Storefront signage is a ubiquitous feature on New York City streets. Today, signs can barely seem worth noticing, the well-known fonts and logos blending into the scenery. But when the streets of New York were lined with mom and pop shops, the design of signs (through fonts, images, and use of space) often allowed these individual stores to stand out. The diversity of signage is especially eye-catching in historical photographs.

Joe’s Restaurant, Fulton Street, April 4, 1958. Joe’s Restaurant opened on Fulton Street in 1909 as the second branch of a popular Coney Island restaurant owned by Joseph Balzarini and Joseph Sartori, both Italian immigrants (the former via Argentina). The duo would open a third location on Nevins Street. The Fulton Street Joe’s, which featured a large dining room and extensive menu, quickly became a favorite haunt of Brooklyn’s power brokers — both official and under-the-table — due to its proximity to the borough’s civic center. Ironically, this advantageous location would lead to its demise: the restaurant was shuttered in late 1958 and subsequently razed as part of the development of Cadman Plaza and an expanded civic center.

For this story, we'd like to share our personal picks from our combined collections, that represent what this time of year means to us, and to introduce the team of Librarians, Archivists, Collection Managers, Educators and Administrators, who make up the fantastic staff at the Center for Brooklyn History.