Alphaville

VANISHING

On West Houston, Alphaville has announced it is closing by the end of the month.



Thanks to the commenter who alerted me to the shuttering, a visit to the shop confirmed it, with signs for a 40 - 50% off closing sale. Toys, robots, coloring books, jewelry, vintage sunglasses--the place is packed with discounted items.


photo of co-owner Karchin, by Daily News

Opened 16 years ago by Steve Karchin and Gary Kraut, Alphaville has been a fun place to browse and shop while waiting for your movie to start at the nearby Film Forum. New York said: "Nostalgic boomers and retro-hungry design geeks flock to this unique store/gallery for their fix of reasonably priced mid-century vintage toys and posters," including "whimsical Billy the Kid cork popguns and original-issue Mr. Potato heads."

There are also lots of robots, including these guys made out of tins and bottlecaps:



When the shop opened in 1994, Karchin told the Times, "The world is very tense, very corporate, very financial. I have a feeling it's helped by balancing with something that has a feeling of a simpler time." Alphaville was "named after the Jean-Luc Godard film about interplanetary and time travel, in order to evoke 'the past, present and future.'"



As the past slips evermore away from us, get your space-age pin-up girl magnets while they last.

And with the future hurtling fast towards us, as new construction goes up on the block, you've also got to wonder how long Alphaville's little two-story building will be standing.

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