A reader mentioned that there used to be a Bickford's automat on the corner of 145th Street (at Broadway) and wanted to know if we could find any old photos. The top image is a colored postcard from around the 1940's (?) that shows the charming white terracotta building at 3540 Broadway with all of its original neon signage. The chain was founded in the early 1900's by Samuel Longley Bickford and this branch apparently had the vending machines with the hot food in the windows for customers to buy from. The Bickford family still runs a chain of restaurants in the New England area so maybe one day they can come back to town a set up a new branch back at the old Hamilton Heights location. There were several other Bickford locations in Manhattan but those shops were either demolished or not as distinct as this location. Get the full list and more history here:
LINK
I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was also a location in an episode of the Tim Hutton Nero Wolfe series a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteThank You, Ulysses, for finding this for me abnd the rest of your readers. I knew you could find a photo but I did't think you could find something so quick!
ReplyDeleteI'm especially happy as I do not have any photos of my old neighborhood. I eagerly await your blog so I can show my daughter how my old stopping grounds looked way back when!
Do I dare ask you to find a photo of Bab's Clothing store and The Caibborojeno Night Club (now El Morroco) which was located adjacent to Bickford's?
At any rate thank you for this memory!
I, too, grew up in the neighborhood when there was Bickford, Bab's and Caibborojeno Club. I was in 3505 Broadway and went to school at P.S. 186. Remember Woolworth's store? Great memories. Nancy n.krelios@yahoo.com
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