Paul's Daughter

 

This is one of the oldest restaurants on the Coney Island boardwalk, known for its clam strips and lobster rolls. It was opened in 1962 by Greek immigrants Gregory Bitetzakis and Paul Georgoulakos. Originally called Gregory and Paul’s, it changed its name when Paul’s daughter, Tina, took over the business. It was almost evicted at the end of the 2011 season, along with a bunch of other Coney Island mainstays, but subsequently was asked to stay.

The fiberglass figures on the roof are Mana and Papa Burger, 1960s-era mascots for the A&W restaurant chain. Apparently there were other A&W Burger Family characters, including Baby Burger, Teen Burger, Grandma Burger, Uncle Burger, Buddy Burger and the Sirloin Baby Burger Twins. I’m not sure when or why they landed on the roof of this restaurant, or why the rest of the Burger Family didn’t make it to Coney Island.

I'd forgotten that I've drawn them before. This is from 2009!

Cyclone

 

We made an end of summer trip to Coney Island last weekend. My kids did not want to ride the Cyclone, but I still drew it. Built in 1927, it’s one of the last surviving wooden roller coasters. It covers 2,640 feet of track in one minute and fifty seconds. In the 1970s, it was almost demolished to make room for an expansion of the New York Aquarium, but that plan was thwarted and now it’s both a New York City Landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Pineapple Street

 

This wood-frame, Federal-style house is on Pineapple Street in Brooklyn Heights. It is semi-famous because Truman Capote referred to it in his 1959 essay, “Brooklyn Heights: A Personal Memoir,” where he describes “A silvery gray, shingle-wood Colonial shaded by trees robustly leafed, it was built in 1790, the home of a sea captain.” It was in fact built around 1822, and was originally a smaller structure. Originally it was only three windows wide, and was extensively expanded and rebuilt in later years.

Eastwood Arch

Eastwood Arch in Prospect Park. Built in 1867-68, it is, along with Endale Arch, the oldest arch in the park.

Carlos

 Life drawing from last Saturday. Model was Carlos.

Happy Birthday, Stephen Whitney

The mausoleum of Stephen Whitney (1776-1860) in Green-Wood Cemetery. Today is his birthday. I didn’t know his birthday was coming up when I drew this a week ago. I just happened to come across the fact the other day.

Whitney was a merchant, cotton speculator, and real estate investor. He helped to build the Merchants’ Exchange Building, the first home of the New York Stock Exchange. He was also an investor in the Red Star Line and had a sailing ship named after him. That Stephen Whitney wrecked off the coast of Ireland in 1847, costing 92 of the 110 passengers and crew their lives.

He was the second wealthiest citizen of New York City in the early 19th century, second only to John Jacob Astor. But he was not given to any sort of philanthropy or public service, so his name is not remembered the way others are. There is no Whitney Street, Whitney Park, Whitney Station, Whitney Plaza, Whitney Hospital, Whitney Library, etc.

Whitney died in 1860, and his wife soon after, leaving an estate estimated at $15 million (About $400 million today). The mausoleum was built circa 1875. It has a desk and bench inside for a priest or devotee. One can imagine the sort of guy he was, whose biggest accomplishments included funding a building for the stock market and naming a ship after himself, while donating zero dollars to the public good, but still thought there’d be someone manning a desk in his mausoleum for eternity.

Dodge D5

A 1937 Dodge D5 coupe, parked on a street in Brooklyn Heights.