WHEN in Bay Ridge in spring 2024 I was inching my way down 3rd Avenue when I spotted this venerable sign for the Metropolitan Society of Kardamylians at #7919. According to its website, the [o]rganization’s activities consist of receiving and collecting funds for charitable and educational purposes, as well as inculcating in its members the traditions, history and customs of the ancestral home, Kardamyla and assure the continuance of the educational process of the history of Kardamyla.”
I had never figured Bay Ridge a premier Greek neighborhood; when I was a boy there, its inhabitants were mostly Irish and Scandinavian, with some Italians and Syrians mixed in. Today, immigrants from all over the Middle East have arrived. Kardamyli is a town at the southern tip of Greece and is the same town mentioned by Homer in The Iliad, when Agamemnon bargains with Achilles to join his forces against Troy, offering him the town as part of tribute. The town is known for its beaches and medieval relics.
My eye was drawn to its classic plastic-lettered sign which must be several decades old; why change it– it gets the job done. It’s rendered in Century Schoolbook Bold (including the Greek language words), with the house number in Helvetica. The medallion on the left shows the prow of a Greek warship during the Trojan War era, and “Kardamyli” in Greek capitals.
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11/30/24