Something Neat: What Do These Two Things Have In Common?
Filed under: 11222, Crazy Cat Lady, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Urban Fur
(Or: Meet Eddie)
This, a SRO (and formerly a home for the aged), at the intersection of Oak Street and Guernsey Street…
and this stretch of Green Street. The answer (as I discovered this week on the premises of the aforementioned SRO) is this!
It reads as follows:
H.C. Fischer Iron Foundry
234T324 Greene St. B.E.D.
For those of you who are not in the know before E.D. became a buzz phrase associated with “male enhancement” products it meant “Eastern District”: a moniker employed to describe the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area. So this manhole cover —which is found in the Garden Spot— was, in fact, made in the Garden Spot. Or to use the parlance of the day: Brooklyn Eastern District. Naturally I had to look into who this Fischer chap was (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives of course). I couldn’t find anything for H.C. Fischer— but I did find something about a H.E. Fischer. Without further ado (and in nod to this week’s primary) here it is: an item from October 17, 1900 edition the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Enjoy!
Another item of (macabre) interest I found is this. It dates from December 18, 1885. One word: YIKES!
To close this post on a more informational (and upbeat) note:
1. You can read more about Greenpoint’s former home for the aged (as bequested by Samuel J. Tilden!) by clicking here.
2. Here are a few shots of the premises and my host: Eddie!
He muses:
When you sit out here at 5:00 a.m. with a cup of coffee you can hear at least sixteen different kinds of birds singing!
And of course Eddie’s on-again/off-again* companion…
Patrick! Eddie found him as a wee little kitten in an earth mover. He nursed him back to health.
Patrick loves squirrels. Or more accurately: killing them.
But Eddie told me that occasionally Eddie’s prey of choice have elected to fight back: one such varmint— in the heat of battle— ripped out part of Eddie’s throat! This set Eddie back $1,000 in veterinary bills.
They build ’em tough in Greenpoint!
Miss Heather
*As Eddie told me Patrick seems to sense when a vet visit is around the corner. Let’s just say this fetching feline is currently keeping his distance!
P.S.: This post goes out to my friend, Jen Blossom, who lost a very good friend today. Kali rests with (or would that be chases?) the angels now.
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