42nd Street

1961 

I caught the number 63 bus to Manhattan across the street from my home. I put 35 cents into the change contraption that churned and chinked and clinked before settling down. The trip took 20 minutes. I always looked for the dividing line “New York / New Jersey” in the middle of the Lincoln Tunnel. The Port Authority Terminal was large and not so forbidding for a 12 year old well seasoned traveler like me. Down the escalators out to the street and two blocks north I turned right onto 42nd Street.  

A newspaper stand had hundreds of papers and magazines some with semi naked girls. “21 on those mags, son” the vendor would say as I studied the covers. The street before me was filled with movie theaters, every one showing XXX shows “For Adults Only”. I wasn’t interested. I couldn’t afford the admission. I could afford the baseball game in any one of the arcades that doted the block between theaters and food stores with open aired grills and pretzels and pizza slices. The baseball game cost 5 cents and gave me a choice of slow, fast or curve ball pitches. The ball would come out from under a piece of plastic and I would push hard on a lever to swing a bat and hopefully hit it. Lots of fun for a nickel. Around the corner on Broadway was an electronics store that was going out of business. Across the street was the giant BookMasters – always good for a browse.

2001 

We drove into Manhattan through the Lincoln Tunnel. I pointed out the dividing line “New York / New Jersey” to my 10 year old son. We parked in the Port Authority Terminal and my lovely wife J and son and I walked down the escalators and out the door to 8th Avenue. Two blocks north we turned right onto 42nd Street. The newspaper stand was still there as were the papers, magazines and naked girls. The adult theaters and arcades were gone. In their place we saw McDonalds, The Gap, Dave and Busters, BB King’s House of Blues and the Disney Store and Theater. We browsed the Disney store until show time and had a wonderful time watching the Lion King performance. Around the corner on Broadway was the same electronics store still going out of business.