I loved the old photo of Jos. Tragale's Fuel Oil and Kerosene truck from the moment it landed in my inbox. It was sent to me by fellow Carroll Gardener and history buff Alexandrea.
I cannot tell you if that is Mr. Tragale in the photo standing here on Columbia Street . Does anyone know?
Though the truck and the man leaning on it are very interesting, I was also curious about the stores behind him. I know that Columbia Street was THE shopping strip long ago, before Robert Moses divided the Carroll Gardens neighborhood with his highway. Here, on the photo, is evidence of that thriving commercial strip. At 264 Columbia Street there was a self-service supermarket and at 262 there was Palmisano's photography studio.
And this is where things get even more interesting. I googled the address to get an idea of exactly were on Columbia the photo was taken. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found mention of a photography studio. But the name was not Palmisano. Instead there is mention of 'Leeds' a photo studio which must have predated Palmisano.
On a beautiful web site filled with old photographic portraits, I found three Victorian photographs stamped Leeds. Take a look at them below.
Unfortunatelly, dear readers, when I walked down to Columbia Street yesterday, my heart sank . The old 262 and 264 Columbia Street buildings between President and Carroll Street are long gone.
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