Chelsea, 14th Street Between Eighth and Seventh Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2009 ……………………………….. click to enlarge

This is a nice lurid shot to start the New Year with.  Or, This is a nice lurid shot with which to start the New Year.  Which do you prefer?  I go with the first one.

But I digress.  The violet light springs from Psychic Reading by Donna, Mystical Astrology.  You can see it has an elaborate entrance which raises the familiar question, how do they pay the rent?  This place does not seem to have a website, which is oddly cheering.  Neither does Passion.  Passion was momentarily exciting, but upon enlarging, a Halloween Costume sign is visible.  Okay, I know some people are excited by Halloween costumes, but I'm kind of tepid about costumes.  Clothes are another issue altogether.

------------

I watched the ball drop tonight (safely warm inside) and just before the drop, they played Imagine by John Lennon, a song that always gets to me.  How great is it that they, the city, that is, the powers that be, played this subversive song?  No religion.  No countries.  No possessions.  Is this a great country or what?

Happy New Year all of y'all.  I'm glad you visit and I hope you'll be here in the new year.

Murray Hill, 28th Street Between Third Avenue and Park Avenue South

Mary Sargent © 2009 ………. click to enlarge


Don't miss the little face at the bottom.

See map.

Chelsea, 23rd Street Between Eighth and Ninth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Across the street from Duane Reade is this Psychic Shop. These shops never seem to have customers when I photograph them and yet somehow they're paying the rent. Someday soon I'll get my palm read and let you know if it's worth $10.

See map.

Greenwich Village, Sullivan Street Between 3rd and Bleecker Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

We are still on Sullivan Street, December 2006. I'm going to try to do a photowalk tomorrow. If not tomorrow, Saturday. Or Sunday. And so on. But in the meantime, Sullivan Street is not a bad place to be.

It's good to know that if I become disabled and can't walk, I can keep this blog going for quite a while just using old never seen photographs. One less thing to worry about.

See map.

Midtown, Seventh Avenue Between 31st and 30th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 ……….. click to enlarge

I posted this photo in spite of its pathetic unsharpness because I like the Manheimer Building. It's a forgotten old building, dirty and uncared for, but it was probably a pretty thing when it went up, with its jade green accents. And what were the windows like? Also I thought since it had a name, I'd be able to find out something about it. No. At least not through Google. The red sign in the bottom window says Psychic Readings, Tarot. I should have gone in to get a reading so I could see the inside. The letters next to it say Honor Realty.

See map.

Times Square, Ninth Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

L'Allegria is one of many restaurants in this area offering pre-theater menus. I know nothing about the place, but based on the tacky Italian theme music that plays at their site, I wouldn't set a foot into it. Ordering pizza from them may be a different story.

See map.

Greenwich Village, 3rd Street Between Macdougal Street and Sixth Avenue

Mary Sargent © 2008 …………………………………….. click to enlarge


I passed this up the first time I walked by, but coming back I couldn't resist, even though I've already shown you this colorful spot.

I'll NEVER finish this project if I keep being so undisciplined.

See map.

Midtown, 55th Street Between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

Mary Sargent © 2007 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

Devoted readers will remember that I started this walk on September 2 with a visit to MOMA. Now, thinking of dinner, I looked for Imperial Dragon, an old-fashioned, faded Cantonese restaurant, never crowded, never rushed. Well, goodby to all that; it seems Imperial Dragon is being replaced by a hamburger joint.

This shot is across the street from the former Imperial Dragon. Notice the former Côte Basque. Psychic shops endure.

See map.

Greenwich Village, Third Street Between Sixth Avenue and MacDougal Street

Mary Sargent © 2006 …………………………………….. click to enlarge

I thought I was just shooting another Psychic Shop, but I got home to discover that I had shot the Village Psycho (enlarge to see), and not only that, if you look into the bottom of the left window, you can see the psycho himself, manipulating some poor wretch.

Actually, upon closer (closeup) scrutiny, I can see it's a TV screen, but still . . .

See map.

West Village, West 4th Street Between Jones and Barrow Streets

Mary Sargent © 2006 …………………….........……….. click to enlarge

Maybe psychic shops look better at night. Or maybe they look better in the Village. See post of November 6.

West Village, Seventh Avenue South at Bleecker Street

Mary Sargent © 2006 …………………………… click to enlarge

A few years ago, I was thinking of doing a photo series of psychic parlors. They seemed archaic to me, out of time, and I couldn't imagine how so many of them managed to pay their rent, but they were everywhere, and in all kinds of neighborhoods. So I took some photos, but never did the series. Because –

Well, two things. The main thing was that most of the photographs were not that interesting. Second, as the world turns more and more fundamentalist and anti-science, they don't seem that remarkable anymore. Just a sign of the times. Hello, Dark Ages.

Note: the guy in the far right of the photo is the guy from last night's post, making his way down Seventh Avenue South.