[203 West 38th Street, Manhattan, c. 1939–1941. From the NYC Municipal Archives Collections. Click for a much larger view.]
The Garment District had BILLI RDS. It also had television, with spectator sports: baseball, basketball, boxing, hockey, and wrestling. And ping-pong, or ping pong. And dig the straw hat and white shoes. Is that man dressed appropriately, or is it well past Labor Day?
These buildings, modified, stand today. As of August 2022, an amusing piece of wall art graced the side of the tall building on the left. Mister Softee FTW!
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April 29: A reader’s comment prompted me to look in Google Books. By 1944, Fred’s Ping Pong Centre was Hy’s Ping Pong Parlor, and — sakes alive — someone was taking bets on baseball games.
Related reading
More photographs from the NYC Municipal Archives (Pinboard)
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Fred’s Ping Pong
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comments: 6
Looks like lightning bolts on the electric shoeshine sign
Yes — and only 5¢.
sign looks like "fred's ping pong centre"
Yes, I noticed that spelling. It must've added class to the joint.
Munson?
https://books.google.com/books/content?id=uYrb6dqwVacC&pg=RA1-PA31&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&bul=1&sig=ACfU3U3m4VL8xGqGH38TUpPRyRWAiXRM3A&w=1025
Who knows? There’s no sign of a lunchroom in the tax photograph. Maybe that business went under.
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