Capturing New York City’s Disappearing Store Fronts

Photo from “ Store Front II—A History Preserved: The Disappearing Face of New York”

Photographers James and Karla Murray have made it their mission to preserve, at least in print, the rapidly fading world of mom and pop stores throughout New York City. Seven years ago they published “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York,” a beautiful, hardbound coffee table book that immortalized the aging facades of 325 of the city’s most notable street-level businesses. Since that time a shocking two-thirds of those businesses have shuttered; the reasons are myriad, but the common denominator is usually the soaring rents that are commonplace amid the city’s prolonged real estate boom.

Now the Murrays have returned with a sequel, “Store Front II,” which documents another huge batch of these retail shops even as their extinction seems to be accelerating. They claim that even among this new batch, one-fifth have already been closed. Like its predecessor, this follow-up is not only a visual document of each subject but also features highlights from interviews with store owners and workers. It’s a wonderful and unfortunately heartbreaking body of work.

Find out more at gingkopress.com or order a copy at amazon.com.

Photo from “ Store Front II—A History Preserved: The Disappearing Face of New York”
Photo from “ Store Front II—A History Preserved: The Disappearing Face of New York”
Photo from “ Store Front II—A History Preserved: The Disappearing Face of New York”
Photo from “ Store Front II—A History Preserved: The Disappearing Face of New York”
Photo from “ Store Front II—A History Preserved: The Disappearing Face of New York”
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