Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Ghost signage at the former New Double Dragon

Workers today removed that great New Double Dragon signage from the now-closed restaurant at 37 First Ave. between Second Street and Third Street. 

And there's some ghost signage beneath... difficult to see, but it looks like the letters Bet _ _ _ _ & Grill.
Via the NYC Municipal Archives, we found this street view from the early 1940s... you can see the neighboring business, a wine store and an A&P (33 and 35 First Ave.). No. 37 looks to be a restaurant...
And you can see a snippet of the El train  ... plus the cars are facing south on what is now a northbound thoroughfare.

The photo from the 1980s is too blurry to help, unfortunately. 

As noted, the three-building parcel here — 33 to 37 First Ave. — is slated for demolition for some unspecified new development.
Above photo by Stacie Joy
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 11, 2023 at 6:55 PM

    Sadly, more hideous glass boxes to mirror the current market. Hideous but, at least there " not empty." RIP.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 11, 2023 at 7:33 PM

    That is a real shame I used to get my best Chinese takeout food from the Double Dragon. Now what are the developers going to build there more ugly cookie cutter apartments starting close to $4,000 for a studio? On the ground floor retail space that will mostly remain vacant because of the high commercial rents that they will no doubt charge. This is happening all over the LES/EV and it is destroying the unique originality of the neighborhood.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 11, 2023 at 7:56 PM

    Thank you for the old photos - it's incredible to be able to see what once was. I wish Shawn and family all the best - they fed me well for years. Hope to find them in the neighborhood sooner rather than later (optimistic, I know).

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 11, 2023 at 10:07 PM

    I never knew 1sr ave had an El train, i do know 3rd ave had one. There is a youtube video of someone riding the 3rd ave El train all the way down to what is chinatown (modern day), you can see the domed building on Canal st and Bowery.

    ReplyDelete
  5. XeoJuly 12, 2023 at 11:03 AM

    I only found out about New Double Dragon in the last two years after having lived in the EV for a long time. I was so happy to have a good, normal, and affordable chinese spot! I'm really bummed about losing them - I hope they find a new spot in the neighborhood... but don't have too much hope.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJuly 12, 2023 at 11:40 AM

    Why are all of the photos from the 1980s on the NYC Municipal Archives website so blurry? They are useless. What is the point of having something that nobody can see or appreciate?

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJuly 12, 2023 at 12:26 PM

    To be fair, for many the 80's were just that - a blur.

    ReplyDelete

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