New York as a city has certainly evolved, even has it retains much of the charm over the years that’s made it a place people have yearned to arrive at and thrive. A Huffington Post article, however, shows some of the inevitable change that happens when smaller businesses get replaced with larger ones, as the city ever changes, in a piece highlighting photos taken by James and Karla Murray for a new book, “STORE FRONT.”
The pictorial does a nice job of helping people make the connection between the older businesses and their newer counterparts, which allow readers to visualize what’s changed and what managed to hang on. The photographers were aiming to capture what happens as a city gentrifies, seeing iconic mom-and-pop businesses get replaced by boutique shops and chains.
Part of New York’s charm is the small-business bodegas and delis, and seeing them get replaced by a Chase Bank may be depressing, but of course is part of the relentless evolution of a city that never sleeps. But for those who long for a different time, this book certainly helps illustrate what’s been lost to this marching forward.