Ghost Sign & Eagle's Nest

New York State Senator Brad Hoylman sent in a photo of a ghost sign recently revealed after a demolition on 11th Avenue and 21st Street:



Frank Jump at the Fading Ad Blog spotted it, too. He did some research and connected the sign to the Berger Manufacturing Company, specializing in "artistic designs in metal ceilings."

So what building was demolished to reveal the sign?



It was 547 West 21st Street--former home of the Eagle's Nest, the gay leather bar that opened just after Stonewall and closed in 2000. Prior, the Eagle's Nest had been a longshoreman's bar called the Eagle Open Kitchen from 1931-1970.

In 2010, the long abandoned bar became a temporary art gallery. Its beautifully decorative pressed-tin ceilings were on full display there, and at the high-end furniture shop it later became. Who knows, maybe the artistic metal ceilings were made by the Berger Manufacturing Company.



The building was also home to several artist studios.

The site sold for $32 million and its space will yield a 19-story residential tower with luxury retail. It will, most likely, cover up that ghost sign once again.




possible design, from WiredNY


Previously:
Men in Leather
Eagle's Nest
Eagle's Nest Update

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