Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
New York Shitty Day Ender: Diversification
Troutman Street
Irving Avenue
It would appear that someone in Bushwick belongs to the James Danforth Qualye school of spelling.
Miss Heather
Help Wanted On Troutman
I have never been a big fan of self-help industry. This is especially true of books like The Secret which lavish a great deal of attention on what is called the “Law of Attraction”. For those of you who are not motivational-speak savvy, here is a definition of this piece psycho-speak from Wikipedia:
…the Law of Attraction says people’s thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) dictate the reality of their lives, whether or not they’re aware of it. Essentially “if you really want something and truly believe it’s possible, you’ll get it”, but putting a lot of attention and thought onto something you don’t want means you’ll probably get that too.
Why anyone would need to outlay money on a book to figure this out is beyond me. My good friend Rachael (long before this idea became de rigueur to changing one’s life) coined a term for just this phenomenon:
Ass begets ass.
Which brings me to this solicitation from Troutman Street.
How can I not shake the feeling this advertisement for “good” carpenters failed miserably? Is it the fact it is written on a door with marker? The fact it will only be seen by people happen to walk down Troutman Street? The fact “ones” is misspelled? It is probably all of the above.
In any case if any “good” carpenters are reading this and are (still) need of work you might want head down to 114-124 Troutman Street.
You skills may very well still be in demand. And even if they aren’t…
you will be on the inside track to pursue this very novel business proposition just down the street.
Good luck— and remember: think positive!
Miss Heather
Let’s Talk About Beer
From the December 6, 1886 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle*:
Ninety three million gallons of beer? That is impressive— but hardly surprising. Brooklyn once sported a large number of breweries. Many of them were located in our own proverbial backyard. Which brings me to the photograph gracing the beginning of this post. This building is located at the intersection of Belvidere and Beaver Streets. If you look very carefully behind the fire escape you’ll find this.
This building, now simply known as 75 Belvidere Street, was once a brewery. Curious to learn a little more about Vigelius & Ulmer’s lager works I did a little poking around the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives. It took a few searches but the following item, which dates seven years after Mr. Vigelius and Ulmer opened shop was totally worth the extra effort.
Yes sir, things were hopping (horrible pun completely intended) in Bushwick during the 1870’s. Then again, this is hardly surprising given our fair city’s love of suds: 1,500,000,000 glasses per annum is a lot of beer. Given the previous statistic it goes without saying that (lawsuits notwithstanding) Vigelius and Ulmer became very rich men! As this obituary for the former attests.
Luckily enough for beer lovers— and us— Mr. Vigelius’s partner persevered. And we are left with this lovely building, Ulmer’s office, on Belvidere Street.
What’s more Mr. Ulmer was a bit litigious in his own right— especially when one miscreant tried to weasel his way to get out of paying for his product. From the December 4, 1900 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
In closing if any of you, dear readers, happen to be in the area do check out the Vigelius and Ulmer brewery. It’s really neat! And oh yeah: if you happen to order large quantities of beer today— or any other day, for that matter— be damned prepared to pay for it!
Nobody likes a welcher.
Miss Heather
*You can this article in its entirety by clicking here.
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