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The New York "bit players" we tend to ignore......
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W.B. Fishbowl



Age: 57
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Location: New York, New York, USA

PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 5:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another detail:

At the time of the 1965 blackout, the long-standing Admiral Television Appliances "spectacular" on 47th between Broadway and Seventh Avenue was either removed or in the process of being removed (to the point where there was an empty hole there at the time of the 1965 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade), whereas by the time this film was shot in 1967 the first "Coca-Cola" spectacular was in that spot. (I saw on eBay a 1969 photo where that first billboard was already deactivated and dismantled, to be replaced just in time for the 1969 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade by the one that would hold, with few modifications, to that building's 1991 demolition; but the two-color [red and green] 'zipper' accompanying that ad was still in place.)

1977 would be the year the EPOK was turned off for good; it managed to hold on in time for Guy Lombardo and Ben Grauer, in what would be the last time for both of them, to usher in the New Year, the last advertiser to peddle their wares on that 76 x 54 array being Carlton cigarettes; it was almost automatically rendered obsolete by the Spectacolor display above the One Times Square 'zipper' that first lit up on Dec. 1, 1976.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

Great historical info, as always! Wink

Back in the early/mid 60's, I remember one "spectacular" for "LIFE" magazine; I am not sure if this was the sign that had "animation" to it, for I can remember one showing a LIRR "Dashing Dan"-type commuter dashing for his train, which was seen disappearing down the track (this would have been about 1964/1965, if I remember correctly)

As we had a "CASTRO" convertible at home at that time, that spectacular is another that still stands out in my memory; back then, TSQ was not yet a "sleaze pity", and it would be decades before it became a "clean" era.....where tourists were being accosted by "characters" dressed as Elmo, Buzz Lightyear, and the like. Sad

Recall, too, circa-1965, what a great place TSQ was simply to stop and "bus watch".......ahhh, memories....... Smile

"NYO"
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W.B. Fishbowl



Age: 57
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Back in the early/mid 60's, I remember one "spectacular" for "LIFE" magazine; I am not sure if this was the sign that had "animation" to it, for I can remember one showing a LIRR "Dashing Dan"-type commuter dashing for his train, which was seen disappearing down the track (this would have been about 1964/1965, if I remember correctly)

As we had a "CASTRO" convertible at home at that time, that spectacular is another that still stands out in my memory; back then, TSQ was not yet a "sleaze pity", and it would be decades before it became a "clean" era.....where tourists were being accosted by "characters" dressed as Elmo, Buzz Lightyear, and the like. Sad

Recall, too, circa-1965, what a great place TSQ was simply to stop and "bus watch".......ahhh, memories....... Smile

Life magazine advertised on the EPOK from 1957 to 1960. The "Dashing Dan" type animation was connected with Bulova which in turn would have been in the 1964-65 period as you thought (pre-installation of clock). Some films shot in the area put up on YouTube have snippets of that animation you speak of.

As for Sesame Street Muppets, I preferred Grover anyway . . . Wink
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

Ahhh, it was the "BULOVA" sign that had that "Dashing Dan" animation; glad I finally got confirmation on that one, after so many decades! Wink

You mentioned "Grover" (how can one not help but like the fuzzy little guy?) Very Happy

I started watching Sesame Street when I was 19, way back in 1976(!!), as I loved not only the Muppets, but, also, the many "urban" skits, films, and animation that featured buses, subways, and trains (ANYTIME a "Sesame Street" segment featured a bus, you ALWAYS heard the unmistakable sounds of an Old Look....complete with that distinctive "GM" horn!) Very Happy

Recall "Grover" working as a waiter? (that poor Muppet gentleman, who was dining in the restaurant, REALLY got blindsided by Grover's good intentions!)Rolling Eyes

I was particularly fond on Kermit's news flashes, complete with classic "1010 WINS" music intro!

Speaking of "The Street", just a few weeks ago, Emilio Degardo, who played the always-cheerful, helpful co-owner of the "Fix-It Shop" (Luis) passed away; the lovely "Maria"was the other owner of the shop.

Recall, too, "Hooper's Store", with its classic soda fountain and pay phone? (a DIAL phone, no less!)

One of Bob McGrath's always enjoyable "Who Are The People in Your Neighborhood?" skits featured a Muppet bus driver (in full uniform) "driving" a cardboard "Dangerfield" (in two-tone blue!)

His song went something like this:

Oh, the bus driver's the guy you know-

who'll take you where you where you want to go-

so if you're going my way-

well, I'll see you on my bus some day! (if you're lucky!)

Nostalgia...... Wink

"NYO"

BTW: Another of my favorite "old school" Sesame Street Muppets from that era was "Simon Soundman", who would be telling you about the events of his day, and using sound effects in place of certain words (yes, he DID "mention" a BUS on occasion!) Very Happy
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2022 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1970's flashback*....... Wink

https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Bus_Stop

*In the top photo, you might recognize the Muppet gentleman just to right of the "BUS STOP" sign as the same fellow who always had the extreme misfortune of being served by Grover when visiting a restuarant....... Rolling Eyes
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 2:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

To bring this back to life . . .

Here's a 1965 photo which has all sorts of "bit players" - and a MaBSTOA "fishbowl" here is amongst them, passing by the Loew's Capitol. Besides the vintage cars and trucks, this pic includes these . . .
- The Greatest Story Ever Told is playing at the Warner
- The Sound Of Music is holding court over at the Rivoli
(Both of the buildings that housed these movie palaces - not to mention the building where the Loew's Capitol was - are now long gone.)
- On the NE corner of 49th and Broadway, a billboard for Zenith (that company held that billboard since at least the 1950's, up until the '80's)
- Way in the background, the MONY Building shows the temperature at 72 degrees - back from when 7's on such clocks looked like 7's and not upside-down L's (just as buses back then looked like buses and not the what-alls of today)

All seen here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/crankalicious/6995355189/

A shame most pictures that spotlight the MONY Building in this way were taken after the early 1960's; the clock from that building's 1950 opening till about 1960 or '61 was far more elaborate in its layout, per this scale rendition:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/24498044@N03/51349604326/

And in one form or another, was also:

- In an angle, above the roof of the Bond Times Square store from 1948 to 1954
- Atop the roof of the original IBM Building on Madison Avenue in the East 50's until the building was prepped for demolition around the late '60's
- Atop the roof of another IBM building - the Chicago regional office at 618 South Michigan Avenue in the 1950's and '60's
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 8:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

GREAT PHOTOS.....indeed, a true "time warp" experience! Wink

Way, way back in those long-ago days of yore, autos looked like AUTOS and not insipid, lookalike blobs of fiberglass, buses looked like BUSES, and not bland, ho-hum, giant caterpillars and oversized milk cartons.

So, so much in everyday has changed in "Noo Yawk" (and elsewhere) since those days, and, sadly, not at all that much for the better. Sad

For one thing, the city streets were not shooting galleries, and you could ride the subways and not have to fear for your life, if you accidently bumped into someone, or, for that matter, some degenerate simply felt like hurling you to the tracks, or giving you a sucker-punch. Sad

So much for a "civilized" society..... Sad

"NYO"

* Your's Truly, in his much, much younger days, recalls "Noo Yawk" when there was a NEDICK'S on almost every block, "FALLOT SHELTER" signs were everywhere, streetside trash baskets were only half-full (if that), with "Suzy Spotless" reminding us "Don't Be A Litterbug."

There were still the iconic IRT kiosks in use at some stations, and tokens (NOT Metrocards) were required for entry; and gum and candy machines (with mirrors) still graced many station platforms.

And, of course, back then, the "Port-of-Authority" was not an area where you felt the need to be protected by several fully-armed SWAT officers, and when this structure still retained its original, sleek, 1950 facade......long before it was "improved" to what it is today.

And, of course, there were STILL Old Looks and MACKS to be enjoyed......Wink

["......You are now entering....The Twilight Zone........."
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And I stumbled across a somewhat blurry nighttime photo (apparently the photographer was not all that steady in holding the camera) taken in August 1960, with the more elaborate MONY jump clock still telling the time before the bulb count was drastically slashed as seen in the '65 pic:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/35033278@N00/331963157/

['CBS ELEVISION']

One had to have a flashlight to see if a FACL Fishbowl or Old Look was passing through.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

"ELEVISION"?? Question

Wasn't that the company that installed the first security cameras in elevators? Wink

(sorry, could not resist that one!) Laughing

GREAT photo, nonetheless.....thanks for posting! Very Happy

"NYO"

["Move up to the latest in elevator security with 'ELEVISION' "]
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
W.B.:

"ELEVISION"?? Question

Wasn't that the company that installed the first security cameras in elevators? Wink

(sorry, could not resist that one!) Laughing

GREAT photo, nonetheless.....thanks for posting! Very Happy

Given the 'eye' logo and reference to CBS, evidently the neon tubing that would have shown a 'T' before the "elevision" was burnt out. This was before they replaced all that with the marquee that was in place when The Beatles made their first Ed Sullivan appearance back in '64.

Something else too: That font CBS used for its logo from the late 1930's to the early '50's seemed reminiscent of that for the NBC 'snake' logo designed by John J. Graham and first sprung upon the viewing public in Fall 1959.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's an interesting vintage "bit player" scene of sorts from 1972 (47th St. & 7th Avenue)......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?155586

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["MaBSTOA"]
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Speaking of "bit players".......

I think one aspect of the old "spectaculars" that we took for granted (especially with theatre marquees and amusement areas) were the "chasing lights".

That these fascinating lights did not requite sophisticated electronic, computerized hardware to operate, in an era shy of today's all-too-often overly-advanced technology, makes them even more intriguing.......

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 09, 2022 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The iconic, landmark Parachute Jump at Coney Island (which operated as a popular "thrill ride" well into the 1960's), features a quite complex (and spectacular) lighting system.

Scroll down the page to read about the intricate lighting systems that are currently used to transform the landmark tower into a flashing, colorful beacon that can be seen for several miles off the Coney Island shore.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_Jump

["Steeplechase Park"]
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2022 3:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Speaking of "bit players".......

I think one aspect of the old "spectaculars" that we took for granted (especially with theatre marquees and amusement areas) were the "chasing lights".

That these fascinating lights did not requite sophisticated electronic, computerized hardware to operate, in an era shy of today's all-too-often overly-advanced technology, makes them even more intriguing.......

"NYO"

One of the major companies that supplied such flashers used on so many spectaculars, marquees, etc., was Danville, IL-based Time-O-Matic. They're still around today. Only they moved totally into LED and are known today as WatchFire Signs LLC.

Their numeral clocks are pretty well-known if you know where to look. The clock atop the roof of the Brooklyn-based building owned over the years by Squibb and then the Watchtower, and is today Panorama Brooklyn, is one such example. (Alas, since last fall, that clock has not been operational at all.) Their own literature referred to such a numeral style as 'open-throat'. (Other numeral styles were 'round' and 'square' a.k.a. 'block'.)

They also made and controlled some of the zippers along the Times Square area. The Canadian Club / Midori / Suntory zipper, from 1969 to 1990-91. That for "A Chorus Line" at the Shubert Theatre. Maybe alternating with Trans-Lux controls for changing message signs for the 1963-66 WNBC-TV 4 / 660 AM spectacular at the SE corner of 43rd and Broadway. The Grand Pussycat Theatre zipper. The one for Coke at 47th after 1978-79.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2022 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

As always, fascinating information and historical trivia; recall the "chasing lights" were once integraal to amusement parks, big and small (I'm thinking here of, course, Coney Island and the long-defunct Palisades Amusement Park)

When such lines adorned any sort of roller coaster, the effect was nothing short of mesmerizing and thrilling at night.

Again, we all took so much for granted, back in the day......

"NYO"
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