Meanwhile, EVG reader Terry Howell shared the above photo, taken in January 2011 from the NE corner of Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place... looking at 51 Astor Place, the old Cooper Union engineering building and the Film Academy Cafe.
The cafe had a short life, closing in 2011, a year after replacing the somewhat redundant Starbucks in 2010. All this was demolished to make way for this — (the new) 51 Astor Place/the IBM Watson Building/the Death Star/CVS.