While scuttling furtively through the streets of New York, looking down while trying to avoid meeting the gaze of my betters, I sometimes catch sight of elements that the more industrious, competent and confident New Yorkers fail to see.
One of these is the sidewalk plates that were installed by long-ago concrete pourers and sidewalk manufacturers to identify their businesses to anyone who too care to notice. They’re a window into the past, calling attention to no-longer surviving businesses.