Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Something Neat: What Do These Two Things Have In Common?
Filed under: 11222, Crazy Cat Lady, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Urban Fur
(Or: Meet Eddie)
This, a SRO (and formerly a home for the aged), at the intersection of Oak Street and Guernsey Street…
and this stretch of Green Street. The answer (as I discovered this week on the premises of the aforementioned SRO) is this!
It reads as follows:
H.C. Fischer Iron Foundry
234T324 Greene St. B.E.D.
For those of you who are not in the know before E.D. became a buzz phrase associated with “male enhancement” products it meant “Eastern District”: a moniker employed to describe the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area. So this manhole cover —which is found in the Garden Spot— was, in fact, made in the Garden Spot. Or to use the parlance of the day: Brooklyn Eastern District. Naturally I had to look into who this Fischer chap was (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives of course). I couldn’t find anything for H.C. Fischer— but I did find something about a H.E. Fischer. Without further ado (and in nod to this week’s primary) here it is: an item from October 17, 1900 edition the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Enjoy!
Another item of (macabre) interest I found is this. It dates from December 18, 1885. One word: YIKES!
To close this post on a more informational (and upbeat) note:
1. You can read more about Greenpoint’s former home for the aged (as bequested by Samuel J. Tilden!) by clicking here.
2. Here are a few shots of the premises and my host: Eddie!
He muses:
When you sit out here at 5:00 a.m. with a cup of coffee you can hear at least sixteen different kinds of birds singing!
And of course Eddie’s on-again/off-again* companion…
Patrick! Eddie found him as a wee little kitten in an earth mover. He nursed him back to health.
Patrick loves squirrels. Or more accurately: killing them.
But Eddie told me that occasionally Eddie’s prey of choice have elected to fight back: one such varmint— in the heat of battle— ripped out part of Eddie’s throat! This set Eddie back $1,000 in veterinary bills.
They build ’em tough in Greenpoint!
Miss Heather
*As Eddie told me Patrick seems to sense when a vet visit is around the corner. Let’s just say this fetching feline is currently keeping his distance!
P.S.: This post goes out to my friend, Jen Blossom, who lost a very good friend today. Kali rests with (or would that be chases?) the angels now.
Comments
One Comment on Something Neat: What Do These Two Things Have In Common?
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Lisanne! on
Thu, 16th Sep 2010 8:13 pm
Here’s a book on the old Eastern District, called “The Eastern District Of Brooklyn” (Of Courese) written by Eugene Armbruster, who took thousands of wonderful Brooklyn pictures from about 1900 through the early 30’s.
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