Production Center at 1481 Broadway"), and given what was playing at that venue then, the term "adult entertainment" had a whole 'nother meaning than what the station intended. Wonder how many avoided watching Channel 9 because some thought that the X-rated type of "adult entertainment" would have played in the late hours before Joe Franklin came on?
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 11:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

Ahhh, Joe Franklin.....his show was instrumental in getting "THE HONEYMOONERS" back on WPIX, back in the early 80's, after the show had been pulled from the lineup (WPIX, believe me, heard PLENTY from "Honeymooners" fans, Your's Truly included!)Wink

I still remember (on WOR) "The Million Dollar Movie" ("Tara's Theme" was the theme music); way back then, on the other NY "indy" channels, I recall Chuck McCann's "Let's Have Fun", "The Sandy Becker Show/"Sandy's Hour", "Beachcomber Bill", "Fred Hall's Hall Of Fun", and, of course, the great Soupy Sales (man, I'm REALLY showing my age, now!)

And, of course, in the afternoons, "Cap'n Jack McCarthy ("SIX BELLS! THREE O' CLOCK AND ALL IS WELL, AND WELCOME ABOARD!) when he hosted the old "Popeye" cartoons (we never missed "Popeye" either in my house, ditto "Officer Joe Bolton"!)

I remember, late on Sunday mornings, 1940's Abbott & Costello movies would be shown; back then, too, the old "Bowery Boys" were being aired (myself, my dad, and my older brothers never missed these!)

The "Boys" would also be billed as "East Side Comedy"

Getting back to Times Square, it till amazes me, that, in the brief span of a decade, how dangerous and sleazy it had become; as a small lad, I well recall 42nd St. being a continous, glorious, noisy, double-row of game arcades, souvenier shops, hot dog/hamburger stands, novelty stores, etc.

It was, way back then, a truly exciting place to be, with the streets jammed with BUSES and taxis of many colors, and, also, hearing the subways rumble and roar beneath your feet, not to mention the huge electric "spectaculars" flashing overhead!

It's like this all took place 500 years ago, on a distant planet, somewhere in the Ford Galaxy..... Laughing

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Sat Sep 25, 2021 1:08 am; edited 4 times in total
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