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Thursday
Mar122009
Then & Now Thursday: Fifth Avenue Diner
Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 4:13PM 
The above photo, from the dustbowl days of 1931, shows what most likely would be one of my favorite restaurants if it was still around today. On the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street stood the original Fifth Avenue Diner, on land cleared by the construction of the IND subway. It's a classic railcar diner, complete with a penny scale and "LUNCH" sign overhanging the sidewalk.
Today, the corner is still home to one-story buildings, but the diner has been replaced by an electronics store. A giant ad still dominates the scene, except now it's for Harbor Fitness instead of the "Great Shopping Center" whose full name I've been unable to find. On the far left is Neergaard Drugs, which has been in that location since 1888 and has been open 24/7 since World War I.
Source: Brian Merlis and Lee A. Rosenzweig, Park Slope: A Photographic Retrospective.
tagged Then and Now Thursday
Then and Now Thursday
Reader Comments (6)
beautiful/sad before and after
The "Great Shopping Center" on the corner of 5th Avenue and 15th Street was Germain's (you can make out the ..ain's), sort of a notch up from a 5 & 10 cent store (of which there were two, Woolworth's and Kresge's, on opposite corners of 5th Avenue and 10th Street). They sold great freshly-made hot waffles with a slice of Neopolitan ice cream between two - they were wonderful - the whold main floor smelled of them, so it difficult not to succumb! They had a Santa every Christmas(like Macy's)that children could visit and have your picture taken with. My mother brought my sister and I every year for a while. They also had a counter just for doll's clothes and I would come with my allowance clutched in my small fist to buy new outfits for my dolls. I loved that store!
I have never seen this picture, nor known the amazing long continuous history of Neergard's. Great stuff!!
Ruth, thank you for the information about Germain's. It's been interesting to see the ebb and flow of large stores in the neighborhood, and that bit of history is much appreciated.
I remember going to Germain's to have my picture taken with Santa Clause and they would give you a wraped toy. Then you would go back a few days later to pick up the picture. All this occur on the second floor which in the early 60's also was open and part of the store.
As business slowed down they closed the second floor. They had a staircase in the middle of the store that lead to the second floor. Later they closed the second floor and opened it only for Santa.
That store seemed to have everything in it. A lunch counter, supermarket, clothes, etc.
It was a very nice store and as a child I remember it was big.
the diner is the now daiseys diner.. as i was told by an old timer in a dunkin donuts that the diner next door(daiseys diner) was a product of the owners of the fifth ave diner .what ever the story is that diner seems to be doing very well since it is a favorite from what i heard ..