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Saved or Not? Signs from Coney Island’s Henderson Building

Posted in art, historic preservation, tagged Creative Time, Faber's Fascination, Henderson Building, Joe Sitt, Shoot out the Star, signage, Steve Powers, Surf Hotel, Thor Equities on September 29, 2010| 5 Comments »

Saved? Surf Hotel's Vintage Signage. September 24, 2010. Photo © Anonymouse-deux via Amusing the Zillion

Saved? Surf Hotel's Original Hand-Painted Glass Signage. September 24, 2010. Photo © Anonymouse-deux via Amusing the Zillion

In an interview with NY1 in May, Thor Equities CEO Joe Sitt talked about his redevelopment plans for Coney Island and the Surf Avenue buildings he plans to raze: “Every one of these buildings is just horrible, rundown relics with nothing exciting about them. I hate to say it, but the great buildings of Coney Island disappeared 80 years ago,” said Sitt.

What caught our eye in this four-month-old news story was not Sitt’s mischaracterization of the historic properties (please take a look at what the Henderson Building and Stillwell looked like before Sitt bought and blighted them), but what the real estate speculator had to say about the now endangered signs. According to NY1, “Sitt says he’ll re-use the vintage signs in a more modern setting.”

Faber's Fascination Sign Stripped of its Letters. Photo © Anonymouse-deux via Amusing the Zillion

The Morning After Faber's Fascination Sign Was Stripped of its Letters. Photo © Anonymouse-deux via Amusing the Zillion

Really? We hate to say it, but if Sitt is planning to re-use any signs, he’d better hurry up and save some. It’s already too late for Faber’s. As ATZ reported earlier this month, the light bulbs and letters of the fabulous 60-year-old Faber’s Fascination and Sportland signs were removed by the arcade’s most recent operator and offered for sale. The cannibalized metal signs remain on the facade because they couldn’t be removed before the tenant had to vacate the property. You can see the Faber’s Fascination sign lit up for the last time and the letters being removed in this video by historian Charles Denson.

Last Night at Faber's Fascination. Henderson Building, Coney Island. Sept. 6, 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

It’s too bad Joe Sitt didn’t recognize that Faber’s signage was a valuable piece of Americana worth saving and re-purposing. In a similar situation, another New York City real estate developer, the Durst Organization, did a much better job. Durst saved the Peep-O-Rama sign from the last peep show in Times Square when they demolished the building it occupied to make way for the Bank of America Tower. Vanishing New York recently featured the story of the neon sign’s restoration and return to Times Square, where the sign lights up the visitors center. Reading the story made us think of the Faber’s sign and wish it could have enjoyed a similar fate. As we noted in a comment on the VNY post: The reference to the Times reporter asking if a case could be made for preserving Peep-O-Rama or its facade for Times Square posterity, and not receiving a reply from Landmarks, the NYHS or the Mayor’s office is telling. There seems to be very little official appreciation for signage. Basically they leave it up to the building owners to do as they please.

Lettering from Faber's Fascination. Photo © Anonymouse-deux via Amusing the Zillion

In last week’s “Demolition in Progress! Coney Island’s Surf Hotel in Henderson Building,” ATZ wrote: “We’re told that the original Surf Hotel sign pictured above was removed, though its fate remains unknown. Was it saved, scavenged or thrown out with the windows?” Since then ATZ has received messages and comments that the “Sign is Saved!” as in saved from demolition.

On Friday morning a tipster wrote: “I am here at the building now. I saw the Surf Hotel sign inside a door on the east side of the building resting on the floor leaning against the wall. They are back working on the west side on a ladder cleaning up under the vacant windows. One of the workers was showing me how heavy the sign is and asked it I wanted to take it. The supervisor said we should call the owner about the sign.”

No one has been working in the Henderson Building this week. Is the sign still there or has it walked away? ATZ calls upon Joe Sitt to donate the Henderson signage to the Coney Island Museum or the Coney Island History Project, where these historic artifacts can be viewed by the public.

On the Henderson Building: The original frame that held the Surf Hotel sign. September 24, 2010. Photo © Anonymouse-deux via Amusing the Zillion

On the Stillwell side of the Henderson Building: Shoot out the Star’s iconic signage is endangered. It’s the work of Dreamland Artist Club founder Steve Powers, who also painted the Cyclone roller coaster seats, the Coney Island Museum steps, and the Bump Your Ass Off sign for the Eldorado. In 2003, Powers teamed up with Creative Time, the non-profit public art agency, to bring artists to Coney Island to create new signage for the stands along Jones Walk and the Bowery. The first year’s funding was $80,000. When the murals and signage debuted in June 2004, Powers told the Times: “A large percentage of them will be up forever.” Thor Equities has already removed the game signage on the Bowery side of the Henderson. We suggest that Powers and Creative Time come out to Coney and rescue their work! Don’t the signs actually belong to Creative Time? Last spring, a Dreamland Artist Club mural estimated to be worth $250,000 was destroyed when Feltman’s kitchen building was demolished by the City to make way for Luna Park.

Henderson Building: Thor Equities banner dwarfs shuttered Shoot out the Star. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr

Demolition in Progress! Coney Island’s Surf Hotel in Henderson Building

Posted in Demolition, Real Estate, Redevelopment, tagged Coney Island, demolition under the radar, Surf Hotel, Thor Equities on September 23, 2010| 10 Comments »

Surf Hotel Signage. December 26, 2008. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

A tipster phoned to tell us that Coney Island’s Surf Hotel on the second story of Thor Equities-owned Henderson Buiilding (pictured below in 2009) is being demolished. We’re told yellow tape blocking off the street and a tarp covering the sidewalk were the only concessions to public safety. Workers were ripping out window frames and walls. The Community Board 13 was alerted to the hazardous situation. As ATZ reported previously,Thor Equities has an asbestos abatement permit from the DEP. A demolition permit cannot be issued by the DOB until the asbestos work is certified as complete. We will update the story when more info & photos come in.

Thor's demolition of historic Coney Island in progress! Windows were ripped out of Henderson Building today. Photo by Anonymouse via Amusing the Zillion

September 23, 2010: Thor's demolition of historic Coney Island in progress! Windows were ripped out of Henderson Building today. Photo by Anonymouse via Amusing the Zillion

Update: We talked with CB 13 Manager Chuck Reichenthal…The bad news is the historic Henderson Building is coming down! The DOB told the CB Manager that Thor Equities does indeed have a demolition permit from the DOB since the asbestos abatement was certified as complete. What are the DOB’s guidelines for demolition? Reichenthal was told there really aren’t any. Yellow caution tape rules!

Here’s the Henderson’s page on the DOB’s website. We don’t see a demo permit, but there’s a two day lag on updates. Permits for construction of a “ONE STORY NEW COMMERCIAL BUILDING WITH ASSEMBLY AND AMUSEMENT SPACES” filed yesterday (September 22, 2010) are currently pending.

September 23, 2010: Thor's demolition of historic Coney Island in progress! Windows ripped out of Henderson Building today. Photo by Anonymouse via Amusing the Zillion

Update, 3:15 pm… The demo men have quit work for the day, according to a friend who went to the site. Now that the windows are gone, you can peer inside at the tin ceilings and vintage light fixtures. Somebody with a zoom lens please go and document it before it’s gone! We’re told that the original Surf Hotel sign pictured above was removed, though its fate remains unknown. Was it saved, scavenged or thrown out with the windows? BTW here’s a photo of the Henderson Building interior in happier days, before the property was bought and blighted by Joe Sitt. In 2007, the Velocity Nightclub occupied the second floor on the Bowery side of the former Henderson Music Hall until Thor bought the building and evicted them.