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May 3, 2007

Before Smith Street Was Fancy

old423smith.jpg
On Monday, blogger 423 Smith posted this photo showing what Smith Street looked like in its pre-Restaurant Row splendor. Back in 1930, when this photo was taken, there was a grocery/soda fountain spot on the ground floor of Number 423; meanwhile, the blog points out, the elevated subway was in the process of being built. Does anyone know what year it was completed?
423 Smith Circa 1930 [423 Smith]




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:22 AM | Comments (44)
Categories: Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens, Historical

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Fancy?! that was the depression. yikes. looks bleak.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 10:47 AM

Fancy? Smith Street looks like crap NOW. Desperately needs trees and decent restaurants.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 10:50 AM

The Carroll Street and the Smith 9th Street stations were completed in 1933, so figure the viaduct was completed at that time.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 10:50 AM

I 1/2 agree. Smith St. does have decent restaurants but if your def. of decent is purely highend hardly gonna happen when away from Mid-town expense account terra.
But visually, I agree, it is still pretty ugly. The city's transit switch station on corner of Wyckoff being the biggest insult our leaders have given us.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 11:23 AM

Smith street was one of the most down-at-the-heels street in the area until the city rebuilt the street and sidewalks (complete with bishop's crooks lights) back in the early or nmid nineties. Right after that the street underwent a dramatic transformation.
But the 1930's picture takes the cake. It looked like Dead Man's Gulch then.

Posted by: fred at May 3, 2007 11:53 AM

what Smith Street restaurants do you consider adequate?

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 11:59 AM

10:50, street trees are always difficult on streets immediately above a subway line

Posted by: g-man at May 3, 2007 12:33 PM

Did I miss a memo?
Aren't many Smith St. restaurants considered really excellent?

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 1:09 PM

Funny to go back to the '30s -- I remember those "old" days of 1997 when I still didn't like walking down Smith St. after dark. And the shock of Patois and Sur opening in such desolate locations. And those early days when Halcyon was the hangout for new moms in the hood. I guess that makes me an old-timer now.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 1:21 PM

I love the pic. It's the corner of Smith and 4th Place. My sister lived a couple of doors up to the left on 4th Pl. in the early '70s.
The IND Crosstown line was opened from Bergen St. to Church Ave. on October 7th, 1933. Here's a link to the timeline. (When you get there, scroll down to IND Brooklyn/Queens Crosstown).
http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/indtime.html

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 3, 2007 1:22 PM

Smith Street used to be a ugly and scary street. Now it is not scary but it is still ugly. I was discussing this with a friend and we agreed that the housing stock and the buildings were never beautiful, just functional little brick buildings. It is totally different-- vibrant, safe, lots of restaurants etc. -- than it was 10 or 12 years ago but still not pretty.

Posted by: donatella at May 3, 2007 2:49 PM

Old GG Rider: I remember when the G train used to be the GG...and when the F was originally the D before it was renamed F.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 2:53 PM

I remember the D train too Anon. I also have a photo of Smith and Warren (where I grew up) from the '20s or '30s, it was taken right by J. Michael's Furniture store and Smith St. was a two-way street. Imagine that!
My cousins lived on 3rd St., between Smith and Hoyt and I remember many a scary walk home down Smith St. at night. I always avoided that street and can't believe it became such a restaurant row. Cheap rent, I guess. Those must be tiny little restaurants.

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 3, 2007 3:03 PM

Let me add Rite-Aid as another blight on Smith Street. (current occupant of JJMichaels). Ugliest signage (replaced great deco neon from MIchaels with their backlit monstrosity) where severl letters are burned out. Litte everywhere and cemented over most of store display windows.
I have a few of old-brooklynphotos of the same era. Looking up Smith and on Baltic.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 3:51 PM

I think this site is weighed in favor of the "east of Flatbush" crowd.
There is nothing wrong with Smith Street. it is charming and safe and has the best collection of restaurants in the boro.

Posted by: anon at May 3, 2007 4:12 PM

Pane E Vino, Grocery, Saul, Porchetta, Red Rose, Vinny's, Sapodilla, Chestnut, Cubano Cafe, Patois, Tabac, Robin du Bois & Chance all good to great food for their respective prices; and the new Po is opening this summer.

Posted by: Baer at May 3, 2007 4:25 PM

you forgot my favorite: Banania
there is also Cafe Luluc, Paninoteca, Mancora, and many others.
Smith Street is cool.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 4:50 PM

Isn't Banania now Porchetta?? Mancora's chicken is killer.

Posted by: baer at May 3, 2007 5:09 PM

Those restaurant names sound pretty exotic. In my day, Smith St. (between Baltic and Bergen) had ZaZa's Pizza (by the slice), Mel's Pizza and a Cuchifrito store.
Way up in Carroll Gardens on Smith was Joe's Superette which sold great sandwiches. I wonder if it's still there.

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 3, 2007 5:12 PM

Joe's Superette (or Joe's "perette" as I always thought it was called because I didn't realize the s and u lights were out) is still around and run by a man named Leo. He makes the best rice balls (and potato croquettes) I've ever eaten.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 5:32 PM

Better rice balls than the parnell store on Union Street?
Marone! I'm gonna go see Leo next time I'm in Brooklyn.

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 3, 2007 6:12 PM

Old GG rider, I think you'll appreciate this link to a NY Times article about Joe's from 2004. I don't know if this will work, but it's:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/26/dining/26FRIT.html? 985522e8a&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 6:17 PM

Sorry, that link takes you to a site where you have to pay to get the article. But I did a google search for: rice balls brooklyn ny times and I got a link to the entire text of the article.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 3, 2007 6:21 PM

Thanks for the article Anon. Next time I'm in the neighboprhood, I'm gonna check Joe's out. Haven't been to Joe's in over 30 years. Defonte's (on Columbia St.) was always my number one sadnwich joint. I still go in to say hi to Nicky when I'm back. For pizza, it's still Sam's on Court between Baltic and Kane. A large pie with fresh garlic -- it's da best.

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 3, 2007 6:29 PM

Smith Street.
Now that's Brooklyn!

Posted by: vito at May 3, 2007 7:20 PM

VITO!! Now that's a Brooklyn name!

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 3, 2007 8:42 PM

For a great evocation of Smith St. pre-gentrification, read 'Motherless Brooklyn.' Frankly, I like the rather grim Edward Hopperesque look of the streetscape--it keeps alive the memory of a time before latte.

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at May 4, 2007 9:21 AM


Smith Street, restaurant row indeed,
fancy, I think not. Raunchy few blocks
of overrated overpriced shops.
What is your frame of reference, KFC.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 10:26 AM

The food on Smith Street is't good.
I do see a great many young people who obviously are not New Yorkers,New Yorkers
don't wait on line, especially for brunch.
Everything about the neighborhood is very
mediocre, especially the new people.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 10:34 AM


You must be kidding me, restaurant row.
I've tried most places up there, searching, hoping, that I could find a place to take relatives that they would enjoy. No I can't find one place to have
a spectacular dining experience. Do you know what it is to have such a dining experience. If you put down a ceramic floor and have a tin ceiling, does that make a great restaurant, None of you have tastebuds. You all grew up on fast
food. Your mothers never fed you, your mothers and grandmothers don't know how to cook.
Irate Chef

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 10:40 AM


I like Court Street or Montague Stret for
brunch, it's just better than those awful
places on Smith Street. Just awful,over
recommended eateries. Really, I worry about our youth. It's all hype children.
Still alot of junkies, still many dope stores on the side streets between Smith and Court. Still the dopers on the pay phones on Smith Street, waitng to connect. I would rather live anywhere rather than that narrow depressing corridor.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 10:48 AM

Ugly,sad, little buildings. The sun doesn't shine on this part of Brooklyn.
Really, the sun isn't bright in this
little corner of Brooklyn.

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 10:54 AM

If you think that corridor is bad now, you should have seen it when I fled the Warren/Smith area in the early 1970s. It was crawling with junkies -- I swear they'd pound on your car windows begging for spare change when you drove through there. It seemed like if you left your house for an hour, you could be guaranteed that somebody would break in. We lived behind bars with the Fox Police Locks and they had control of the streets. I used to carry a big fishing knife and had to pull it on more than one occassion.
Heroin addiction was epidemic at that time -- I lost so many friends to that crap. Dozens I could name -- I'm serious. I like to go back and visit the old neighborhood, but that particular area of Smith St. brings back depressing memories.

Posted by: Old GG Rider and Junkie Dodger at May 4, 2007 2:34 PM

The Smith St. restaurants aren't all crap, naysayers. Better than TGIF and that ilk!

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 4:26 PM

I'm with you, Anonymous. Food prepared and cooked from scratch, on the premises in even a mediocre restaurant, is better than any of that chain-restaurant garbage.
I'm out west and we have tons of chain joints like The Olive Garden, which is owned by General Mills. Now that's Italian right??!! Their Cheerios were great but Italian food??? FUGGEDABOUDIT!!!
Look at what General Mills has been up to over the years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mills
More power to them but puh-leeeeze -- stop the flood of chain restaurants.

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 4, 2007 7:59 PM


So we came upon the problem. You think
the restaurants are great because ...
better than the Olive Garden. New Yorkers, I repeat New Yorkers do not go to
the Olive Garden. Are you kidding me. I have never met anyone who has gone into an Olive G. The food sucks on Smith Street. Are you people real.
This is too sad. I was talking about a dining experience. No i haven't gone to a

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 8:32 PM

Did you faint or something?

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 4, 2007 10:34 PM

Hopefully, he died. Sounds an awful lot lot a poster who called himself "Old Realtor".

Really awful, nonsensical posts. All of them.

May 4, 10:26 AM
May 4, 10:34 AM
May 4, 10:40 AM
May 4, 10:48 AM
May 4, 10:54 AM
May 4, 8:32 PM

Don't you have anything better to do?

Posted by: Anonymous at May 4, 2007 10:44 PM

LOL -- That's too-Brooklyn!
Whatever. Hopefully the chain restaurants will die!

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 4, 2007 11:09 PM


Are you the gentleman who paid too much
for his house and for your dinner. Wasn't me, but whoever wrote about Smith Street is right. I'm sorry if we all hurt your feelings, but it's true, you are crass. Just learn from your mistakes. Be Better, think more about doing good than about how much your real estate is worth this week.
I'll tell ya a story. There was this guy,not a bad guy,but not too bright, lived in the same damn house for fifty
years. Same job for forty years, never made any money, raised two very nice kids, nice kids. A year before he dies
he sells his place in CG for over a million dollars, he paid ten grand.
All his relatives from the old country,
he moved back, thought he was a genius.
In reality, he was a nice guy who lived
in his house for fifty years and wasn't
too smart. He lived happily ever after,
except he died soon after.
Have a wonderful evening


Barney, the old realtor

Posted by: Anonymous at May 6, 2007 6:46 PM

So the moral is?

Posted by: Old GG Rider at May 6, 2007 7:49 PM


Dear GG Rider,
I don't know if there is a moral.
It is a true story.
Maybe someone will suck the marrow out of the story and have a univeral aha, but I don't think so. I have seen some very nasty moves in the last five, ten years. Every now and then, things work
out just as they should. The most important thing to these kids is there
net worth. Well, the times they are a changing.
Barney,The Old Realtor

Posted by: Anonymous at May 7, 2007 8:54 AM

i like quite a few of the smith street restaurants, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
for those of you who think the food in carroll gardens is sub par, what would you recommend instead?

Posted by: anonymous at May 7, 2007 2:26 PM

I use to live around there and worked for J. Michael's. My daughter attended a daycare in the projects (at that time it was a good one). I have not been there for a while, but I miss it.

Posted by: Sunshine at June 27, 2007 6:41 PM

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