'Raised in Carroll Gardens' has left a new comment on your post "What's Next For Former Café Bueno/Trout/Gravy Space."
"Me too! And, just like you, not many "youngsters" believe me when I say the same thing.Smith Street was for DAY TIME SHOPPING ONLY! And what about Carroll Park itself. Did your parents ever let you go there EVER even if you were a teen? Carroll Park was a druggie "shooting gallery" and Smith Street was where they helped themselves to your money to support thier habits.(I miss all the little Spainish Shops & Shopkeepers who had stores further along Smith Street. They were good neighbors. They kept an eye on us kids & our mothers while we did our shopping and they'd even pull us into thier stores when things would happen out on the street)Later on, it was places like the Red Rose and Sal the Barber and Joe's Superette that made our end of Smith safe."
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4 comments:
This is very true. Smith St was not a place you wanted to be after dark, and in some stretches, daytime was no picnic either. I remember Smith St going even further back to the late 50s-early 60s when Red Rose was Guzzi's Pizzeria/Bar & Grill. We would sometimes order a large pie on Friday nights during the summer --for $1.00 plus 5cents for the box. Can you believe it?
Oh...and I might add that we fought very hard to take back Carroll Park, and we succeeded.
We were only allowed to go to Smith street to get our school shoes from Johnny's bootery. I loved getting balloons from there once we were done :-)
Yes, I remember Johnny's for school shoes!!
I also remember when the Red Rose had booths, and remember that before it was the Red Rose it was a wise-guy hangout.
I don't know if I remember the pizzeria itself. But being a Pizzeria in the 1950's makes sense - that's where Red Rose probaly got thier Brick Oven.
Anon @ 9:43 - Thanks. It was good neighbors like you who helped turn the neighborhood into a better place for those of us who grew up in the 1960's & 70's and even for those who come today to raise thier families. Thank YOU for caring, then & now.
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