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GOODBYE CONEY ISLAND
Summer is gone and so is Coney Island as I remember it. Coney Island was once populated by an incredible landscape of signs and symbols. The few storefronts that retain their unique signage seem more and more endangered with every visit. In 2004, a Creative Time initiative attempted to revive the fading signscape. A group of 25 artists formed The Dreamland Artsits Club and hand painted murals in the area as well as signs for local businesses. Sadly, even many of those have since disappeared or have become isolated fragments. Despite neighborhood opposition, development corporations continue to homogenize and strip Coney Island of its personality, replacing beautiful and inventive lettering…
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WOODSIDE PRESS
I just picked up some letterpress invitations printed at the incredible Woodside Press in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The press originally opened in 1993 in Woodside, Queens after acquiring equipment from the American Type Founders Company liquidation. In 1998, they moved to their current space, which is filled to the brim with amazing type paraphernalia and not just one, but two Linotype machines. They were nice enough to let me look around at some of their amazing stuff. Click through for more
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SUNSET PARK STOREFRONTS
As more and more small businesses in New York are being replaced by large retail chains and banks, there are still a few neighborhoods–mostly in the outer boroughs–that retain some of their independence. Here are a few examples from a recent walk through Sunset Park in Brooklyn:
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PRIME BURGER
The Prime Burger, one of my favorite places in the city, is sadly closing on Saturday. They’ve been in business since 1938. I’ve enjoyed their hand-painted signs, camouflaged faux bois clock, nice people, and bacon-related foods since 1986. Bye Sandro.
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PALM BEACH #2 PREVIEW
More type from Palm Beach, Florida coming soon. These hand painted murals and signs were along Broadway in West Palm.
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POST NO BILLS
Another section just added to the main site: Post No Bills. All the same, but different. If you’re interested in supporting Vernacular Typography, consider making a tax-dedictible donation to the project through Artspire & New York Foundation for the Arts HERE.
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MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY TYPOGRAPHY
Some beautiful typography from inside the New York State Environment Hall at the Museum of Natural History. The exhibit opened in 1951 and doesn’t look like it’s been touched since then. It analyzes the geological history of a 40 square mile area of Dutchess County. I emailed the Museum’s librarian to find out more about the lettering in the hall, but didn’t learn very much (“Unfortunately, we do not have this information in our archives but the labels would have been created by the graphics team since there has been a graphics department in the Museum from very early on in the Museum’s history”). Thanks to everybody who’s already donated to…
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TRAIN TO ALWAYS
Another beautiful piece by Steve Powers is up at Red Hook Lane & Boerum Place, a few blocks away from the other Love Letters to Brooklyn (1 & 2). Original signage hiding under the Hero Shop awning: And a truck with hand painted lettering idling on Livingston: Heroic. If you’re interested in supporting Vernacular Typography, consider making a tax-dedictible donation to the project through Artspire & New York Foundation for the Arts HERE.
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ROME PREVIEW
Here are a few of my favorite shots from Rome (240 more soon to be added to VernacularTypography.com):
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MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS
Materials for the Arts is an incredible reuse and recycle program in Long Island City. They receive and organize goods from a wide range of donors and maintain a warehouse where they redistribute everything to NYC Public Schools, non-profit arts organizations, community groups, and other worthy causes. They receive donations from the Department of Sanitation, city agencies, stores, businesses, movie productions, charitable organizations, and individual donors. By redistributing cast-off items to arts, education, and community groups, they transform waste into raw art material. Vernacular Typography is a member of Materials for the Arts through Artspire and New York Foundation for the Arts. Their shelves are always stocked with an amazing (and…
Letterforms in the Urban Environment
