Some Jamaica Avenue Mysteries 

It pays to keep your eyes open on Jamaica Avenue - every once in a while we stuble across something unusual.  If it's not quite a mystery to us, its' appearance might cause some confusion to someone passing through.  Here are a few of our favorites:

The Missing Fish Store

Between 85th and 86th Streets, near Sal's Pizza, there's a sign for a Fish Market high off the ground.  The Fish Market hasn't been there for years, but the sign remains.  I wonder how many people driving through the neighborhood saw that sign and stopped off for a fresh piece of fish only to walk away empty-handed.  Okay, probably not that many . . .

Park Florist and the Bike Shop

Right above Little John's Place Hairstyling at 80-15 Jamaica Avenue there are a few old signs.  First, there's a sign for Park Florist.

Then, just below that (and behind John's sign) you can see what appears to be the remnants of a sign for a Bike Shop, though the words are a little hard to make out. 

Here's a closer look - maybe someone out there can shed some light on this:

The Missing Pharmacy

At the corner of 85th and Jamaica, near Scaturro's, there's an Oriental Gift Shop called Top Shop.  When you walk inside, if you look at the floor you'll see signs of an old pharmacy. 

If you look up, under the awning of Top Shop, you'll see a little bit of an old sign - appears to be a portion of the word International.  Again, we're sure someone out there will remember. 

The Men's Clothing Sign

If you walk East on Jamaica Avenue, beetween Forest Parkway and 85th Street, you can see a faded advertisement (possibly two) above the Spirare Cleaning & Tailoring Center.

It's hard to get a good look at this as there is a building fairly close to it. The building on the right may have been added after the advertisement was painted on that wall. You can see the word "Slip Covers" and "Men's Clothes" -- probably two advertisements sharing the same wall.  Maybe our friends at the Woodhaven Residents' Block Association can help get us a better picture of that wall. 

The Santa Lucia Kitchen

It appears that the Santa Lucia Italian Kitchen was located at the corner of 76th Street and Jamaica Avenue. It is currently the location of the Star 5 Mini Market Corp. But if you look up at the corner of the building, you see the rusted remains of an old tennant.

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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