Wednesday, February 13, 2008

New York 1970...


 
Last week's blog entry by Brian Ulrich had me search for some of the photographs I had taken while on a school trip to New York in 1970. Of those, two were very vivid in my mind. 

The first was that of a man standing on the corner of a Manhattan street, dressed as a viking, totally immobile. I saw him on each of my outings at the time, but did not know who he was. For years, I wondered who he might have been. It was only last October, reading a New York Times article, "Sidewalk Hero, On the Horns of a Revival" (John Strausbaugh), that I discovered that his name was Louis Hardin Jr., and that he had been part of the New York landscape from the late 1940's to the early '70s. Moondog, as he was known then, was a blind, classical musician/composer. A festival exploring his life and works was held in November 2007 at the Advent Lutheran Church at 93rd and Broadway.

The second photograph which had haunted me for years after my first visit to New York, was that of a street vendor who was selling ice. I had taken the photograph, near where I had seen Moondog earlier the same day. 

When in New York last August, I tried to identify the location of where I had taken the photograph, but was unable to do so with certainty. 

I would appreciate any information readers may have on the person in the photograph and where I might have taken it. 

No comments: