I have this massive folder of pictures from my location scouting days in New York City, of totally random things I’d come across in my travels. Like, this magazine stand on 6th Avenue that appears to magically have a tree growing through the middle of it –
I remember walking by this place and always having so many questions. Like: how shallow was the clerk’s booth, given that it had to accommodate the tree? Did that door with Employees Only written on it lead to the tree area? Was there even a bathroom for the clerk?
Who was the enterprising soul who realized there was JUST enough room to erect a magazine stand? And what strange bit of NYC property history resulted in this square being carved out of the building to begin with??
Sadly, a quick streetview check reveals it’s all gone in 2026. The tree has been cut down. The magazine shop is now just a wall for advertising.
Looking through my folder of pics, so many have suffered the same fate: strange little bits of history that have disappeared in the pursuit of square footage and homogenization.
I sometimes think that cities go through two eras: the period when these oddities are allowed to crop up, often due to sheer chance, ignorance, or disregard; and then, the period when they’re slowly but surely identified and eliminated.
There’s obviously no justification in keeping them around forever; but then, if we all know they’ll never be allowed to come back once they’re gone, doesn’t that suggest they had some sort of value all along?
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