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March 20, 1936. "Macdougal Alley, between West 8th Street and Washington Square North, Manhattan. 1 Fifth Avenue rises above." 8x10 gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott for the Federal Art Project. View full size.
The second building on the left looks as if it is 176 MacDougal. If so, it was home to Mr. William Shakepeare's in the mid-1970s. It was a go-to place when beginning early explorations of NYC for my friends and as we came of age in NYC of the late-70s. The Bard Burgers were named after characters in Shakespearean plays (what can I say, it was the 70s).
Online corroboration of my theory comes from a Washington Square Park blog with a circa 1975 pic of some friends of the blog's author in front: see this. The doorways of the corner building in the two photos look remarkably similar.
I believe that's the Daily Planet building.
If she didn't tip that guy in the apron, she should have.
What is the big building in the background and what happen to it? It appears to be gone in the current streetview.
[The very top of its spire can be seen behind the new building. -tterrace]
Ah, so it is. Photos can be deceiving.
That building looks much closer in the first photo.
There are two guys on a scaffold on the 12th floor and one guy on a ladder on the 21st floor. I'll bet that was a knee shaker the first time he climbed up there. It looks like there might be a second scaffold on the face to the right.
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