Gotham City Peep Show(in Times Square on 8th Avenue between W 43rd & 44th Streets)Top:  2012;  Bottom:  2011 Have you noticed that the Gotham City lady has changed her hair color? She used to be blond, but I noticed recently it’s turned red and went out tonight to document the change. I like the new ‘do, though sadly her eye & mouth are out — I hope they get repaired soon. I suppose you could think she’s winking at you, but the lack of mouth makes her seem a little sad. I love the details in the sign — the stocking tops, the fluffy hair, and especially the belly-button. I didn’t have the energy to check out the interior tonight, but Narratively did recently. Check out that link for more on what’s behind the neon lady. A quick jaunt around Times Square gave me the opportunity to rephotograph Zenith Garage, a simple sign but one of my favorites. My walk also inadvertantly took me past the now dark Colony Records sign, a dismal sight. *sigh*  I also saw Show World, which apparently Project Neon has overlooked until now.  I like the festive circus tent. In other news, I’m still working on verifying the fate of Mitchell’s. I’m cautiously optimistic that there may be good news in the end, though we may still need help.  I’ll let you know as soon as I know more.
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Gotham City Peep Show
(in Times Square on 8th Avenue between W 43rd & 44th Streets)
Top:  2012;  Bottom:  2011

Have you noticed that the Gotham City lady has changed her hair color? She used to be blond, but I noticed recently it’s turned red and went out tonight to document the change. I like the new ‘do, though sadly her eye & mouth are out — I hope they get repaired soon. I suppose you could think she’s winking at you, but the lack of mouth makes her seem a little sad.

image

I love the details in the sign — the stocking tops, the fluffy hair, and especially the belly-button. I didn’t have the energy to check out the interior tonight, but Narratively did recently. Check out that link for more on what’s behind the neon lady.

image

A quick jaunt around Times Square gave me the opportunity to rephotograph Zenith Garage, a simple sign but one of my favorites. My walk also inadvertantly took me past the now dark Colony Records sign, a dismal sight. *sigh*  I also saw Show World, which apparently Project Neon has overlooked until now.  I like the festive circus tent.

image

In other news, I’m still working on verifying the fate of Mitchell’s. I’m cautiously optimistic that there may be good news in the end, though we may still need help.  I’ll let you know as soon as I know more.

Colony Music(In Times Square on Broadway @ 49th) RIP, Colony Music (aka Colony Records, aka The Colony, etc.) The store is giving up its corner in Times Square for an internet-only existence. Times Square is the poorer for it. When I hauled myself over there after physical therapy on Wednesday evening for one last visit, I realized it had been a long time since I’ve visited — making music isn’t a part of my life the way it used to be. It was a trip down memory lane to be there, though. Everything from fake books to violin études that I’ve owned (they’re probably all still in boxes somewhere here) were piled in dusty bins along with all kinds of printed music, including cheesy organ arrangements of sappy mid-century songs, marches popular in 1910, entire books of guitar music from bands I mostly really can’t stand, and much, much more. Though I don’t use it any more, there’s comfort for me in sheet music, though I realize that makes me a bit of a dinosaur (how many people even know how to read music these days?), especially when we’re talking not just about notes on staves, but about notes on staves on paper. I’d be willing to bet that the majority of what was on offer in the store is available for free on the interwebs these days.  The shop did offer some other things including music-related memorabilia, musicals on DVD, karaoke CDs, and more, but the sheet music always seemed the heart of the operation. Or really, it was the neon. The neon COLONY letters outside were still glowing strongly on Wednesday when I visited — still animated to spell the store’s name out one at a time, then blink, then go dark, then start over. Which letter is your favorite? Alas, the jumping girl (“I found it at the Colony!”) who held aloft the prize vinyl she had unearthed in the store’s basement record section, was already missing when I was there. Just a gap in the wall where she used to be. I wonder where she ended up? I hope she found a good home. The employees were in a somber mood, and didn’t seem to welcome the many well-wishers who offered their condolences. I can’t blame them — finding a job these days is harder than finding a piece of sheet music in a disorganized bin. So I purchased my copy of 42nd Street without comment and walked outside to take one last look at my favorite corner in Times Square. I could feel I was about to start crying — silly, I know, for just some glowing glass tubes and an anachronistic shop on a valuable piece of real estate, but there it was — so I turned away and descended into the subway with my photos and my memories. If there’s no room for Colony in today’s New York City, I can’t help wondering how much longer there will be room for the rest of us dinosaurs. …………………………………………………………………………… There’s a documentary about Colony in the works. You can support it here:http://www.indiegogo.com/manhattanlullaby  Plenty of people have been writing about the end of the Colony shop recently. Here are a few: http://www.nyneon.blogspot.com/2012/09/colony-record-and-radio-center.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/nyregion/colony-records-a-longtime-midtown-music-shop-is-poised-to-close.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/nyregion/colony-records-a-longtime-midtown-music-shop-is-poised-to-close.html http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2012/08/colony-music.html http://mbvintagenewyork.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-new-york-farewell-to-worlds-most.html http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/colony_closing_brakes_records_ulAC4IBEJZ4ogG2D9yKdCM
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Colony Music
(In Times Square on Broadway @ 49th)

RIP, Colony Music (aka Colony Records, aka The Colony, etc.) The store is giving up its corner in Times Square for an internet-only existence. Times Square is the poorer for it.

When I hauled myself over there after physical therapy on Wednesday evening for one last visit, I realized it had been a long time since I’ve visited — making music isn’t a part of my life the way it used to be. It was a trip down memory lane to be there, though. Everything from fake books to violin études that I’ve owned (they’re probably all still in boxes somewhere here) were piled in dusty bins along with all kinds of printed music, including cheesy organ arrangements of sappy mid-century songs, marches popular in 1910, entire books of guitar music from bands I mostly really can’t stand, and much, much more. Though I don’t use it any more, there’s comfort for me in sheet music, though I realize that makes me a bit of a dinosaur (how many people even know how to read music these days?), especially when we’re talking not just about notes on staves, but about notes on staves on paper. I’d be willing to bet that the majority of what was on offer in the store is available for free on the interwebs these days. 

The shop did offer some other things including music-related memorabilia, musicals on DVD, karaoke CDs, and more, but the sheet music always seemed the heart of the operation.

Or really, it was the neon. The neon COLONY letters outside were still glowing strongly on Wednesday when I visited — still animated to spell the store’s name out one at a time, then blink, then go dark, then start over. Which letter is your favorite?

Alas, the jumping girl (“I found it at the Colony!”) who held aloft the prize vinyl she had unearthed in the store’s basement record section, was already missing when I was there. Just a gap in the wall where she used to be. I wonder where she ended up? I hope she found a good home.

The employees were in a somber mood, and didn’t seem to welcome the many well-wishers who offered their condolences. I can’t blame them — finding a job these days is harder than finding a piece of sheet music in a disorganized bin. So I purchased my copy of 42nd Street without comment and walked outside to take one last look at my favorite corner in Times Square. I could feel I was about to start crying — silly, I know, for just some glowing glass tubes and an anachronistic shop on a valuable piece of real estate, but there it was — so I turned away and descended into the subway with my photos and my memories. If there’s no room for Colony in today’s New York City, I can’t help wondering how much longer there will be room for the rest of us dinosaurs.

……………………………………………………………………………

There’s a documentary about Colony in the works. You can support it here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/manhattanlullaby 

Plenty of people have been writing about the end of the Colony shop recently. Here are a few:

http://www.nyneon.blogspot.com/2012/09/colony-record-and-radio-center.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/nyregion/colony-records-a-longtime-midtown-music-shop-is-poised-to-close.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/nyregion/colony-records-a-longtime-midtown-music-shop-is-poised-to-close.html

http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2012/08/colony-music.html

http://mbvintagenewyork.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-new-york-farewell-to-worlds-most.html

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/colony_closing_brakes_records_ulAC4IBEJZ4ogG2D9yKdCM

Colony Music(In Times Square on Broadway @ 49th) Post to come in the next couple of days (I’m too tired to do the full write-up tonight), but I’ve uploaded a few photos of the lettered COLONY sign (the jumping girl has already been removed) over on Flickr.
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Colony Music
(In Times Square on Broadway @ 49th)

Post to come in the next couple of days (I’m too tired to do the full write-up tonight), but I’ve uploaded a few photos of the lettered COLONY sign (the jumping girl has already been removed) over on Flickr.

Colony Music(In Times Square on Broadway @ 49th) You guys, I am heartbroken. The New York Times reports today that Colony Music in Times Square is likely to close soon. Could this be a false alarm? Maybe, but to be honest I always wondered how a sheet music store was able to hang on to such a prime piece of real estate in today’s Times Square. *Sigh* I’ve never been totally happy with my photos of the sign (the blue & red combo is always tricky to photograph since the blue tubes are pretty dim and red relatively bright), so maybe I’ll try to visit again this weekend and get some better photos.  Or maybe I’ll finally do what I’ve been meaning to do and rent a better camera for a couple of days and see if that makes a difference. I wish we could run a Kickstarter campaign to save Colony, but the world has changed and how many people even read music now? To be honest I haven’t been in lately so I’m not sure how much of their stock is now CDs or vinyl, but those, too, are becoming (have become?) artifacts of a bygone era. The day Colony leaves will be a sad day for Times Square, for New York City, and for neonophiles everywhere. What will happen to the signs? Has anyone asked the owners? I’m a little bummed the New York Times article doesn’t even mention the iconic neon. ————————————————————- As those of you who follow along on Twitter have noticed, I took a trip to Amsterdam this month. Neon wasn’t my focus, but I took a few pics and will post a report soon. In other Project Neon news, I’m still a bit slow on the neon explorations, as my back problems (herniated L5 disc and S2 sciatica) continue. I started physical therapy this week, though, so hopefully I’ll be fully up and running in time for the fall commencement of neon season. For some great signage in the mean time, check out Roadside Architecture, a Project Neon favorite. She’s in the midst of a road trip now, and documenting all kinds of great signage, including neon.
View Separately

Colony Music
(In Times Square on Broadway @ 49th)

You guys, I am heartbroken. The New York Times reports today that Colony Music in Times Square is likely to close soon. Could this be a false alarm? Maybe, but to be honest I always wondered how a sheet music store was able to hang on to such a prime piece of real estate in today’s Times Square. *Sigh* I’ve never been totally happy with my photos of the sign (the blue & red combo is always tricky to photograph since the blue tubes are pretty dim and red relatively bright), so maybe I’ll try to visit again this weekend and get some better photos.  Or maybe I’ll finally do what I’ve been meaning to do and rent a better camera for a couple of days and see if that makes a difference.

I wish we could run a Kickstarter campaign to save Colony, but the world has changed and how many people even read music now? To be honest I haven’t been in lately so I’m not sure how much of their stock is now CDs or vinyl, but those, too, are becoming (have become?) artifacts of a bygone era.

The day Colony leaves will be a sad day for Times Square, for New York City, and for neonophiles everywhere. What will happen to the signs? Has anyone asked the owners? I’m a little bummed the New York Times article doesn’t even mention the iconic neon.

————————————————————-

As those of you who follow along on Twitter have noticed, I took a trip to Amsterdam this month. Neon wasn’t my focus, but I took a few pics and will post a report soon.

In other Project Neon news, I’m still a bit slow on the neon explorations, as my back problems (herniated L5 disc and S2 sciatica) continue. I started physical therapy this week, though, so hopefully I’ll be fully up and running in time for the fall commencement of neon season.

For some great signage in the mean time, check out Roadside Architecture, a Project Neon favorite. She’s in the midst of a road trip now, and documenting all kinds of great signage, including neon.