2005
March 2008
© Frank H. Jump
See Walter Grutchfield’s 14th-42nd
March, 2008:
Fading Ad Visits Target Flatbush Sunday Evening – Happy Shoppers Amidst the Opening Week Chaos
Bharata & Jean
Joseph & Christy
Melissa
© Frank H. Jump
Brooklyn Junction visited earlier this weekend when it was a bit tidier.
Lords Bakery – No Worries in the Shadows of Target – Flatbush Junction
© Frank H. Jump
Andy Zuckerman has managed Flatbush Junction’s Lords Bakery for 30 years since he graduated from Brooklyn College. Andy has seen many customers coming into the bakery this week with Target bags. Zuckerman, when asked if the “mom and pop” local businesses might suffer from the opening of the new Target, said he thought perhaps the retail clothing stores would feel the pinch, but as far as baked goods, they can’t beat Lords’ Red Velvet Cake.
Lithographing – 120 Prince Street, Soho NYC 2005
© Frank H. Jump
Lithographing – Manifold Books, Special Forms, Engraving
I took this shot at night in July 2005 while Vincenzo and I were walking with my buddy, anthropologist Dr. Andrew Irving through the streets of Soho. After looking at the reflection in the left window, it reminded me of Joseph Stella’s Brooklyn Bridge. So I dropped it in for posterity. I originally posted this image on the Fading Ad Campaign Website as one of Three Nonsequiturs.
Sunday's Feature Fade: The Despair of Port Arthur, Texas – Robert Baptista
Port Arthur, Texas is a gritty, oil refinery town best known as the place where Janis Joplin grew up. The Procter Street downtown business area has sadly faded away along with Janis’ powerful voice. I hadn’t visited downtown in years, so I went there on February 11th with my Nikon N-90 film camera and three rolls of film.
These scenes convey the despair of downtown Port Arthur – which once thrived with department stores, office buildings, hotels, restaurants and night clubs. The area comes to life once a year for Mardi Gras weekend and then returns to its vacant ambiance. In the early 1990s, elaborate murals of historic scenes were painted on building walls, but these too are disappearing due to the relentless sun and rains of southeast Texas.
But some hope of economic redevelopment is stirring. The World Trade Building on Austin Avenue, an impressive structure built in 1928 with fine architectural details, is slated for conversion to a 170 unit apartment complex. And the Hotel Batiste is being considered for an adaptive reuse such as a school. The refineries in town have announced several billion dollars of expansions which will create jobs and give the local economy a boost. The gasoline you use in New York is most likely refined here.
– Robert Baptista (www.colorantshistory.org)
Civil War Wall Mural – Racial Harmony – Pt. Arthur, TX
Civil War Mural – Robert E. Lee – Pt. Arthur TX
Port Arthur City Limits – Kress Building – Proctor Street
Coca-Cola, Proctor Street
Derelict Hotel Batiste
Golden Light Social Club – Houston Avenue
Derelict Golden Steer Restaurant – Houston Avenue
Derelict Hotel Sabine – Proctor Street
Jet Taxi – Houston Avenue
Loans – Proctor Street
Meat & Bait – Ripped Apart by Hurricane Rita
Reckless Driving Billboard – Proctor Street
Texaco Station – Proctor Street
Verna’s Club – Proctor Street
World Trade Building c. 1928 – Austin Avenue
© Robert Baptista
Target Flatbush Opens for Target Practice – Official Grand Opening on Sunday
© Frank H. Jump
I drove past the corner of Flatbush and Avenue H on my way to perhaps the worst run Post Office in Brooklyn on Nostrand Avenue b/w Aves I & J and already the scene was chaotic. Double parked cars picking up frantic shoppers with bags and boxes up to their eyes on the “pre-opening” of Targé Flatbush. Already the landscape of this corner has been drastically altered. On local Targets that have missed the mark, the Spring Creek Target never impressed me besides being horribly staffed with unmotivated and mediocre salespeople. Let’s just hope practice makes perfect and Targé Flatbush hits a bullseye.
