Sometimes you can see a building’s history in its architecture — old Pizza Huts, with their distinctive trapezoidal architecture, are a great example. But just in case you forgot what preceded that Verizon store in Hell’s Kitchen, photographers James and Karla Murray will remind you.
The duo juxtapose photos of defunct New York City mom-and-pops with their depressing corporate replacements in a new book, Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York. For instance, East Village institution 2nd Ave Deli — which opened in 1954 — became a Chase bank in 2006 when the deli moved:
Greenwich Village’s Bar Martins on West Houston Street got turned into a Subway:
And here’s Casa Nova Pizzeria, the aforementioned slice joint that was replaced by the big V:
Yes, the photos are a major bummer — but one that’ll hopefully have you running to patronize your corner taqueria before it becomes a Baby Gap.
