HERE’S 101-103 Union Street between Columbia and Van Brunt, at the west end of a very long street that goes all the way to Brownsville. The building currently serves as one of NYC’s hundreds of tattoo parlors, but it has a lengthy history…
It’s seen here in 1940 as the Barbaro ice cream parlor. Interestingly, and coincidentally (maybe), the building also hosted a barber shop. The building itself, according to Cinematreasures, has been here since the late 19th century and was originally a stables; in 1896, it became the Star theatre, hosting live vaudeville shows. For awhile, it also was a concert venue called the Star Theatre, a callback to its history, in the 2000s. In 1909, it was converted to International Moving Pictures, showing silents. In 1926 it became the Italian Marionette Theatre, and had closed by 1930, after which it was put to a number of uses including a motorcycle dealer.
The building next door at #97 is also something of a mystery because of some faded art on the roof structure; I’ve looked at it in this condition and in Street View when it’s a bit less faded, and can’t make out the wording. I can make out the fish at the bottom, though. That structure also shows up in the 1940 photo and I can’t identify its purpose, either. Comments, of course, are open.
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12/1/24