Faded Glory

I'm stealing a page from Frank H. Jump's Fading Ad Blog today, with photos from the corner of Lorimer and Broadway in Williamburg and a pair from 681 Franklin Avenue. The first site just caught my eye in the winter sunlight today, despite the fact that I've probably passed it two dozen times since I moved to Brooklyn. Google lists the Acme Leather Belting Co., and Forgotten NY also reports that they still operate, making this painted sign a faded but not outdated advertisement.

The second site interests me a bit more, not least because it occupies a piece of frontage on my beloved Franklin Ave. When I first began plying the local paths this past summer, I occasionally saw a pair of elderly African-American gents sitting out front of what looks like a very old brick storefront, hawking t-shirts, socks, and hats from a wooden table. I intended to ask them more about the place once I started the blog, but I haven't seen them out in awhile. The very faded banner between the second and third stories reads "Groceries Flour & Feed," which would date the signage close to 100 years back, presuming that livestock haven't been kept too close to Franklin Ave in the intervening decades. Hopefully when the summer heat returns the haberdashers will open their door again and I can investigate this further.