Before Zoltar, there was Treasure Chest

Sure, Zoltar (now repaired!) is getting all the publicity these days, but for my money, nothing beats the Treasure Chest on East 14th Street near First Avenue. I've long admired this game of chance outside the Community Grocery & Candy store.

For starters, I like its battered, I-Survived-the-Apocalypse look. You could ram it with an M14A (or M14D) bus and the thing would still gamely make you work for that pink teddy bear.

It seems like every time that I see it, there's another chain or tag on it. And more tape. Lots of tape. Perhaps holding it together, preventing its treasures from spilling out on the sidewalk...

And, recently, I finally saw another admirer admiring it... and playing! But he was gone by the time I got up to it... I was hoping that we could start a Facebook group or something.

Awnings and storefronts come and go around here. But not the Treasure Chest. Long live the Treasure Chest!