I got this photo at the dawn of Forgotten NY in the winter of 1998 at Bedford Avenue and North 4th, when Williamsburg was still an industrial/ethnic Eastern European stronghold, not the hipster domain and then upscale neighborhood it later became. It’s an ancient Downer’s drugstore front, with the glass Ex-Lax sign on the side window still visible.
The building street signs remain though. This is the former corner of North Fourth and Fourth; Williamsburg north-south streets were originally numbered, increasing away from the river so that Kent Avenue was First Street, Wythe Second, Berry Third, Bedford Fourth, and so on. There was apparently no confusion whatever in the two numbering systems meeting in the grid.
Here’s Downer’s Pharmacy in 1940. The Ex-Lax etched glass signs are likely there, but hidden beneath the striped awning.
And here’s the corner in late 2024, from Street View. Right off the bat, you notice the welcome presence of sidewalk trees. If you look at photos of NYC in mid-century, the lack of curb trees is quite notable. Holding down the corner is Diptyque, an upscale perfumerie, goods that were inconceivable on Bedford Avenue in the hardscrabble area it was prior to 2000.
You’ll never hear the word “perfume” in a TV ad. Manufacturers have decided the more mellifluous term is the French word, “parfum.”
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2/20/25