Scenes at Random

My feeble attempt at imitating the work of Andreas Gursky, who made a 7 foot by 11 foot photo of the interior of a 99-cent store, portraying innumerable items therein.

Rinaldo's grocery-deli store in the neighborhood. Locals use it for gathering and exchanging news. It's an indoor version of the village square. Nino is on the left, Paul on the right. 2005.

"Da Boyz" congregate for New Year's Day. There's a real down home ambience in the deli. 2005.

Niederstein's Restaurant, originated in 1845, shut its doors the day after this photo was taken (Feb. 5, 2005).

Row houses with columned porches. 2005.

These make a splendid effect together. March 5, 2005.

Row houses on St. Nicholas Avenue between Stanhope Street and Himrod Street in the high summer, 2009.

The doors retain a pristine quality, having been protected over the decades from the elements by the porch roof. 2005.

These doors are around one hundred years old. 2005.

One of the five remaining pork stores in Ridgewood. 2005.

Genuine smoked bacon is sold here. By the way, that starey-eyed steer looks dangerous to me. 2005.

Ridgewood is noted for interesting entranceways. 2005.

Under the Myrtle Avenue El at Palmetto Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. This scene has changed but little since 1913. (Shot in 2005.)

A hangar-sized Chinese buffet. (I exaggerate slightly.) 2005.

Wonder what's going on upstairs. 2005.

Interesting bay windows. 2005.

Paging Vincent Price. 2005.

The House of the Nice Guy. A nice guy lives here -- actually, two nice guys live here. 2005.

In July, the silk trees come into bloom. Greene Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue. 2005.

Silk tree blossoms. Note the exuberant style of the cornice. Photo taken in 2005. By 2008, the tree has collapsed in the winter winds and is now just a bare trunk.

Light and shade. Greene Avenue, between Knickerbocker and Irving Avenues, looking north. 2005.

Housing on a humane scale. 2005.

Ur-ancient plane trees probably go back to Robert Moses's time, who had plane and maple trees planted all over the city. Greene Avenue, between St. Nicholas and Cypress Avenues, looking north and east on Greene. 2005.

A quiet summer's day. Greene Avenue, north of Knickerbocker Avenue. 2005.

The great preponderance of names inscribed on the Ridgewood World War I Memorial are German. 2005.

K & S Fruit and Veg on Myrtle Avenue. 2005.

How can one resist? 2005.

Although the ironwork is recent, the porch is original, as well as the little windows opening onto the porch, This style of window is unique, as far as I have been able to observe. Remarkable also is the extraordinarily narrow window on the second floor. This design admits a great deal of light into the interior. I salute the architect. 2005.

The Ridgewood Grove, formerly a venue for boxing matches. Floyd Pattterson had his start here. The Grove suffered a conflagration during the 'nineties, and Floyd turned up during the fire to see what would be its fate. It has since been completely renovated and turned to profitable use. 2005.

On the left is the house formerly occupied by the late Dr. Rudolph Thieme, D.D.S. He taught dentistry at Columbia University. He left a gap when he passed away many years ago. 2005.