RoadsideOnline

(Old sign, Oasis Liquor, 410 South Kalamazoo Street, Paw Paw, MI, Photo by PJ Chmiel)

I received an urgent call the other day from my friend PJ Chmiel--Paw Paw, MI native, signage enthusiast, designer, gardener, local historian and all-around good dude--after he saw the Oasis Liquor sign, that myself and other local residents treasured, being removed from the roadside. I'm sure we had always known it would come down sooner or later as Taco Bells, Max 10s, a nearby Wal-Mart and other chain stores invaded the commercial strip connecting I-94 to Paw Paw's Main Street, but it was still a shock for him to witness the sign coming down.

I would like to just take some time to speak on the recent deaths of two firefighters in Bridgeport, CT. 

Too often it takes a tragedy like this to remind us all of these true heroes. Heroes is a term I think is used too much these days, but I do use it here. As a retired call firefighter I can especially feel the pain which is going through not only the Fire Service, but all emergency services right now. 

Remember these firefighters, as well as all others, Police and EMS,  go out every day to do a job not many people will do. Think about this next time you see a house or building on fire and every one is running away from it. There is one group of people who are running in.  Firefighters, whether full time, career firefighters or part-time on-call or  volunteers risk their lives every time the alarm goes off. They leave their stations, their work, their homes and truly don't know if they will be coming home when the job is done. 

Under the NYC Landmarks Law, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission designated landmark status to the historic Empire Diner, which is a 1946 Art Deco freestanding diner by mastermind Joseph Fodero of the Fodero Dining Car Co). It is of a dying breed, since it is one of the last of 2 highly intact examples in Manhattan, which was once dotted with freestanding diners. The Empire Diner is a marked contributing property to the city's Historic District. Note the Dept of Buildings' classification for 210 10th Ave as L for Landmark. 

HOW YOU CAN HELP: As many people as possible need to call the Landmarks Preservation Commission's investigation unit and main phone number, and ask why the Empire State Building model was removed from the top corner of the landmarked facade of the Empire Diner at 210 10th Ave, and also mention that the new operators likely plan on changing the famed name (according to many press clips), which to our knowledge also has protection under the Landmarks Law.

Empire Diner with ESB model.

Diner with ESB gone astray.

 Is the latter photo the ideal of progress? We believe a permit would need to be approved by the Landmarks Commission first, so it is imperative that they know.

1. Call the LPC investigation unit - Diane Simonson at (212) 669-7948 2. Also call the main LPC # for Dir of Research Mary Beth Betts, and make her aware of the ESB removal and diner name endangerment. The interior should also be recommended for Interior Landmark status (facade already has landmark status). Mary Beth Betts is reachable at (212) 669-7700. Please call, & tell your friends to call as well.

Keep Michael Perlman informed of your correspondence with the LPC via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

You know how there are some things which make you feel old? Like this picture I took the other day. This is something you don’t see much of anymore, at least here in New England. I think sign painting has become a lost art. It isn’t so much the fact of the painted sign which makes me feel old, but rather the memories it conjures up.

 I remember as a kid my first job when I was 12 was to go to my Dad’s grocery store on Saturday and put away the empties. In those days all beer, soda and even milk bottles were returnable. The beer and soda bottles would be sent down into the cellar of the store, stacked in “banana boxes” awaiting my arrival to sort them into the proper cases. The soda bottles, were mostly in wooden cases although there was an occasional heavy cardboard box and these had to be sorted by manufacturer. In this area Cott soda was the biggie, “Its Cott to be good” was their slogan. Then there was Polar, Canada Dry, Coke (the original one in the hard green bottles) and the other national brands. (Did your Doctor recommend drinking warm Coke to treat the flu?)