Greenpoint Photos Du Jour: J. Josephs & Son

The funny thing about living in Greenpoint (and New York City for that matter) is how much you take for granted until it’s gone. In my case this would be J. Joseph’s Sons Company. This storefront (located at 1058 Manhattan Avenue) is among my very favorites in north Brooklyn. We learned last week that one former holding of the J. Joseph empire has become a rather tony art gallery but otherwise the rest of J. Josephs (or “J. Jo’s” as I like to call it) is more or less intact.

What’s more, they have recently put something incredibly nifty in their window…

a couple of shots of Manhattan Avenue from 1928!  Just for fun I decided to recreate the above panorama.

I had to take a slightly different vantage point (only someone with a certifiable death wish would stand in the middle of Manhattan Avenue) but many of the elements are still there. The notable exception being the movie theater to the left. It was called the Midway.

This has since been demolished. It has since become the site of an(issued on-again, off again construction site. Judging from the permits its issued it will be a five story apartment building. Provided it gets completed anytime soon— which I seriously doubt.

To close on a bit of related trivia, many of you are no doubt aware that our Starbucks (located at 910 Manhattan Avenue) and the drug store located at 723 Manhattan Avenue were both movies houses at one time. They were the American Theater (later the Chopin Theater) and the Meserole Theater respectively. What you might not know is one more movie house in Greenpoint  is still standing. It’s a little difficult to recognize at first glance but it’s there nonetheless. Anyone care to guess where it is?

Miss Heather