Somewhere along the way, neon window signs became an essential staple of nail salons. Is it just me? Or do mani-pedi parlors seem to have multiplied like rabbits (or Thai restaurants) all over the Tristate in the past ten or fifteen years? They are EVERYWHERE. Though I don't often get my nails did, I have become something of an admirer of these places, if only for their signs.
New York Nails - not in NYC but upstate, on Route 9 in Hyde Park, Dutchess County. (T. Rinaldi)
Like snowflakes, no two seem alike. The signs range the gamut in style and complexity. The simple signs, reading just NAILS, demonstrate the range of fonts that are putty in the hands of a skilled neon tube bender. The more sophisticated signs often feature some variation of the Lady-with-Rose motif. Sadly, but inevitably, these ladies too seem to be going to LEDs. For now at least, nail salon neon remains an inescapable part of New York's urban landscape.
Nail salon signs display an endless array of neon letterforms. (T. Rinaldi)
Crazy Nails, at 146-07 Jamaica Avenue in
Jamaica, Queens. (T. Rinaldi)
Several iterations of the ever-classy "Lady with Rose" motif. (T. Rinaldi)
38 Nail Studio Inc., 6 East 38th Street, Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
Blue Nails Inc., 443 3rd Ave., Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
1 Fortune Nails Inc., 201 East 33rd Street, Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
Casablanca Nails, 2729 Broadway, Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
Susies Nail Salon, 252 West 72nd St., Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
Crystal Nails 2144 Broadway, Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
M & K Nail Inc., 1487 York Ave, Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
Madison Nails, 44 East 50th St, Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
Nails & More, 256 West 27th St., Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
King Suki Nails, 229 West 231st St., Bronx. (T. Rinaldi)
Somewhere in Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
Sunny Smile Nail's, 322 W 49th St., Manhattan. (T. Rinaldi)
No idea where I shot this. (T. Rinaldi)
Nailed in LEDs: Fordham Road in the Bronx. (T. Rinaldi)
• The uglya$$ scaffolding has at last come down from in front of Murray's Sturgeon, revealing one of my favorite signs in the city after more than two years of obstructed view! Now if only they'd light it up...
It's getting to be the only place where you find neon signs anymore. Well, that and bars/liquor stores.
ReplyDeleteThe story opens with the eventual murder victim, Frank Dresner (Justin Hagan) being dropped off near the courthouse by his wife. The city’s legal aid is on strike, and Dresner is there to help keep the strikers motivated for the cause.Nailexpert by Wartner
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