By GARY FONVILLE
Forgotten NY correspondent
Since the advent of home PCs, Facebook, Text Messaging, Email, Cell Phones and many other technologies, communication has changed greatly as a result. Who would’ve thought that the once mighty Sears and Macy’s would now be in financial difficulty. They’re in trouble because consumers no longer have to trek to a brick and mortar branch of their chain. Other types of businesses have bit the dust due to changing consumer demand. Some businesses such as beeper stores, record shops, newsstands and book stores have been affected by changes in technology.
I’ll be hitting the big 65 soon, which enables me to remember another type of business that has almost disappeared around NYC. TV/Radio repair shops were once very plentiful around the city. Almost every neighborhood had one. I lived near Dean’s TV repair/ record shop that was located on the south side of 116th Street, just west of 8th Avenue, now Frederick Douglass Boulevard. The reason these repair shops were plentiful was because in the day, televisions were very temperamental. How many of you remember spending half an hour to get those rabbit ear antennas in the right position or that rotary clicker thing on the base of the antenna to get the best picture? Even if you lived in NYC city with an outside antenna, your reception was liable to be substandard due to the TV signal from the Empire State Building bouncing off other tall buildings.
First generation color TV, which were more complex than a black & white sets, increased the chance that it would need servicing. Even adjusting the colors was indeed a skillset.
Back then, radios and TV used vacuum tubes, those bulb- like things that lit the interior in the back of the TV and also gave off a lot of heat. The back of the TV always had that brown thick cardboard material that had all the holes in it to let the heat escape from the TV. If you had a console TV, like most people did, it was impractical to take the television to the repair shop. Therefore, a technician would have to come to your house with a large case with many spare tubes to do repairs.
As a double whammy, vacuum tubes were no longer used in most electronics by the early 1970s. Since tubes were no longer used in consumer electronics, reliability improved greatly. Translation: Not as many repair shops were needed. And on top of that, televisions and radios were made so cheaply, that it was more cost-effective to buy a new TV or radio instead of repairing it.
Luis TV Repairs on 5th Avenue & Douglass Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn (above) called it quits a few years ago.
Urena Television is still hanging on at 356 South 1st Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“Comment as you see fit” kevinjudewalsh@gmail.com
2/8/17
6 comments
I was a tv repair tech for my whole life. I started by hanging around a repair shop in my hometown of Natick, Ma. when I was about 11 yrs old. The shop (O’briens radio exchange) was an interesting place. In the basement of the store was an old 6 lane candlepin bowling alley that was still functional.
Anyway the people that ran the shop took me under their wing and I learned the tv repair business. I kept hanging out there until 1960 when I graduated from Natick High School. Over the years I worked for many tv repair shops. For the last 25 years I have lived in Aurora, Co. I have watched the number of TV repair shops in the Denver area go from dozens to maybe 3 or 4 now. It’s sad. The only trade I have ever known basically no longer exists. I am now 74 yrs old and retired and have many happy memories of my years as a tv repairman
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I grew up in Elmhurst.
From the roof of my building we had a direct line of sight to the “King of All Buildings”, also known as the Empire State Building.
We had great TV reception.
With all the new buildings in LIC, that line of sight might be gone.
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Thanks for sharing this! Definitely some interesting stuff here. I went to the repair shop from http://www.stantonstreet.org/ and they did an excellent job repairing my LG smart TV! The display wasn’t working and in a reasonable amount of time it was fixed.
My cousin’s husband got into T.V. repairs and servicing mid 40′. His shop was 4th Ave. between 53-54th Sts. His Dad, and brother George also joined him. This was a large 3 story apt. type bldg., with private full apts. each of 2 floors above the store. We lived 324-60 St. Al provided us with a T.V. mid 40’s. When ever it went on the fritz, he’d bring another replacement, so we always had a T.V. I remember listening to radio, with family but as time went on, T.V. became dominant. It was interesting to see the entertainers who I always heard on the radio. Some radio shows were Amos and Andy, Fat Man (walked down a hall and got on a scale -can you believe this !!), Arthur Godfrey, Lone Ranger, Jack Benny. During the day on T.V. was Kate Smith, Maury Amsterdam, Arthur Godfrey. Nights were Groucho Marx, Ted Max Amature Hour, Milton Berle and Red Skelton. Of course many old western films which I loved to watch. Does anyone remember Magic Cottage, and Kookla, Fran and Ollie ? We were 1st on the block to have one. Great memories.
Anyone remember Signal Radio on Coney Island near Kings highway in Brooklyn….next to Time Square stores…was my dad and uncle’s
Shop?
My grandpa who passed away owned Luis tv. Finding this brought me so much joy thank you. I spent all of my childhood there and it hurt so much to let that place go