Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Meatpacking Bway

A big chunk of the block of Broadway between 17th and 18th has been shuttered and is being refurbished for new businesses. What kind of businesses? High-end chains, of course, replacing low-end chain Blimpie, a pizza joint, and J&S Imports.



#863 will be restored to its 1885 Ladies Mile style to house a True Religion Brand Jeans shop, where jeans sell for up to $328.



At #865, J&S Imports--with its cool signage offering novelties from Africa, India, Haiti, and Spain--is vacating the first floor to move upstairs.

#861 is gone, too, and the demolition of its facade has revealed a mysterious ghost sign: RBACKS, it says, maybe once PAPERBACKS? Could this have been part of the famous Book Row that stretched down to the Strand?



I don't know what's coming to these last two spots, but I have to imagine they will all be in the True Religion Jeans vein--maybe a Juicy Couture? How about another Marc Jacobs? And the virus we'll call Meatpacking Creep appears to be spreading ever further.

Coincidentally, an interesting juxtaposition on the corner--Shepard Fairey's "Operation Oil Freedom" poster pasted onto one of the last old-school newsstands right next to a gleaming Bentley ($200,000):

2 comments:

L'Emmerdeur said...

Don't worry, that $328 will look quite reasonable in a couple of years when it translates into about 10 euros.

lauran said...

manufacturing left NYC. so no longer need those spaces. all the high priced junk now is sold by chain stores. new york is a retail paradise. & a theme park, & a movie set, & a big mall. SO where is real life?? not here anymore. welcome to globalization.