Gone

I just looked at an interesting piece on Retronaut (a dangerous site if you are prone to clicking on other interesting images on the side of the page). It was about the disappearing face of New York City -- the unique family-owned shops and holes in the wall.

From Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York by James and Karla Murray -- I have to check out this book! It took them eight years to complete. By the time they were finished, many of the businesses were gone.

Though there is less of this type of loss in Seattle that I can see, old and not-so-old storefronts are constantly disappearing and seem to be rarely replaced. The bookstore in Ballard, Epilogue Books, went out of business in summer 2009 less than a month after I moved to the city. It's still empty. Across the street, a former camera store has also been abandoned for a few years.

I wanted to share one of the comments on the article that touched me and reminded me of the argument from You've Got Mail:

"I worked for many years as a carpenter in NYC, and for so long I took for granted that I could find anything I needed, I had only to know what hardware or specialty store to go to. There was Lillien Hardware on Houston and La Guardia, with labyrinthine multi-storied aisles, and employees who knew what you were looking for or could recommend something better and knew where everything was. Same with Direct Fastening down the street, CK&L Hardware on Canal, Sturdy Nuts and Bolts in Tribeca, Dave Sanders on the Bowery and on and on and all gone. And with them not only the rich uniqueness of New York, but one’s ability to solve a problem quickly, be it with an odd part or obscure tool. Now it’s Home Depot on 23rd that doesn’t have anything you’re looking for and employees with no depth and knowledge. Now it’s the internet, so remaining tool supply houses can’t afford to stock every tool – they don’t move fast enough because they can be purchased on line. And gone are those wonderful people with decades of experience. And gone is the ability to be creative the way one could only be in New York with all those resources at your fingertips – a fast walk, a subway ride, a cab ride away, with the city in your ears in your eyes in your heart."