Vintage store signs of a vanishing Italian enclave

Like its counterparts in the South Village, Carroll Gardens, and the North Bronx, the long-established Italian neighborhood in East Williamsburg, with its old-school shops and storefronts, is shrinking.

So before Graham Avenue (renamed “Via Vespucci” after the Italian explorer) is swarmed by wine bars and doggy day care centers, take a moment to appreciate the iconic signs stretching from Ainslie Street to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Looking at the Emily’s Pork Store sign makes me hungry. I wish I’d stopped in for some fresh mozzarella. And Caffe Capri! I love the mermaid crest on the left. This is what the sign looks like without the last bit cut off (it reads pastry, expresso, cappuccino).

Grande Monuments is a wonderful sign on its own. But there’s a bonus on the side of the building: another sign with the old two-letter phone exchange.

The ST is probably an abbreviation for nearby Stagg Street.

Tags: Caffe Capri Brooklyn, East Williamsburg, Emily's Pork Store Brooklyn, Italian neighborhood Williamsburg, Italian neighborhoods Brooklyn, Italian store signs, New York old phone exchanges, old phone exchanges, Vintage store signs